Flavor of Maui

What’s the difference between a private charter and a share boat?

 A PRIVATE means that only your party will be on board. And, of course, the captain and crew! Just you and your wife/friends, typically up to 6 people total. If you have say, two couples in your party, you’re better off to take the boat privately because 4 SHARE tickets will usually cost within a few dollars of the private rate anyway. This also allows you more flexibility to either cut a trip short (don’t expect a pro rated refund!) or stay out longer (yeah, you’ll probably have to pay for the extended time), though the captain always has the last say on these issues.
A SHARE boat means that the vessel arranges it so you split the cost of the charter with other people who are unknown to you. There are no boats here that do strictly shares, like the ‘head’ boats out of CA or FL.
Say you and your wife wanted to go out for a day, but didn’t want to pay $900. You book 2 seats on a SHARE boat basis at, say, $190 ea.. The vessel will try to put 4 other people on board with you.
Share boat charters don’t target anything differently. The boats usually run 6 rods and if a fish bites your rod, you get to fight it.
Drawbacks of Share Boats:

1. You don’t get to choose who goes out fishing with you. You might get stuck with whiners, barfers, drunks or other less than desirable fishing buddies. You’re also then tied to their schedules. Say your on a hot bite or fighting a big marlin, and “Joe Whiner” has a tee time or a plane to catch. The captain will often have no choice, but to force the issue by leaving the bite or breaking your marlin off!
   
2. Virtually all the boats that do shares require a minimum of 4 passengers to confirm a trip. They may “bump” a share boat, in favor of a private, if their minimum has not been met. Let’s say you and your wife sign up for next Weds. On Saturday, a party calls and requests a private charter for that same Weds.. If the boat has no other people signed up with you, they may cancel your reservation (you will be notified, and your deposit or payment will be refunded).It’s not a matter of giving preference to private charters. If you booked a party of 4 they would not bump your charter for a private. None of the boats will ‘guarantee’ to run a charter that doesn’t cover the costs, meaning having the minimum # of passengers.

   All of the fishing boats have a 24-72 hr. cancellation policy. Though a boat may have the minimum when you book, there is the possibility that someone may cancel a few days before the charter, dropping the count below the minimum. If they aren’t able to get the minimum back, or a private comes up before that happens, you get bumped.

   Naturally, fishing boats with good catch records attract more privates. This doesn’t mean that you can’t get a good boat on a share basis, but it does require more flexibility as to which vessel and which dates.
   

3. None of the companies that have more than one boat will say which of their boats you will go out on if you book on a share basis. Most often, they wll place their shares on the #2 or #3 boat, which is usually smaller or slower or older, etc..I’m sure they have economic reasons for doing this, but I personally don’t agree with this policy. If I were making a reservation, I would want to know exactly which boat I was going out on. If they charged less for their #2 boats, I could understand it. This policy seems too much like a ‘bait n switch’ to me.

   If you inquire about a share trip with one of these companies, I will inform you again of this policy, and probably recommend that you book with a single boat company
   

4. Murphy’s Law (The Share Boat Corollary): The least desirable of your fishing buddies will catch the big one of the day!
   

           
How long should we go out for? What time do the boats go out?
The longer you fish, the better the odds!
The “bite” moves constantly. There are days that the bite is very close to the harbors and there are days that the bite is two hours away, and there is no way to predict that in advance.
The best chance of catching fish is on an 8 hour charter. We recommend that you charter for a minimum of 6 hrs.
Departure times vary from boat to boat, with the earliest leaving at 0400 hrs. The average departure time is around 0530 hrs. If you are booking a private charter, you may request a departure time that fits your schedule better. Few captains will change departure times for share boats.
Afternoon charters depart around 12:30.
           
Do I have to make a reservation to go fishing, or can I just show up at the harbor? How far in advance should I make a reservation? How do I make a reservation? Is my reservation ‘guaranteed’?
It is highly unlikely that you will be able to just show up at the harbor without a reservation and find a decent boat to take you out.
Certain times of the year are *extremely* busy on Maui!
Some of these are “no brainers” like: Christmas (December 20th through January 10th); Spring Break (early to late March); Memorial Day weekend; 4th of July weekend etc..
There are also a number of fishing tournaments, such as the World Cup (4th of July), the Pro-Am Hawaiian Billfish Tournament, the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (August), the Lanai Rendezvous (September), the Lahaina Jackpot Tournament (late October). These tournaments run anywhere from 1-5 days. Many of the boats shut down to prepare for them a few days in advance, and often a day or two after. Therefore, not only are many of the better boats unavailable during these times, but their ‘dance cards’ are extremely full for the 2 weeks on either side of the tournaments.
Maui hosts many large convention/incentive groups. IBM, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Glaxo, Chevy, Digital, etc. etc. often bring in hundreds of people, and book all of the boats for days. Obvously, the hotels/airlines offer them good rates to come here in the slower weeks.
Other factors, such as the severity of the winter, storms, natural disasters, and political or economic unrest in other areas, can affect how busy Maui is.
So, how far in advance depends on your vacation schedule, choice of vessel, and that vessels availability. If you are limited to say one particular day, and prefer a particular vessel, then book far in advance; don’t wait till you get here!
No reservation, share or private, is ever truly ‘guaranteed’. It is wise to reconfirm your reservation a few days in advance and the evening before, as well.
A vessel may be forced to cancel a fishing charter due to weather (I actually had a client very upset because I wouldn’t take him out during Hurricane Iniki!), mechanical failure, or other reasons beyond the control of the boat company. That company may be able to find you another boat, but that’s not always possible.
Can we take the kids fishing?
We recommend 4-6 hrs fishing trips, to those of you desiring to take young ones fishing. Two options are either a near shore trip (mahi mahi, ono, snapper, barracuda, trevally and the occasional shark), or a bottom fishing trip. On the bottomfishing trips they will almost certainly catch some fish, albeit smaller species. Contact me. I’ll fill you in. No fishing boats will take children under 6 years of age.
What’s the weather going to be like? Will it be rough??
You must be kidding!! If we could predict the weather, we could make a lot more money than we make sport fishing!
Seriously though, passenger safety is always a captains utmost concern. If you find the sea conditions not to your liking, you may request the captain to take you to calmer waters. However, refunds are not normally granted, should you make the decision to return to port. If anyone in your party is subject to motion sickness, we recommend they take appropriate medications or go shopping instead!  
What do you fish for off Maui?
Anything that bites!! Seriously, most of the boats target big game fish such as marlin (a’u), tuna (skipjack, aku, yellowfin ahi, kawakawa), wahoo (ono), and mahi-mahi (dolphin/dorado).
What’s the best time of year to fish in Hawaii?
Fishing is good year round in Hawaii. Some months tend to be more productive than others, especially for certain species. To view a chart listing frequently caught game fish and their most abundant months in Hawaiian waters.
What fishing techniques are used?
Mainly, boats troll artificial lures at 7-9 knots. This allows them to cover large areas of water. This is important, as our target species are pelagic and constantly on the move. There is no such thing as a “honey hole” in big game fishing here.
Most do carry “natural” bait and will also live-bait in the appropriate situations