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Hanalei Bay Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Hanalei Bay: a north-shore Kauai bay where DOBOR runs Hanalei Pier and a seasonal offshore mooring area.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
High 1:37 AM
Air / High
78 / 81 F
Wind
ENE 2 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 1611683, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Hanalei Bay offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings a mixed sky, wind ENE around 2 mph, steady pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 81. Tides: high 1:01 AM and 12:38 PM, low 6:27 AM and 6:29 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 79 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:24 AM-11:24 AM and 9:49 PM-11:49 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Giant trevally (ulua)Excellent

This band covers Hawaii's water for most of the year. Work rocky shorelines and outer reef drop-offs with bait at night or surface lures at first light; tracking shows ulua keep to small home ranges.

Mahi-mahi (dorado)Excellent

This band covers much of the season off the Southeast and in the Gulf. Search Sargassum lines and current edges, where bait collects.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 75 F with likely rain: fish ahead of the front. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Hawaii requires a fishing licence from age 9, from $5.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a Hawaii licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing giant trevally (ulua) here? Check the size and bag limits with DAR before you keep anything. The season dates for Hawaii, read off the agency, are on the Hawaii seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 1611683 (Hanalei Bay). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH1:01 AM1.7 ft
LOW6:27 AM0.5 ft
HIGH12:38 PM1.6 ft
LOW6:29 PM0.1 ft
Sat
HIGH1:37 AM2.0 ft
LOW7:20 AM0.5 ft
HIGH1:08 PM1.5 ft
LOW6:52 PM-0.0 ft

KauaΚ»i tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low81 / 69 F
WindENE 2-10 mph
Pressure1018.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain43% cloud, 31%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 18:06
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~79 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Hanalei Bay this week

Today is the pick of the week on Hanalei Bay, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:24 AM-11:24 AM and 9:49 PM-11:49 PM
Minor period
3:46 AM-4:46 AM
Sun
06:37 to 18:06
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 8 mph
Rain chance
31%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Hanalei Bay: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Giant trevally (ulua) illustration

Giant trevally (ulua)

Best: night and low light (IGFA)

Giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), ulua in Hawaii, is the largest of the Indo-Pacific Caranx jacks, a reef predator that in US waters is fished mainly around the Hawaiian Islands, from shore and from boats. This band covers Hawaii's water for most of the year. Work rocky shorelines and outer reef drop-offs with bait at night or surface lures at first light; tracking shows ulua keep to small home ranges.

Mahi-mahi (dorado) illustration

Mahi-mahi (dorado)

Follows warm water; spawning timing varies by latitude

Mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), also called dolphin or dolphinfish, is a fast-growing open-ocean fish of warm water, caught in US waters from Massachusetts to Texas, around Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and from California to Hawaii. This band covers much of the season off the Southeast and in the Gulf. Search Sargassum lines and current edges, where bait collects.

When to come: the Hanalei Bay calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Giant trevally (ulua)
Mahi-mahi (dorado)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 79 F (estimated, not a reading).

7080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~79 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Hanalei Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Giant trevally (ulua) led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 7 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Giant trevally (ulua) led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Giant trevally (ulua) led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Hawaii requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Statewide DAR rules (no Hanalei entry in DAR's Kauai regulated areas). Nonresidents 15 and over: Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License. Mooring area and pier use: HAR 13-256-39, permits from DOBOR's Kauai District Office.

Access

Hanalei Pier (DOBOR) in the northeast corner of the bay; seasonal offshore moorings May to October by permit.

About this water

A bay on Kauai's north shore beside the town of Hanalei, Kauai County, Hawaii.

Fishing Hanalei Bay: the full guide

Pier and moorings

DOBOR lists the Hanalei Bay Offshore Mooring Area and Pier on Kauai's northern coast, next to the town of Hanalei in the northeast corner of the bay. Moorings are seasonal, from May to October, and there are no moorings at Hanalei Pier. DOBOR says permits are required to use the mooring area and pier and points to Hawaii Administrative Rules section 13-256-39 for use restrictions.

Fishing rules

Hanalei Bay is not on DAR's list of regulated fishing areas on Kauai, so statewide rules govern size, season and bag limits here. DAR notes that areas such as harbors, refuges and reserves can carry their own restrictions, posted at access points.

License

Nonresident anglers aged 15 and up must carry DAR's Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License to fish in the ocean; residents are not licensed for marine recreational fishing.

Common questions

Can I moor a boat in Hanalei Bay?

Only seasonally: DOBOR's offshore mooring area operates from May to October, with permits from the Kauai District Office. There are no moorings at the pier.

Are there special fishing rules in Hanalei Bay?

DAR does not list Hanalei Bay as a regulated fishing area, so statewide rules apply; watch for posted restrictions at access points.

Do nonresidents need a fishing license on Kauai?

Yes. From age 15, nonresidents need DAR's Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License for ocean fishing.

Is fishing good at Hanalei Bay right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Nawiliwili Bay20 miWaianae Coast99 miWaimea Bay100 miWahiawa Reservoir106 miKaneohe Bay121 miKewalo Basin123 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 1611683 β€” Hanalei Bay
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 22.2100, -159.5000 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.