Keahole Point drop-off (NELHA)Kailua-Kona
dangerousswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Steep lava drop-off; uku, ono and pelagics in clear water (freedive spear only).
Google MapsKailua-Kona spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
2.8
wave 1.1 m head-on
visibility4m
Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding.
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 13:29
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 13:29
Kailua-Kona — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 1.1 m + swell period 9 s
wave 1.1 m head-onwind 6 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~5 m
today, best window 15:00–18:00
fish · Visibility 5 m · Water 28.1°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
05:56–19:04 · first quarter
▼ 03:00▲ 11:00▲ 22:00 · 0.5 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.44 m
Wave1.12 m
Wind0 km/h
Water28 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:20 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:00 · high · moonrise 13:48 · moderate · moon overhead 19:20 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.06 mperiod 9.4 s head-onwind 8→27surge 3.2viz 4 m
1.06 mup to ~2.12 · 181° head-on
9.4 sswell moderate
8→27gusts 27 km/h
3.2pounding the rocks
0.75m/s
4 mrecent swell
28°C5 mm + hood
▲22:00tide falling
Atmosphere8 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- wave 1.1 m + swell period 9 s
- current 0.75 m/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
Pawai BayKailua-Kona
dangerousswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Swell-protected reef near town; reef fish and uku — verify the Old Kona Airport MLCD boundary just S.
Google MapsPine Trees / Kohanaiki reefKailua-Kona
dangerousswell on the quarter today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Fringing reef north of town with an offshore drop-off; uku and goatfish (West Hawai'i FMA: freedive spear OK, SCUBA spear banned).
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 Kailua-Kona: spots, seasons and rules
Spearfishing Kailua-Kona is one of Hawaii's clearer reef-and-lava setups, but it is also one of the easiest places to make a boundary mistake. Pine Trees/Kohanaiki gives a fringing reef north of town with an outside drop-off. Keahole Point near NELHA is a steeper lava edge for uku, ono and passing pelagics. Pawai Bay is more protected, but the Old Kona Airport MLCD sits close enough that the boundary must be checked before entering. For Kailua-Kona water visibility, small west swell and light wind matter more than the calendar.
TL;DR
- Kailua-Kona spearfishing is leeward Big Island diving: Pine Trees, Keahole Point and Pawai Bay offer clear reef, lava edges and drop-off water.
- The legal detail is central. West Hawaii Regional FMA allows ordinary fishing except listed restrictions, but SCUBA spearfishing is banned.
- Kona can look calm while west swell is pushing surge into lava exits; NOAA station 51206 and the Kona cam are only the first screen.
- Stay clear of MLCDs and the Old Kona Airport boundary near Pawai. If a line is uncertain, treat it as closed water.
Best spearfishing spots in Kailua-Kona
These sites are inside the West Hawaii Regional FMA setting, so freedive spear plans must stay distinct from SCUBA gear. Clear water can hide strong surge along lava exits, and a beautiful surface does not make a protected boundary disappear.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Trees / Kohanaiki reef | Fringing reef with drop-off access | Reef flat to outside edge | Intermediate | Shore or boat depending on conditions | Uku and goatfish are the core targets. Freedive spear is the method; SCUBA spear is not allowed in the West Hawaii FMA. |
| Keahole Point drop-off (NELHA) | Steep lava point and bluewater edge | Drop-off water | Advanced freedive | Boat or highly selective shore plan | Uku, ono and pelagics can pass the edge. Watch west swell against lava and do not overstay deep dives. |
| Pawai Bay | Protected reef near town | Shallow to moderate reef | Intermediate | Shore or boat with boundary check | Useful when exposed lava entries are too rough. Verify the Old Kona Airport MLCD line just south before taking gear in. |
When is Kona water clearest?
Kona is leeward, so it often has cleaner water than windward Hawaii, but west and southwest swell still push surge into the lava shelves. The bad approach sector is roughly 220 to 320 degrees, and a long-period pulse can make exits dangerous even when the wind is light. NOAA station 51206 is distant but useful for broad swell clues. Add a local camera, a shoreline look, and an exit check before committing to any Kailua-Kona freediving plan.
What can you target in Kailua-Kona?
Uku, ulua or papio, goatfish such as kumu and weke, and pelagics such as ono are the cleanest local targets. Roi and ta'ape are invasive and often treated as removal fish, though roi carries a ciguatera caution. Do not disturb turtles, monk seals, dolphins or whales. Sea turtles, monk seals and cetaceans are protected, so a fish that is easy to approach is not automatically legal to spear.
What rules define West Hawaii?
In the West Hawai'i FMA, freedive spear is OK but SCUBA spear is banned. Within it, engaging in SCUBA spearfishing, possessing SCUBA gear with a spear, or possessing SCUBA gear with speared aquatic life is prohibited. Nonresidents need the Hawaii Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License. MLCDs and reserves have separate restrictions, and some are no-take. Around Pawai, stay outside Old Kona Airport MLCD unless you have verified the exact line.
FAQ
Can you SCUBA spear in West Hawaii?
No. West Hawaii Regional FMA rules prohibit SCUBA spearfishing and related possession combinations.
Which NOAA station is listed for Kona?
NOAA NDBC station 51206 is the listed offshore reference for Kailua-Kona.
Is Pawai Bay protected?
Pawai Bay is near the Old Kona Airport MLCD. Verify the boundary and fail closed if unsure.
What fish are common targets?
Uku, papio or ulua, goatfish, ono, roi and ta'ape are the practical local list.
What swell direction is worst?
West through northwest swell is the main surge problem for lava entries and drop-offs.
Sources
Nearby towns
Coming soon
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