Honaunau (Two Step) drop-offCaptain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Steep coral drop-off; uku and reef fish — verify the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau NHP park-water boundary.
Google MapsCaptain Cook (Kealakekua Bay) spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
5.3
wave 0.9 m head-on
visibility4m
Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and surge pounding.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 13:30
Sources & confidence
- Sources
- IPMA · NDBC buoys · Copernicus Marine
- Method
- Model consensus, read per window
- Freshness
- Re-read every hour, per coast
Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine
The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.
How we score the water
Our own model
Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.
- Swell & wave memory
- Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
- Wind & gusts
- Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
- Tide phase
- Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
- Water temperature
- Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
- Currents & outflow
- Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
- Rain runoff & air clarity
- Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
- Coast shape & exposure
- How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.
Safety gates
- Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
- An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
- Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
- Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
- Night hours — forced red; the window is closed after dark.
It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.
A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.
Where to get in, where to hunt
Entry points with coordinates
Seabed relief — promising ground
Surface
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
spearo.app
calmupdated 13:30
Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay) — solo, off the rocks
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · current 0.50 m/s
wave 0.9 m head-onwind 9, gusts 26 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~6 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 6 m · Water 28°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.
Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.
Selected day
Windows, hours
and the day's trends.
The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.
Wednesday · today2026-07-22
05:56–19:03 · first quarter
▼ 03:00▲ 11:00▲ 22:00 · 0.5 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.48 m
Wave0.98 m
Wind1 km/h
Water28 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:20 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:00 · high · moonrise 13:47 · moderate · moon overhead 19:20 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish
Hs 0.94 mperiod 9.4 s head-onwind 9→26surge 2.8viz 4 m
0.94 mup to ~1.88 · 186° head-on
9.4 sswell moderate
9→26gusts 26 km/h
2.8pounding the rocks
0.50m/s
4 mrecent swell
28°C5 mm + hood
▲22:00tide falling
Atmosphere8 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- current 0.50 m/s
- northerly wind picks up after midday
- ebb — weaker inshore
confidence lowday
The water column
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
What it is
A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.
spearo.app folds wind, wave, swell period, visibility, tides, water temperature and risk into a single verdict — go to the spot or not. It computes 7 days ahead from open marine models (Open-Meteo, IPMA), with no sign-up and no accounts. Built for solo spearfishing off the rocks, where any mistake costs dearly.
Now live: 1152 spots across 189 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.
See all spotsThe seabed
Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
On the rock
The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.
The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.
Entry points
Where to get in
off the rocks.
Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.
Open the seafloor map
Ke'ei reefCaptain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)
borderlineswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Reef south of the bay, outside the MLCD; uku, goatfish and omilu (West Hawai'i FMA: freedive spear only).
Google MapsKealakekua Bay MLCDCaptain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)
closedswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
PROTECTED no-take MLCD — the town's namesake bay; do NOT spear.
Google MapsSOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.
Surfacing
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
Live cameras, map & reference
Open the seafloor map →What's in season,
Reference
What's in season,
what the law says.
In season now
- uhu (parrotfish)Uhu (parrotfish), Maui: ≤2/day, 10–14″ min; taking blue (terminal) males is PROHIBITED.
- ulua (giant trevally)
- kumu (goatfish)
- roi (peacock grouper)Invasive — removal encouraged, no limit. Roi can carry ciguatera — a health caution.
- ta'ape (bluestripe snapper)Invasive — removal encouraged, no limit. Roi can carry ciguatera — a health caution.
Law
- ✓No licence for residents; non-residents need the Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License ().
- ✓MLCDs — no-take. West Hawai'i — scuba-spear banned. Uhu (Maui): ≤2/day, no blue males. Roi/ta'ape invasive — removal encouraged.
- ⛔ 🚫 Marine Life Conservation Districts (Hanauma/Molokini/Pupukea etc.) — no-take: spear nothing. West Hawai'i — scuba-spear banned.
- ⛔ 🚫 Sea turtles, monk seal and cetaceans — protected, don't disturb. Uhu: blue terminal males (Maui) may not be taken.
US spearfishing law is state-by-state. License, spearable species, powerhead rules and distances vary; federal sanctuaries (Gray's Reef, the Keys, Flower Garden Banks) ban spearfishing. Always confirm with the state agency and local ordinances.
Safety protocol
- Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
- Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. On a rocky/boulder shore a 0.5 m rise in swell can make the exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer.
- Headland rip: prominent points often have a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
- Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
- Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
- Afternoon wind: on many coasts the wind builds from midday — plan to be out of the water by midday; the chop builds — get out.
- UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
- Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.
FAQ — spearfishing in Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)
Where can I spearfish in Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)?
Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay) has rock entry points such as Ke'ei reef, Honaunau (Two Step) drop-off and Kealakekua Bay MLCD. Deep clear Kona reefs at Ke'ei and Two Step — uku and reef fish; the namesake Kealakekua Bay is a no-take MLCD. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.
When is the best season in Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)?
Year-round; ulua/uhu, removing invasive roi/ta'ape is encouraged. No licence for residents.
How cold is the water in Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)?
Warm, 24–27 °C; gin-clear year-round, reef channels on the slack.
Is Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay) good for a beginner?
Beginner-friendly: warm clear water; respect MLCD/no-take and the West Hawai'i scuba-spear ban.
Do I need a licence in Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay)?
Yes — in Captain Cook (Kealakekua Bay), as everywhere on the mainland, you need a recreational fishing licence (DGRM); breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no night diving. See the guide for the details.
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