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Home › Waters › Hawaii › Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir
Tailwater · Honolulu County, the reach below Wahiawa Reservoir on the central plateau of Oahu, draining northwest toward Kaiaka Bay · Hawaii

Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir Fishing Guides

The tailwater below Wahiawa Reservoir on central Oahu, gauged for discharge and stage, below the best known freshwater fishery in the Hawaiian islands.

A concrete dam releasing water into the river below it
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir

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About the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir

Kaukonahua Stream drains the central plateau of Oahu, gathering water from the windward slopes of the Koolau range and the eastern flank of the Waianae range, and it is dammed at Wahiawa to form Lake Wilson, usually called Wahiawa Reservoir. This gauge sits on the stream below the dam. Hawaii has very little freshwater angling by mainland standards, so a gauged tailwater below the one reservoir in the state with an established public freshwater fishery is a genuinely unusual entry in a directory like this.

The hydrology is unlike anything on the mainland. The stream is fed by orographic rainfall that can be extraordinarily intense and extraordinarily local, so flows below the dam respond in minutes rather than hours, and the same catchment can be in flood on one side and dry on the other. The gauge reports discharge and stage, and both are worth watching closely, because a stream of this character is genuinely dangerous in spate and flash flooding is the main hazard in Hawaiian stream valleys. Several water quality sensors are installed at the site but are not currently returning values.

The reservoir above is the destination rather than the tailwater itself. Lake Wilson holds largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, tilapia and carp, and it is the focus of what organised freshwater fishing exists on Oahu, with a public access area and a permit system administered by the state. Peacock bass, introduced decades ago and locally the best known sport fish in the lake, are present in numbers as well. The stream below runs through a steep and largely inaccessible valley toward Kaiaka Bay, where striped mullet and estuarine species appear near the mouth. Check state rules carefully, because Hawaii regulates freshwater fishing quite differently from any mainland state.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir cfs

Now: 32.4 cfs, read 4:55 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 16210200, Kaukonahua Stream blw Wahiawa Reservoir, Oahu, HI).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Wahiawa - the town at the reservoir, with services, fuel, lodging and the gauge reference point.
Wahiawa Public Fishing Area - the state managed access on Lake Wilson, the main freshwater fishery on Oahu.
Lake Wilson - the reservoir above the dam, with a launch and shoreline fishing.
Haleiwa - on the north shore downstream, with harbour access, charters and full services.
Kaiaka Bay - the receiving bay at the stream mouth, with shoreline and estuary fishing.
Honolulu - forty minutes south, with the international airport and all outfitting.
Waialua - near the coast below, with local access and basic supplies.

Seasons

Spring: mild and generally settled, with good bass fishing on the reservoir as water temperatures rise.
Summer: warm and drier, the most reliable conditions of the year and the easiest stream access.
Fall: warm with rain increasing, and strong reservoir fishing before the wet season sets in.
Winter: the wet season, with heavy rain, frequent high flows and real flash flood risk in the valley.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir?

As of Oct 18, 4:55 pm, the USGS gauge Kaukonahua Stream blw Wahiawa Reservoir, Oahu, HI reads 32 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir?

Anglers target Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Largemouth Bass, Striped Mullet, Tilapia on the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir in Hawaii.

Where can you access the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir?

Wahiawa - the town at the reservoir, with services, fuel, lodging and the gauge reference point. Wahiawa Public Fishing Area - the state managed access on Lake Wilson, the main freshwater fishery on Oahu. Lake Wilson - the reservoir above the dam, with a launch and shoreline fishing. Haleiwa - on the north shore downstream, with harbour access, charters and full services. Kaiaka Bay - the receiving bay at the stream mouth, with shoreline and estuary fishing. Honolulu - forty minutes south, with the international airport and all outfitting. Waialua - near the coast below, with local access and...

When is the best time to fish the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir?

Spring: mild and generally settled, with good bass fishing on the reservoir as water temperatures rise. Summer: warm and drier, the most reliable conditions of the year and the easiest stream access. Fall: warm with rain increasing, and strong reservoir fishing before the wet season sets in. Winter: the wet season, with heavy rain, frequent high flows and real flash flood risk in the valley.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Kaukonahua Stream below Wahiawa Reservoir?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Hawaii agency site: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/fishing/fishing-regulations/