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Kona Fishing Report

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

Kona: Hawaii Island's leeward coast, where deep water lies a few miles out.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Next tide
Low 8:02 PM
Air / High
83 / 84 F
Wind
WSW 5 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 1617846, 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.

Kona sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings cloud cover, wind WSW around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 84. Tides: high 1:59 AM and 1:48 PM, low 7:50 AM and 8:02 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 9:09 AM-11:09 AM and 9:35 PM-11:35 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: Similar at 85 F. 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 1617846 (Kailua Kona). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH1:59 AM1.7 ft
LOW7:50 AM0.4 ft
HIGH1:48 PM1.8 ft
LOW8:02 PM0.0 ft
Sat
HIGH2:36 AM2.0 ft
LOW8:36 AM0.4 ft
HIGH2:18 PM1.7 ft
LOW8:29 PM-0.1 ft

Kailua-Kona tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp83 F
High / Low84 / 71 F
WindWSW 5-16 mph
Pressure1016.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain95% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:21 / 17:54
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 Kona this week

Today is the pick of the week on Kona, 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
9:09 AM-11:09 AM and 9:35 PM-11:35 PM
Minor period
3:31 AM-4:31 AM
Sun
06:21 to 17:54
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Kona: 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 Kona 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 Kona 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 84 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 86 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 84 F, wind to 8 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

Hawaii residents need no saltwater licence; non-residents aged 15 and over need DAR's Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License, sold only online (required since May 2, 2024). DAR size, bag, season and area rules apply to many species: see DAR before keeping fish.

Access

Honokohau Small Boat Harbor (DOBOR): three ramps, 262 moorings, fuel.

About this water

Hawaii Island's leeward Kona coast; tides from NOAA station 1617846, Kailua Kona.

Fishing Kona: the full guide

Deep water close in

Off Kona the sea floor drops fast. DAR's list of Hawaii Island fish aggregating devices places buoy F, Kailua-Kona, in about 1,592 fathoms some 10 nautical miles from the Kailua Bay light, and buoy VV, Kahaluu, in about 600 fathoms roughly 4 nautical miles from it. DAR's list dates from 2007, so check its current FAD status before running to a buoy.

Harbor

Honokohau Small Boat Harbor, run by DLNR's Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation at 74-380 Kealakehe Parkway, has 262 moorings, three launch ramps, piers A through H, a fuel facility and a vessel washdown.

Shore fishing

Residents need no saltwater licence, but non-residents aged 15 and over need DAR's Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License, and DAR's size, bag, season and area rules apply to many species.

Common questions

Where are the offshore buoys?

DAR lists buoy F about 10 nautical miles off the Kailua Bay light in 1,592 fathoms and buoy VV off Kahaluu in about 600 fathoms; confirm their status with DAR.

Do I need a license to fish from shore?

Only if you are not a Hawaii resident: non-residents aged 15 and over need DAR's Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License, sold online since May 2, 2024. Residents need none, and DAR's species rules apply to everyone.

Where can I launch a boat?

Honokohau Small Boat Harbor has three launch ramps.

Is fishing good at Kona 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

Hilo Bay61 miMaalaea Bay86 miKahului Harbor92 miKaunakakai120 miKailua Bay166 miKewalo Basin166 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 1617846 β€” Kailua Kona
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 19.6390, -155.9970 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.