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Hilo Bay, Wailoa River, and Wailuku River

The rule for this water, with the receipt.

Special regulations for Hilo Bay, Wailoa River, and Wailuku River, as the state words them

HI County · Lake · HI

Has its own special rules
How to read this page:Official text quoted regulationParsed fields from the ruleDerived calculated from rulesContext conditions, not a ruleAdvice our suggestion

Today's rule hereParsed

Season
Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
Gear
Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
Bait
Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
Poles
Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
SpeciesDaily limitSize
fish
See sizemin. not less than one and one-half inchesStatewide
akule
Varies by water: limit more than 3 days without notifying the department (commercial marine licensee)
See sizemin. lay net less than 2¾" stretched mesh (unlawful); surround net less than 2½" stretched mesh (unlawful); bag net less than 1½" stretched mesh (unlawful)Statewide
shrimp and ‘opae
See sizemin. no minimum mesh sizeStatewide
fish or aquatic life specimens
combined total of 5 fish or aquatic life specimens-Statewide
freshwater game fish
one bag per day-Statewide
bottomfish
combined total of five bottomfish-Statewide
Onaga and ‘ōpakapaka
See sizemin. one poundStatewide
Largemouth bass
10 (total lg & smmouth) - Catch and release only in Wahiawā PFA - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAmin. 9 inches - Catch and release only in Wahiawā PFA - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAStatewide
Smallmouth bass
10 (total lg & smmouth) - Catch and release only in Wahiawā PFA - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAmin. 9 inches - Catch and release only in Wahiawā PFA - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAStatewide
Channel catfish
3min. NoneStatewide
Rainbow trout
10 - May differ for Kōke‘e, Kaua‘i, as announcedmin. None - May differ for Kōke‘e, Kaua‘i, as announcedStatewide
Tucunare
3 - Catch and release only in Wahiawā PFA - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAmin. 12 inches - Catch and release only in Wahiawā PFA - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAStatewide
Oscar
3 - Special provisions for Wahiawā PFAmin. 10 inches - Special provisions for Wahiawā PFAStatewide
Bluegill sunfish
None - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAmin. None - Special provisions for Wailua Res. PFAStatewide
Samoan crabs
more than three Samoan crabs per day-This water

The official text, verbatimOfficial text

Straight from HI's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.

Whole water
  • nehu
    Gear throw nets, ‘opae nets not exceeding three feet in any dimension, and nehu nets not longer than fifty feetBait for family consumption or bait purposes
  • crabs
    Gear baited lines, provided that a dip net may be used to land crabs lured to the bait, or with not more than five crab nets not exceeding two feet in longest straight line dimension and stretched mesh of not less than two inches, provided such nets are attended to at all timesBait baited lines
  • baitfishes
    Commercial Marine licensees with a Bait License only.
  • young mullet (pua) or other small fish
    Licensed pond owners or operators only, for stocking their fishpond, except in Wailoa River.
  • aquatic life
    Prohibits taking/possessing aquatic life in violation of a season, minimum size, or other law, except pua as indicated above.
  • mullet, moi, and all species of ulua (including pāpio and ‘omilu)
  • fish
    Poles more than two poles with one line each, or two handlines
  • crab
    Also prohibited: taking/possessing any crab with external eggs or with missing or mutilated abdomen or tail, or with a puncture wound.
  • Samoan crabs
    Daily limit more than three Samoan crabs per day
  • fish

How this answer was assembled

  1. StatewideStatewide lake rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
  2. This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
  3. Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.

Where this rule applies

This water is not yet drawn on the map. Its rules are captured and receipted; the geometry ledger records exactly why it is not drawn (an ambiguous name match or a gap in the source data), and it will never ship as a guess. Each rule above describes in the state's own words where it applies, and those written descriptions are the authoritative boundaries.

What are you fishing for here?Advice

Pick from the species named in Hilo Bay, Wailoa River, and Wailuku River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.

Receipts

Statewide rules
Statewide
Checked against this official source on July 12, 2026.
Special rules - Hilo Bay, Wailoa River, and Wailuku River
This water
Checked against this official source on July 12, 2026.

Local services near Hilo Bay, Wailoa River, and Wailuku River

Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.

Run a shop or guide service on Hilo Bay, Wailoa River, and Wailuku River? Get listed.