Nervous Water Fly Fishers: Hawaii Fly Fishing Since 1999
Nervous Water closed its doors on December 30 after 24 years. Thank you for all your support!
Nervous Water Fly Fishers was Hawaii's first fly shop. Clay Yee opened the shop in Kaimuki, Honolulu in October 1999, at a time when you could count the fly fishers in Hawaii on your fingers. For 24 years, the shop sold tackle and tying materials, tied local flies, guided anglers on Oahu's flats and sent groups to Christmas Island. The shop is now closed, but this site keeps the knowledge the crew built up over those years, so anyone who wants to fly fish in Hawaii can still use it.
Fly fishing in Hawaii: where to start
Hawaii has both saltwater and freshwater fly fishing. Most visiting anglers come for bonefish (ʻōʻio) on the shallow flats and reefs of Oahu. The islands also have several kinds of trevally (papio and ulua), barracuda and ladyfish. In freshwater, you can catch peacock bass, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass in reservoirs such as Lake Wilson in Wahiawā. Our Hawaii fly fishing guide covers species, seasons, tackle, rules and licenses in one place.
Hawaii fishing is not easy. The tradewinds blow most days, fish on Oahu's flats are few and wary, and cloud cover can make sight fishing hard. The reward is a big, smart bonefish in clear tropical water, often within sight of Honolulu. If you are planning a trip, start with these pages:
Hawaii fly fishing through the year
There is no closed season for bonefish in Hawaii, but conditions change a lot during the year. From late spring through summer, the tradewinds are steady, days are sunny and warm water brings more fish onto the flats. This is the most reliable time for sight fishing, and papio are active along the reef edges. In autumn the water starts to cool and small fish thin out, but big bonefish keep feeding, so many experienced anglers call it trophy season. Winter brings cool water, clouds and storms. Fishing is at its hardest then, but a sunny day between fronts can still produce the fish of a lifetime.
Christmas Island trips
For many Hawaii anglers, the next step after Oahu is Christmas Island (Kiritimati) in the Republic of Kiribati. It has huge sand flats, lots of bonefish and plenty of giant trevally, and it is a short flight south of Honolulu. For years, Nervous Water was Hawaii's booking agent for the Villages lodge and took customer groups there. Read our Christmas Island fly fishing guide for travel, gear and fly advice, and see 5 Essential Flies for Christmas Island and Preparing for Christmas before you pack.
Hawaii flies and fly tying
"What fly?" is the question the shop heard most. The Hawaii Fly Page has recipes and tying steps for patterns made or improved for Hawaii's reefs, including the Fuzzy Hand, the Reef Special, the Jiggy Bone Bug and Dean Shirota's Nutria Fly. Most Hawaii bonefish flies are small, lightly weighted and in sand, tan or olive colors so they land softly over shallow reef flats.
The NWFF blog
From 2009 to 2022, Clay, Sean and friends of the shop wrote fishing reports for the NWFF blog. It covers winter bonefish, summer papio on poppers, fiberglass rods, spey casting on the flats, steelhead trips to Oregon and many days on Lake Wilson. You can browse the older reports in Clay's blog archives or read the later posts, such as A Fish Story and What's the Big Difference?.
About the shop
Nervous Water started as a tiny shop behind a Chinese restaurant at 3434 Waialae Avenue and later moved to a larger space on Center Street. Along the way it carried fly fishing brands such as Sage, G. Loomis, Simms, Abel and Tibor, and had one of the biggest selections of tying materials in the Pacific. You can read more on the About Us and Shop Information pages, and see the photo gallery of happy customers and their fish.
Before you fish in Hawaii
- Since May 2, 2024, non-residents aged 15 and over need a Nonresident Recreational Marine Fishing License to fish in the ocean. It costs $20 for one day, $40 for seven days or $70 for a year.
- Bonefish must be at least 14 inches long to keep, and papio/ulua at least 10 inches. Most fly anglers release their bonefish anyway.
- You need a Hawaii Freshwater Game Fishing License to fish for freshwater game fish, and bass and peacock bass at Lake Wilson are catch and release only.
- Rules change, so always check the latest Hawaii fishing regulations from the Division of Aquatic Resources before you go.
Mahalo for visiting, and tight lines!
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