Maui Hawaii deep sea charter question

**enielsen** · #1 01-04-2005, 08:37 AM

I am going to Maui in May and am looking for charter recommendations. I have looked on the internet and found plenty but was looking for recommendations from anyone who has first hand experience with any of them. Your comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks EN.

Mont · #2 01-04-2005, 09:12 AM

Capt. Jeff Rogers runs out of Kona and is one of the best in the area. http://www.fishinkona.com/ is his site. I don't know if he runs out of Maui though. You might contact him about it, and if he doesn't, get a referral to someone who does.

**ccbluewater** · #3 01-04-2005, 09:24 AM

Start Me Up Sportfishing runs out of both Kona and Maui, and I believe that they pretty much focus on Maui. We fished with them out of Kona and caught some fish.

http://www.startmeupsportfishing.com/

Good luck when you go, there are some big *** fish out there!!

**enielsen** · #4 01-04-2005, 10:35 AM

ccbluewater what did you catch? How would you rate the service?

**ccbluewater** · #5 01-04-2005, 10:54 AM

Well we were in Kona not Maui, but we caught Wahoo, and a good sized blue. The boats in Kona are smaller than the ones they use in Maui I am pretty sure. We were on a 35 blackfin, and i think they have a 42' Hatteras or something and others. The crew was very friendly and worked hard all day long to put us on fish. They were changing the spreads and such numerous times.

**rambunctious** · #6 01-04-2005, 03:34 PM

Capt. Issacs out of Kona--Sundowner Charters,you won't be sorry.

**Crossroads** · #7 01-04-2005, 03:42 PM

Darrin Isaacs (Kona) can be reached via email on www.biggamefishingtheworld.com

Mont · #8 01-04-2005, 10:01 PM

My apologies for posting this late information, but I respectfully withdraw the 2nd post in this thread. My information in that post was outdated.

**BrentJ** · #9 01-05-2005, 08:03 PM

I fished Maui in December '03. I did a ton of research and ended up picking the hardest working captain on the island in my opinion. We stayed in Lahaina about 2 blocks from the dock and fished 2 full day charters. I also patrolled the dock on the days I couldn't afford to fish. Capt Kim on the Ho'okela will put you on fish. He is usually the first boat out of the slip and lines are in the water at the fishing grounds at sunup or slightly earlier. We were fishing for 1/2 hr to 1 hr before the rest of the fleet got to the grounds. Capt Kim is serious. You need to be prepared as they take catching and most importantly keeping fish serious. It is custom in Hawaii for the boat to keep the fish and sell it to local restaurants. Their charters are less expensive then state side charters but you also tip and they take the fish. I arranged with Capt Kim to keep enough fish to eat while we were on the island. You also need to arrange prior to booking to release billfish if you desire so. They keep those also as a 300# blue was hanging at the scales one day. Capt Kim doesn't run the fanciest boat (average 34' ride) and is a no nonsense kind of guy. But if you are fishing he is the man. He can be reached at (866) FSH-Maui or do a search for the boat name. You should be able to come up with an email link through his site.

I have lodging info if you need some. We stayed at a condo in Lahaina and shaved a bunch of money off the chain hotels (Marriot, etc) package prices.

Let me know if you need additional info. We stayed 10 days and learned the island real well. I also know great snorkeling spots along with some off the beaten path must see places. Shoot me a PM if interested.

**Bodo** · #10 01-10-2005, 02:56 PM

I fished with Start Me Up last August (Capt. Doug). They were recommended by a friend (who is a local). We caught hoo and mahi, no marlin though (we trolled the South side of the island, a few boats went to the North side and tore it up - the north side gets rough in the afternoon cuz the tradewinds though). The crew was good (friendly, knowledgeable). They are located in Lahaina, Maui. I would recommend going out with them.

Bodo