Finest Kind Sportfishing, Lahaina

We rented out the charter for ourselves and charged it to my credit card. We wanted to spend an extra 2 hours on the water because after 4 hours had still caught nothing. So it was 100$ per extra hour. Still after not catching anything ( not even a single bite ) we paid cash for the extra 2 hours at the end of the charter plus a tip, only to come home from vacation to find another 200$ charged on my card. I called and they pretty much told me I was screwed and they were not going to credit the 200 dollars that they stole from me. I highly discourage anyone from choosing this charter while on vacation you won't catch any fish and they will rip you off at any chance they get

I have recently been reading some very negative and frankly unbelievable reviews about the Finest Kind Sport Fishing Company. I really must comment to the contrary. In the past 20 years I have fished in many places around the world and sometimes you catch fish and sometimes you don’t. Just because you do not catch a fish during your trip, it should not be considered as a fault of the Captain. You should enjoy the ride and hope to be lucky to catch something. I found the crew of the Ikaika Kai to be courteous, professional, knowledgeable and friendly. Also, the fishing was great and after an 8 hour trip we’ve caught one Mahi Mahi and my family enjoyed the company of dolphins and Humpback whales. I plan more Maui excursions in the future and wouldn't even consider using any other company.

We charted the boat for a half day trip with another couple. There was a captain and 1 deckhand. Before we left the dock they were all talk about how thy would change the bait, we catch our own bait if needed. In 6 hours we did not catch 1 fish. Thy never fished for bait to use, and switched the lures 1 about 30 minutes before we were done. The rest onthe time we were come felt ignored. I should say ignored for all but the last 30 minutes when they decided to start working us for tips. They also tried to tell us that no one was catching anything, but when we made it back to the dock we found out we were the only boat that didn't catch anything. We paid a lot of money for a 6 hour self guided tour. then as we were grudgingly paying full price for the wasted trip, the office lady had th nerve to tell us theat we should have booked the full day, we would have had better success. Don't think I want to waste any more time or money. I understand fishing can't be forced, but the crew could have tried a little harder than they did. We spoke with the owner about our experience and he te us to bug off in more explicit terms.

My husband and I as well as 2 of our friends chartered a boat on 12/4/11 for a 1/2 day fishing trip. We were all extremely disappointed in our trip and service we received that day. First of all, we did not get a single bite the entire day. Not a SINGLE BITE!!! We understand that you cannot guarantee fish, however, the crew did not try any changes in bait or tactics until the last half an hour of the trip which was nearly too late by then. Next, I found it very disappointing that the crew did not interact with or attempt to entertain or connect with any of us. They merely left us to sit on the boat for 6 hours with minimal conversation and interaction, keeping to themselves on the top deck where the captain is. Prior to coming back into the harbor, the crew told us that they spoke with the other boats out fishing that morning and "no one has caught anything today, so we are all in the same situation." When we ended the trip, they made numerous comments eluding to us needing to tip them because they had "done all they could do." We did not tip them because we felt as though they did not provide good customer service, nor did they earn a tip. I find it disheartening and quite frankly a bad experience and customer service to have 4 people pay that much money to fish and never once get a bite the entire trip. It is even more upsetting that the crew did not try to interact with or make the trip at least bearable. To top it off, when we exited the boat and went to pay, the woman helping us asked how it was and we told her we were dissatisfied and hadn't even gotten a bite, she said that other boats in the fleet had caught fish! This immediately told us that our crew had lied to us. And finally, she then offered to SELL us another few hours on the boat to "try to catch something." This was insulting. It would have been appreciated to be offered a partial refund or a few hours on the boat the next day. Something that shows a gesture of good will and good business. Due to the lack of satisfaction and service provided by this company, I would not recommend their business.

We were on our honeymoon and booked the boat privately. We had a wonderful time! Caught 1 Mahi and a Blue Marlin but the Marlin was released which was very noble to see that these fishermen are responsible about managing their resources. They educated us on how Marlins should be released if they do not have any life-threatening damage so that they may continue to reproduce and allow fishing to continue. We only caught 1 Mahi in 8 hours but they were very interactive, switching out lures and trying different fishing grounds. We lounged on the beautiful deck while they searched for fish. It was very relaxing and beautiful. Catching the Mahi was so much fun! they let me reel it in and also offered to fillet the fish for us, but we didn't really know what to do with since we were staying at the Hyatt so declined the nice gesture. This was the highlight of our vacation and honeymoon for sure and would definitly reccomend it to anyone!

We did a charter with 4 of us. After 4 hours of trolling, 3 of us caught Mahi. After about 6 hours, the last person caught a spearfish/billfish. Upon reeling in, we asked if we could catch and release and we were told no. They told us the spearfish was not good eating so we should keep it and they would probably be able to sell it to some Hawaiians who "might be able to smoke it". When we got into the harbor people were taking my picture and I was told it was the record for the year so far. A few days went by and I asked some the my local friends and family about the fish, and they said it IS good eating! So, I will that I was misled into 1) thinking that it could not have been release, 2) that it would not be good eating and therefore we did not take it with us and they sold it some one.

We didn't catch a thing. Then once we booked the guy told us he was going to focus on Tuna's and not the Marlin as expected. Make sure that if you book with them you inform them of the expectation of what you want to catch. They also neglected to tell us that he was Catch and Release. I am not against this practice but it would have been nice to know BEFORE I paid him money. Bottom line they were not upfront with a lot of info. They did do a good job and changing lures and trying different things. I was just disappointed in their lack of honesty.

Fished all day on the Reel Hooker, crew was great, they went out at 3:00 a.m. and caught live bait for us to use. Our group caught Blue Marlin, several Mahi Mahi, and a Yellow Fin Tuna.

Our whole family went sport fishing on the boat "Finest Kind" and had a great fishing experience. The Captain and crew were very professional. The first part of the day we used lures and when we didn't have any action they switched gears to live bait and dead bait. We started catching mahi mahi after mahi mahi and a few tunas too. On our return trip to Lahaina harbor we trolled lures and had a huge marlin hooked up for a few minutes. The fish made a series of jumps and threw the hook. My son was in the chair with this wonderful beast and got a chance to feel the power of a marlin before it got away. We will be fishing with this excellent team on our next trip to Maui too. Worth every penny of the charter. Betty F.

I took my son with a couple of buddies fishing on Maui with Finest Kind Sport Fishing and had a great time catching fish all day! I would recommend them for a fishing trip anytime. Good captain and crew who worked hard for us all day.