There is a reason when you see pictures of fish in tropical locations the fisherman is holding the tail of the fish with his hat between his hand and the fish. Lots of those reef and shore fish can tear up a bare hand. A friend of mine did well on shore dropoffs with a small white buzz bomb--- don't think you'll find those on the island though.

hmm...neva thought of buzz bombing....that's an idea worth trying....mahalos..
and BIG ulua cruise right next to the beach in just a couple feet of water quite frequently...especially 'omilu and especially at night....and during 'oama season in summer you can see them chasing 'oama with their backs out of the water in the shallows...check out hawaii fishing news' 100 lb club for some jaw dropping pictures of ulua caught right off the beach....ulua go everywhere.. even into fresh water up a river...i've caught ulua out of waiakea ponds in downtown hilo...

Buzz Bombs are more of a local lure. You might find some out on the east coast or in the Great Lakes area, but you sure won't find them in Maui. If you want to try them, remember to buy them here and take them along with you.

My best advice would be for you to take a walk down the docks in Lahaina the first day and see who has the most flags flying. When ever you catch in Hawaii you put a flag up to let everyone know what you caught. Go down in the afternoon and take a look, and talk to some people. Since there is only two of you, you may want to be included in a charter that has other people. If it's just you two the price may be a little spendy. You will also have the option of a whole, or half day trip. As far as getting to keep any fish. Depending on how much, and what you catch, the Capitan will almost always let you have some fish. If the Ahi prices are real high, and you get one that is 50 pounds or larger they will most likely not want to cut it up so you can have a couple pounds. If you get into a school of Mahi Mahi and get a bunch of them, GUARANTEE you can have some. Make sure that you TELL the person that you make reservations with that you would like to have fish. If they tell no way, then go somewhere else. You also may want to ask about bottom fishing. If the big boys are not happening, you can always spend a couple hours or more fishing for Opakapaka. This is the BEST eating fish in all Hawaii. IMO. ONO is next, then Mahi. You also may want to take a rod and reel with you and try fishing for Papio. Basic surf casting and retrieving. Just be careful about where you fish. Waves can wash people away. It happens you know!

Also if you want to try some real tasty fish. Go to the market and look for some AWEOWEO. Pronounced (A-Vayo Vayo) It is also called Glass eye. Fry it like a trout with a little flour. Have fun on Maui, and be sure to eat a LAU LAU and some Limu Poke for me.

Regards, Dan aka KANEALA

opakapaka stocks in hawaii are hurting and i would resist eating it if i can even though they are 'ono(good tastin) unless they were caught in the NWHI....HIMB(hawaii institute for marine biology) has been working on ways to rejuvenate the ground stocks in the main hawaiian isles of opakapaka ,'ehu and other deep snappers for a few years through hatchery releases but raising the fry has been tough....get PLENTY mahi and like kaneala said they no mind giving them away so much.. if they no more awe'owe'o at the market try some menpachi(squirrelfish)..also try mo'i if you can..fish of the ali'i...

the advantage of shorefishing is it's cheap and you can do it almost every day...most kanakas like me no can afford to rent a charter or to buy a boat...so to the beach we go!!!

i don't think i'll ever buzz bomb in hawaii though it sound like a good idea...i like bait betta....plus i use the leftovers to palu(chum) with...

hmmm....lau lau.....hmmm poke.....hmmm poi....eh...where da beer?!!