The weather in Hawaii had been windy, rainy and just not the greatest for spearfishing. High winds can cause swells that could prohibit you from seeing your dive partner and potential surface currents. Rainy weather could lead to run off streams into the ocean which will create murky water that sharks enjoy hunting in. Now I understand, sometimes you only have that one day to get in because of life priorities and I'm guilty of it too, but I just wanted to share a few websites I use and monitor DAILY before the day of the dive. Weather conditions constantly change so you want to monitor the forecast daily before your trip and change plans according to conditons.
First I check the winds. A lot of you may know or use the app Windy which gives a animated representation of windy speed and wind direction.
You can click any location that you're planning to dive and they'll give you an estimated wind speed and direction of the wind. At the bottom you can click the days of the week to see the best days to go. The calmer the better.
Next, I check the surf conditions at Surf News Network.
At Surf News Network they also give you a forecast of the wind but most importantly the surf report. I grew up surfing and always used them to check surf forecast. They are locally made for Hawaiian waters and pretty accurate. Surf plays a big factor in the safety of your dive spot. Surf creates currents, undertows and plays a big factor with surge underwater. Certain places though, even when there is surf it doesn't affect it as much as somewhere that has a surf break that regular surfers go to, but if you decide to plan your dive there, be sure to walk out to the water first to watch the conditions before deciding to suit up. DO NOT underestimate waves and surf from shore. I paddled out on my kayak through surf but on the way in... I flipped and tumbled and lost a lot of dive gear.
Last website I check is Tides4Fishing.
Surf news network also shows the tides but Tides4Fishing gives a lot of detailed information that you can absorb and create your own notes off of. They give you times on sunrise, sunset, moon rise, moon set, high tide and low tide in various locations. It also gives you a general fish activity reading but take that with a grain of salt. Just because it says going have action or be slow, it shouldn't keep your hopes high or alter your decision whether to go or not. Chance em, take notes on how the day went because you never know till you go!
Overall, proper research will help you plan better and hopefully help you produce more. Always remember the most important part of spearfishing is safety. Safety of you and your partners. If you arrive in the morning and conditions don't look or feel right the move. No fish is worth your life and the ocean will always be there for another day of diving. I hope this information was helpful and if you have any other tips drop in the comments below.