Imua Fishing Charters runs the most comfortable mid size boat out of Nawiliwili, a 37 foot Cabo with a full air conditioned cabin, under a captain who came up through the commercial fishery. It posts its prices, lands fish at a high rate, and lets you keep your catch, which is the package a lot of visitors are looking for on a hot day in the islands. The trade offs are price and flexibility: Imua is private only, with no shared seat, and it sits at the upper end of the Kauai range.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.9 Imua is a strong choice and the third boat we rank on Kauai, behind Makai and Captain Don’s. It ranks on the boat and the captain: a modern, climate controlled Cabo and a crew that reviewers credit with coming back to the harbor with more fish than the boats around them. What holds it below the top two is access and value, not quality. There is no shared option, so a couple pays for the whole boat, and the rate is a top end one. Book it when comfort is the priority and you would rather pay for a cabin and air conditioning than share the cockpit on a working boat. For a shared seat, look at Makai or Captain Don’s. The full field is on our Kauai rankings.
The boat
The Imua is a 37 foot Cabo, built in 2004 and restored in 2018, powered by twin Caterpillar diesels that cruise around 30 knots. The cabin is the point: full air conditioning, a head, WiFi, and ample seating, which on a long day under the Hawaiian sun is a real comfort and a genuine difference from the open working boats lower on this list. It takes up to six anglers. There is little to fault on the boat itself, which is why it scores as well as it does on equipment. The questions with Imua are about the format and the price, not the hull.
The fishing and what you target
Imua fishes the Nawiliwili grounds for the full Kauai spread: mahi mahi, ono, and aku on the troll, ahi into the summer, and blue, black, and striped marlin plus shortbill spearfish across the seasons, with giant trevally on the structure. Captain Ikena was born and raised in Hawaii and fished commercially in Hawaii, Washington, and Alaska before running charters, and the reviews repeatedly credit the crew with reading the water well and out fishing the boats around them on a given morning. The listing’s own figures, with most trips reporting fish caught, back that up, and the crew is noted for looking after anglers who do not have their sea legs.
Trips and prices
Imua is private only, sold by the whole boat for up to six anglers, with posted rates: $1,205 for a 4 hour trip, $1,549 for 6 hours, and $1,893 for a full 8 hour day. Live bait, rods, reels, lures, drinks, and catch cleaning and filleting are included, and you keep your catch, which is a real plus over the boats that hold the bigger fish. The Hawaii nonresident license is the main extra. The rate is at the top end of the Kauai mid size fleet, which the cabin and the air conditioning justify for the right group but which makes it poor value for a couple who would do just as well on a shared seat. Our cost guide sets the numbers in context, and the shared versus private charter guide is worth reading before you book the whole boat.
The crew
Captain Ikena, with Captain Randy running some trips, anchors a crew the reviews describe as attentive, knowledgeable, and as excited as the guests when a fish comes up. The recurring praise is for the catch rate and for how the crew handles seasickness and first timers, checking in and taking care of the work. The honest qualifier is the depth of the trail: with 46 reviews, the record is strong and recent but thinner than the couple of hundred behind Makai or Captain Don’s, so the high rating rests on a smaller sample. What is there is consistent and good.
Booking and what to know
Book through the operator’s site or its FishingBooker listing, which carries the posted rates. The boat leaves from Nawiliwili Small Boat Harbor in Lihue, close to the airport and the east side hotels. Buy your Hawaii nonresident fishing license online before the trip, since anglers 15 and older now need one. The air conditioned cabin makes this an easier boat for anyone prone to seasickness, but bring motion sickness medication anyway, along with sunscreen, a hat, and food, and plan to tip the crew who clean your catch.
How we scored it
Imua scores 7.9. Captain and crew and boat and equipment, both at 8.5, are its strengths: a modern air conditioned Cabo and a commercial fisherman captain with a high catch rate. Trips and access at 7.0 is the limiter, since the boat is private only with no shared seat, and value at 7.5 reflects a high end price that is fair for a group but steep for a couple. Track record at 7.5 is strong on a smaller sample. See how we scored this boat for the full rubric, and compare it with the rest of our Kauai rankings.