Mahaulepu / Kawailoa Bay reefLihue (Nawiliwili)
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Remote SE reef with no crowds (4WD access); uku, kumu, ulua, roi.
Google MapsLihue (Nawiliwili) spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras
2.5
🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
visibility1m
Today — sit it out — wave, wind and surge pounding. 🌫 Murky all week after the storm — the water isn't settling
Sources: IPMA · NDBC · Copernicus — high confidence · data 13:48
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 13:48
Lihue (Nawiliwili) — solo, off the rocks
don't go · wave 2.0 m (occasionally up to ~3.9 m)
wave 2 mwind 23, gusts 50 km/hsurge pounding the rocksvisibility ~1 m
today, best window 12:00–15:00
fish · Visibility 1 m · Water 26.6°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
06:06–19:21 · first quarter
▼ 03:00▲ 12:00 · 0.4 m
Hours (06→20)
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.53 m
Wave2.00 m
Wind17 km/h
Water27 °C
fish activity: moonset 00:29 · moderate · moon underfoot 07:20 · high · moonrise 14:06 · moderate · moon overhead 19:40 · high
Conditions window12:00–15:00
don't go fish
Hs 1.96 mperiod 10 swind 23→50surge 13.5viz 1 m
1.96 mup to ~3.92 · 171° at an angle
10 sswell building
23→50gusts 50 km/h
13.5pounding the rocks
0.11m/s
1 mrecent swell
26.6°C5 mm + hood
▼04:00tide turn near
Atmosphere8 kmovercast
moderatemoonrise
- wave 2.0 m (occasionally up to ~3.9 m)
- steep wind-wave — choppy surface, careful on entry
- 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
Nukolii reef (fronting Wailua Golf Course)Lihue (Nawiliwili)
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Offshore reef, excellent when calm; ta'ape, weke, uhu, roi. Stay north of the Hanamaulu Bay FMA (spear banned there).
Google MapsRunning Waters / Ninini Point ledgeLihue (Nawiliwili)
dangerousexposed head-on to the swell today
- window
- tide
- shelter
- hazard
- access
Rocky point and reef at the north entrance of Nawiliwili Bay; uhu, weke, ta'ape, papio. Outside the Nawiliwili Harbor FMA.
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 Lihue (Nawiliwili): spots, seasons and rules
Lihue is a shore-and-reef plan around Nawiliwili, not a bluewater shortcut. Running Waters at Ninini Point sits by the north entrance of Nawiliwili Bay but outside the Nawiliwili Harbor FMA. Nukolii reef can be excellent when calm, provided you stay north of Hanamaulu Bay FMA. Mahaulepu and Kawailoa Bay add a remote southeast reef with fewer crowds and harder access. For spearfishing Lihue, verify the boundary before loading.
TL;DR
- Spearfishing Lihue means southeast Kauai reef around Nawiliwili, with Ninini Point, Nukolii and Mahaulepu as the main options.
- Stay outside Nawiliwili Harbor FMA and north of Hanamaulu Bay FMA where the spot notes warn that spearing is banned.
- Lihue water visibility improves in calm, dry weather, but trade-wind chop and harbor runoff can make nearshore reef unreadable.
- Hawaii nonresidents need the NRMFL; protected animals, MLCDs and regulated fishing areas must be treated as closed unless confirmed open.
Best spearfishing spots in Lihue
These Kauai entries are open in the city record, but each depends on staying out of nearby regulated areas. Use a float, keep the exit simple, and do not guess on FMA lines.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Running Waters / Ninini Point ledge | Rocky point and reef | Shallow ledge and reef edge | Intermediate | Near the north entrance of Nawiliwili Bay | A close Lihue option for uhu, weke, taape and papio. Confirm it remains outside Nawiliwili Harbor FMA before diving. |
| Nukolii reef | Offshore reef fronting Wailua Golf Course | Reef top and outer edge | Intermediate when calm | Shore approach with a careful swim | Can be strong for taape, weke, uhu and roi. Stay north of Hanamaulu Bay FMA, where spearing is flagged as banned. |
| Mahaulepu / Kawailoa Bay reef | Remote southeast reef | Reef, sand lanes and outside edge | Advanced shore logistics | Remote access, often rough-road planning | A quiet option for uku, kumu, ulua and roi. The tradeoff is isolation, so use a conservative buddy plan. |
Which Lihue boundaries matter most?
The spot notes name Nawiliwili Harbor FMA and Hanamaulu Bay FMA. Running Waters is useful because it sits outside the harbor FMA, while Nukolii needs a north-of-Hanamaulu plan. If you cannot place yourself confidently outside those regulated areas, leave the gun unloaded. Hawaii MLCDs elsewhere should also be treated as no-take for spearing decisions.
When is Lihue water visibility best?
Southeast Kauai can look protected on a map, but visibility still falls apart with trade-wind chop, rain and harbor-stained water. Dry mornings after calmer nights are the best starting point. NOAA Station 51208 gives the offshore trend, and the Kalapaki Beach camera helps with nearshore texture near Nawiliwili.
What species and rules apply on Kauai?
The practical Kauai list includes uhu, weke, taape, papio, uku, kumu, ulua and roi. Roi and taape are invasive targets, though roi can carry ciguatera. Sea turtles, monk seals and cetaceans are protected. Residents do not need a marine license, while nonresidents need the NRMFL. Species limits and area exceptions still come from DAR.
FAQ
Is spearfishing allowed in Nawiliwili Harbor FMA?
Do not assume it is. The listed Running Waters spot is outside that FMA.
Where should I be careful at Nukolii?
Stay north of Hanamaulu Bay FMA, where spearing is banned.
Do nonresidents need a Hawaii license in Lihue?
Yes. Nonresidents need the Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License.
What fish are common around Lihue reefs?
Uhu, weke, taape, papio, uku, kumu, ulua and roi are the names to know.
Which NOAA station helps with Lihue?
NOAA NDBC Station 51208 is the offshore station used for Lihue.
Sources
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