Hawaii Fishing Report: November 2026 to February 2027
This page always shows the current edition. A new one publishes four times a year, on the last Thursday before the months it covers begin. Permanent link to this edition. For the region's species, its key waters and a month-by-month calendar, see the Hawaii fishing guide.
Hawaiʻi fishes all winter; the ʻamaʻama season closes on December 1
Hawaiʻi has no closed winter. The charter fleets troll for marlin, ahi, ono and mahimahi all year, shore anglers fish for ulua and papio, and spiny lobster, slipper lobster and Kona crab are open through the quarter. What winter changes is the surf: the north-facing shores take the big swells, often too big to fish from the rocks, and the south and west sides run calmer.
Two rules matter most to a visitor. Residents fish the ocean free, but nonresidents 15 and older need the Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License, sold online only, and much of the shoreline is private, so reaching it needs the owner's permission. Striped mullet, ʻamaʻama, close on December 1 until the end of March, and the state's one trout season, at Kōkeʻe on Kauaʻi, is closed all winter.
The state's rules are below under the same headings as every region, written for someone fishing Hawaiʻi for the first time: the licenses, bait and gear, and the ocean.
The ʻamaʻama season closes on December 1 and reopens on April 1
Striped mullet are closed from December through March, with an 11-inch minimum the rest of the year. Little else in the state's rules turns over in the quarter: the lobsters and Kona crab stay open until May 1, and the Deep 7 bottomfish run on the federal limit set for the fishing year that began on September 1.
Dates that change what you may keep
1 of these 1 change a season, a bag limit or a legal method. Every day of the week below was checked against a calendar.
| When | What changes | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Tue December 1 | Striped mullet (ʻamaʻama) close for the season, to March 31. | HI |
What is open in winter, and the limits
The seasons and sizes a winter visitor is most likely to need, all from the Division of Aquatic Resources' rules.
| Fish | Season | Size and limit |
|---|---|---|
| Striped mullet (ʻamaʻama) | Closed December 1 to March 31 | An 11-inch minimum when open |
| Spiny lobster (ula) | Open; closed May through August | Carapace of at least 3 1/4 inches; no females, no spearing, kept whole |
| Slipper lobster (ula pāpapa) | Open; closed May through August | Tail of at least 2 3/4 inches across; none carrying eggs, no spearing, kept whole |
| Kona crab (pāpaʻi kualoa) | Open; closed May through September | Carapace of at least 4 inches; no spearing |
| Deep 7 bottomfish | Open unless a closure is announced | Five a day in all, from a boat registered with DAR |
Sharks and rays may not be caught at all. The printed summary is current only to its printing, so check DAR for later changes.
The Hawaii report, section by section
The rules, local reports, stocking and the engine outlook for each part of Hawaii are on its own page, one section at a time.
The weather and the water from November to February, most years
This part does not change from year to year, which is why it is worth reading before the forecast rather than after it.
- The weather
- Winter in Hawaiʻi is the wet season, though still warm. The trade winds blow less steadily, Kona storms from the south and west can bring heavy rain and wind to the usually sheltered leeward coasts, and cold fronts reaching down from the north stall over the islands for a day or two. Daytime temperatures barely change from summer.
- The water
- The north-facing shores take the big winter swells, often too big to fish from the rocks, while the south and west shores run calmer than they do in summer. The ocean is at its coolest of the year but still warm, and the streams rise brown after heavy rain.
- How the quarter breaks
- It opens with the fall run of small papio along the shore and the ʻamaʻama closure beginning on December 1. December to February is the season of big surf on the north-facing coasts, of lobster and Kona crab open, and of the charter fleets fishing for marlin, ahi and ono on the calmer days. It closes with the humpback whales still offshore and the spring bite building.
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Sun, Nov 8 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
What our engine expects off the four islands
Everything above this point either happened or happens every winter. This part is a forecast for the two weeks from the date stamped below, scored by the same engine that runs the rest of this site: water temperature, wind, rain, pressure, cloud, air temperature, UV, humidity, solunar and the tides, weighted by species and by season.
A two-week stretch of Hawaii winter turns on the trade winds and the big north swells, with the odd Kona storm out of the south. The outlook grades the offshore water each island's charter boats troll, off Kawaihae on the Kohala coast, off Honolulu, Māʻalaea and Nāwiliwili, and the water temperature column comes from the tide station's thermometer on the same island. Good hours counts the hours at or above a B-plus, which says how long a day holds.
This is a weather forecast, so it covers two weeks and not the season, and the further out a date sits the less it is worth. No forecast can say whether the surf will let you fish a north-facing shore, and a winter swell can arrive overnight. We publish a grade, not a promise.
Engine outlook generated November 3, 2026, covering 4 waters.
What this report does not cover
- This is a seasonal guide with a dated two-week engine outlook. The state has no regular winter reporter; the sources that exist are named in the state section.
- Surf and ocean conditions are not in this edition: they change by the hour, and a north swell can close a shore that was fishable the day before.
- Species not in the table follow the rules in DAR's summary, and some areas have rules of their own.
- License prices are printed as read on October 20.