Kanaha reef (offshore break)Kahului
dangerousin the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Defined offshore reef east of Kahului Harbor; ta'ape, uhu, weke, roi, tako.
Google MapsKahului spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
2.8
wave 0.9 m
visibility4m
Today — sit it out — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 13:46
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 13:46
Kahului — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 0.9 m + swell period 10 s
wave 0.9 mwind 34, gusts 66 km/hvisibility ~6 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 6 m · Water 26.4°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
05:55–19:08 · first quarter
▼ 02:00▲ 12:00 · 0.4 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.41 m
Wave0.94 m
Wind24 km/h
Water26 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:19 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:00 · high · moonrise 13:52 · moderate · moon overhead 19:30 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
don't go fish
Hs 0.94 mperiod 9.8 s head-onwind 34→66surge 1.3viz 3 m
0.94 mup to ~1.88 · 187° head-on
9.8 sswell moderate
34→66gusts 66 km/h
1.3noticeable surge
0.06m/s
3 mrecent swell
26.4°C5 mm + hood
▼03:00tide turn near
Atmosphere23 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonrise
- wave 0.9 m + swell period 10 s
- swell period 10 s
- 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
Paukukalo reefKahului
dangerousin the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Local reef just outside the harbor; uhu, weke, kumu, roi. Keep ocean-side of the Kahului Harbor FMA (do not enter the basin).
Google MapsWaihee Reef (off Waihee Point)Kahului
dangerousin the headland's lee today — swell from the quarter/behind
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
One of the widest fringing reefs on Maui (>1000 ft); uku, uhu, kumu, weke, roi. Summer window — big winter N/NW swell.
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
Cameras · live
Look at the water
right now.
Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».
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.
Spearfishing in Kahului: spots, seasons and rules
Spearfishing Kahului is about choosing the right side of a north-facing Maui reef day. Waihee Reef spreads wide off Waihee Point and is the broadest option; Kanaha reef sits as a defined offshore break east of the harbor; Paukukalo is closer to town and must be kept outside the Kahului Harbor FMA basin. Uku, weke, kumu, uhu, roi and ta'ape are the working fish list. For Kahului water visibility, the best pattern is summer calm, low north swell, light wind and a clean NOAA 51205 trend.
TL;DR
- Kahului spearfishing is a north-central Maui reef plan: Waihee is the broad fringing reef, Kanaha is the offshore break, and Paukukalo sits near the harbor edge.
- The season shape is unusual for Hawaii visitors: summer is the cleaner window, while winter north and northwest swell can shut the coast down.
- NOAA station 51205 is close, but read it with the Kahului Harbor cam and a direct look at whitewater over the reef.
- Maui rules are not generic Hawaii advice: nonresidents need the NRMFL, MLCDs are no-take, uhu limits are specific, and blue terminal male uhu are protected.
Best spearfishing spots in Kahului
These are north-shore reef entries with moderate solo severity. Because the coast faces the winter swell window, a dry reef check from shore is not optional. If the outside line is feathering or the harbor water is brown, save the dive for another day.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waihee Reef off Waihee Point | Wide fringing reef | Reef flat to outer edge | Intermediate | Shore or careful paddle/boat support in calm weather | One of Maui's wider fringing reefs, with uku, uhu, kumu, weke and roi. Summer gives the realistic window. |
| Kanaha reef offshore break | Offshore reef break | Reef crest and outer water | Intermediate to advanced | Only when wind, surf and exits are manageable | Ta'ape, uhu, weke, roi and tako habitat. Avoid it when trade wind chop stacks over the reef. |
| Paukukalo reef | Town reef outside the harbor | Shallow reef and edge water | Intermediate | Shore entry with boundary awareness | Uhu, weke, kumu and roi are noted here. Keep ocean-side of the Kahului Harbor FMA and do not enter the basin. |
When is Kahului diveable?
Kahului faces north, so the bad swell sector is roughly northwest through north. That makes winter the wrong default even when the air is warm and the island looks calm elsewhere. Summer and small shoulder-season pulses are better because the reef has time to settle. NOAA station 51205 sits close to Maui and is useful for wave height and period, but the final test is visual: if Kanaha is breaking hard or Waihee has whitewater marching across the flat, visibility and exits are gone.
What can you target on Kahului reefs?
Uku, weke, kumu and ulua or papio are the cleanest legal reef-fish conversation. Roi and ta'ape are invasive targets, with roi carrying a ciguatera caution. Uhu need special care on Maui: the rule set limits take and protects blue terminal males, so do not treat every parrotfish as available. Turtles, monk seals and whales are protected wildlife. Tako appears in the habitat notes, but invertebrate and gear rules should be checked before any take.
What Hawaii rules matter in Kahului?
Residents generally do not need a marine recreational license, while nonresidents need the Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License. Hawaii allows spears for finfish subject to closed areas, size rules and special restrictions, but MLCDs are no-take; sea turtles, monk seals and cetaceans are protected. Marine Life Conservation Districts such as Molokini and Honolua-Mokuleia are no-take for spearfishing purposes. Around Paukukalo, respect the Kahului Harbor regulated area; if the boundary is uncertain, stay out with the gun unloaded.
FAQ
Is winter good for Kahului spearfishing?
Usually no. North and northwest swell make winter the shutdown season for these reefs.
Which NOAA station is closest?
NOAA NDBC station 51205 is the listed Kahului-area buoy.
Can nonresidents fish without a Hawaii license?
No. Nonresidents need the NRMFL for marine recreational fishing.
Can you spear blue male uhu on Maui?
No. Maui rules protect blue terminal male uhu, and uhu take is limited.
Is Paukukalo inside Kahului Harbor?
The reef is outside the harbor edge. Do not enter the harbor basin or uncertain regulated water.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
Get the go / no-go verdict for Kahului by email
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Kahului, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
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