Smuggler Cove, HI Fishing Guide

Species at Smuggler Cove

• Papio (omilu / young trevally)

  ambush oama/halalu bait piles at dawn/dusk

  Season: Jun–Oct · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 77–83°F

• Ulua (giant trevally)

  big jacks feed reef ledges after dark, summer plugging

  Season: Jun–Oct · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 77–83°F

• Oio (bonefish)

  tails onto flats rooting worms/crabs on the push

  Season: Jan–Dec · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: any light · Water: 73–82°F

• Moi (Pacific threadfin)

  schools work surge holes; closed Jun-Aug spawn

  Season: May, Sep–Nov · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 75–83°F

• Kaku (great barracuda)

  warm-water ambusher chases lures over reef in daylight

  Season: May–Nov · Tide: moving water · Light: bright daylight · Water: 77–83°F

• Oama (juvenile goatfish, bait)

  summer schools pile in shallows for shrimp/worms

  Season: Jun–Oct · Tide: any tide stage · Light: bright daylight · Water: 78–83°F

• Halalu (juvenile akule, bigeye scad)

  summer scad schools stack at piers/points, dawn-dusk

  Season: Jul–Oct · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 78–83°F

• Aweoweo (Hawaiian bigeye)

  nocturnal; leaves rocks at sunset to feed, rising tide

  Season: Jan–Dec · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 74–82°F

• Menpachi (soldierfish)

  cave fish emerge after dark, feed near new/full moon

  Season: Jan–Dec · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: low light · Water: 74–82°F

• Toau (blacktail snapper)

  abundant; light dunking at dusk/dawn and night

  Season: Jan–Dec · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 75–82°F

• Amaama (striped mullet)

  estuary grazer; closed Dec-Mar spawn, push of tide brings them in

  Season: Apr–Nov · Tide: the incoming tide · Light: bright daylight · Water: 75–83°F

• Aholehole (Hawaiian flagtail)

  schools feed at night over shallow reef and tidepools

  Season: Jan–Dec · Tide: moving water · Light: low light · Water: 74–82°F

What's biting at Smuggler Cove, month by month

Typical seasons for this stretch of coast — a warm or late year shifts them by a few weeks. The live forecast scores today's actual conditions.

How Smuggler Cove fishes

Open water lies to the east of Smuggler Cove. A wind out of the east is onshore here — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes stirred-up water inshore, while a west wind flattens the surface and tends to clean it up.

This is an inshore station — bay, river or lagoon water rather than an open ocean mouth. Tide stage and water temperature drive the bite here far more than swell does.

Tides here are read from NOAA station TPT2803 at 20.5167, -156.6833 — see it on NOAA CO-OPS.

Shops & partners near Smuggler Cove

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Common questions about Smuggler Cove

What fish can you catch at Smuggler Cove?

Papio (omilu / young trevally), Ulua (giant trevally), Oio (bonefish), Moi (Pacific threadfin), Kaku (great barracuda), Oama (juvenile goatfish, bait), Halalu (juvenile akule, bigeye scad), Aweoweo (Hawaiian bigeye), Menpachi (soldierfish), Toau (blacktail snapper), Amaama (striped mullet), Aholehole (Hawaiian flagtail). Each has its own season, preferred tide and water-temperature window at Smuggler Cove.

When is the best time to fish Smuggler Cove?

September and October have the most species in season (12 of 12) — Papio (omilu / young trevally), Ulua (giant trevally), Oio (bonefish), Moi (Pacific threadfin), Kaku (great barracuda), Oama (juvenile goatfish, bait), Halalu (juvenile akule, bigeye scad), Aweoweo (Hawaiian bigeye). Seasons shift by a few weeks in a warm or late year.

What tide is best for fishing Smuggler Cove?

6 of the 12 species here feed best on the incoming tide. Moving water is what pulls bait through the mouth, so the hours either side of a tide change usually beat dead slack.

Which wind is bad for Smuggler Cove?

Open water lies to the east, so an east wind is onshore — it stacks swell and chop into the mouth and pushes dirty water inshore. A west wind flattens and cleans it up.

Where are the tides for Smuggler Cove measured?

NOAA CO-OPS station TPT2803, at 20.5167, -156.6833. What Inlet? scores the live tide, current, solunar and weather for that station.

Inlets near Smuggler Cove

• Kuheia Bay 7 mi
• Kihei, Maalaea Bay 23 mi
• Kamalo Harbor 39 mi
• Pukoo Harbor 39 mi
• Hanauma Bay 84 mi
• Napoopoo, Kealakekua Bay 87 mi
• Pearl Harbor Entrance, Bishop Point 100 mi
• Pearl Harbor, Ford Island Ferry 100 mi

Fishing a different inlet today? Every one has its own species roster and bite pattern.

See Smuggler Cove on the map

The national heat map opens centred here, every inlet coloured by today's score. Zoom in for satellite imagery and the NOAA chart — depth soundings, the channel and the bars.

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