| 62 | Aia ko kāne i ka lawaiʻa, hoʻi mai he ʻōpeʻa ka iʻa. | Your husband has gone fishing and returns with bats for meat. |
| | [This saying comes from a children’s chant of amusement for coaxing a sea animal to crawl from its shell.] |
| 605 | He iʻa kokoke kā ka lawaiʻa. | A fisherman always finds fish nearby. |
| | [Said of one who can get what he wants because he is smart.] |
| 724 | He lawaiʻa Kaukini na ke kia manu. | Kaukini is a fishing place for the birdcatchers. |
| | [Kaukini at Waipiʻo, Hawaiʻi, was a place where in ancient times bird-catchers caught birds in nets. This was called lawaiʻa manu (bird-fishing).] |
| 725 | He lawaiʻa no ke kai pāpaʻu, he pōkole ke aho; he lawaiʻa no ke kai hohonu he loa ke aho. | A fisherman of the shallow sea uses only a short line; a fisherman of the deep sea has a long line. |
| | [A person whose knowledge is shallow does not have much, but he whose knowledge is great, does.] |
| 726 | He lawaiʻa no ke kai pāpaʻu, he poʻopaʻa ka iʻa e loaʻa. | A fisherman in the shallow sea can only catch poʻopaʻa. |
| | [An untrained, unskilled person is limited in what he can do.] |
| 727 | He lawaiʻa paoa. | A luckless fisherman. |
| | [Said of one who is unlucky in fishing or in gaining the attention of a desired member of the opposite sex.] |
| 835 | He nanea nō ka lawaiʻa kole. | It is interesting to fish for kole. |
| | [It is interesting to gather and tell stories. The English word “story” was Hawaiianized to kole, which is also the name of a thick-skinned fish.] |
| 900 | He poʻe ʻuʻu maunu palu ʻalaʻala na kekahi poʻe lawaiʻa. | Those who draw out the liver of the octopus, to prepare bait for fishermen. |
| | [Said of those who do the dirty work by which others reap the benefit.] |
| 942 | He ua heʻe nehu no ka lawaiʻa. | It is rain that brings nehu for the fishermen. |
| | [Refers to the rain that precedes the run of nehu fish.] |
| 1047 | Hōkai ua lawaiʻa makapaʻa. | A one-eyed fsherman spoils the luck. |
| | [To meet a one-eyed man on the way is a sign of bad luck; to fish with him is worse still.] |
| 1048 | Hōkai ua lawaiʻa o ke kai pāpaʻu, he poʻopaʻa ka iʻa e hoʻi ai. | A fisherman who fools around in shallow water takes home poʻopaʻa fsh. |
| | [The poʻopaʻa (hard-headed) fish is easily caught with hook and line.] |
| 1108 | Hoʻopau kaʻā, he lawaiʻa paoa; hoʻānuānu ʻili o ka hele maunu. | An unlucky fisherman wastes time in wetting his line; he merely gets his skin cold in seeking bait. |
| | [Said of an unlucky person who, in spite of every effort, gets nothing.] |
| 1130 | Huikau nā makau a ka lawaiʻa i Wailua, lou mai ʻo Kawelowai iā Waiehu. | The fishhooks of the fishers became entangled at Wailua and caught Kawelowai at Waiehu. |
| | [An entangling love affair. The first line of a chant.] |
| 1138 | Huli ka malau, ka ʻiako a ka lawaiʻa. | The malau that serves as an outrigger of the canoe is turned over. |
| | [Work is done. The malau is a live-bait carrier attached to the canoe. When the fishing was done the empty malau was tumed over. First used by Hiʻiaka in a chant when she saw two shark men flee at the sight of her, though she intended no harm.] |
| 1152 | I haʻaheo nō ka lawaiʻa i ka lako i ka ʻupena. | The fisherman may well be proud when well supplied with nets. |
| | [Good tools help the worker to succeed.] |
| 1184 | I ka moana nō ka iʻa, liuliu ʻia nā pono lawaiʻa. | While the fish is still in the sea, get your gear ready. |
| | [Be prepared.] |
| 1202 | I ke alo nō o ka lawaiʻa lā a pūkē hewa nā leho, haki wale nā kākala. | It was right in front of the fishermen that the cowry shells came together violently and the spikes broke off. |
| | [In spite of watchfulness, trouble occurs. The leho is a cowry-shell octopus lure fashioned with a spike on it.] |
| 1239 | ʻInā he moe maiʻa makehewa ka hele i ka lawaiʻa. | If one dreams of bananas it is useless to go fishing. |
| 1436 | Ka lawaiʻa nui i ʻeaʻea nā kuʻemaka, i ʻehuʻehu nā lihilihi. | The great fisherman whose brows are salt-encrusted and whose lashes are reddened [by the sun]. |
| | [Said in admiration of an experienced fisherman who has spent many a day at his trade.] |
| 1964 | Leʻa kaena a ka lawaiʻa, ua mālie. | The fisherman enjoys bragging when the weather is calm. |
| | [A person who enjoys peace and comfort can very well boast of his luck.] |
| 1966 | Leʻa kūlou a ka lawaiʻa, ua mālie. | The fisherman enjoys bending over in his work when all is calm. |
| | [When the sea is calm and no gales blow, the fisherman can enjoy fishing.] |
| 2022 | Lonalona ka moana i ka ʻauwaʻa lawaiʻa. | The ocean is thickly dotted with fishing canoes. |
| | [Said when a large number of people are spread over a wide area for work or fun, like a very large picnic group.] |
| 2328 | Noho nō ke kanaka a ka lā mālie, kau ka ipu hōkeo a ka lawaiʻa, nānā ana i ka ʻōpua. | A person waits for a clear day, sets up the gourd that holds the fishermans paraphernalia, and observes the clouds. |
| | [To a fisherman, a clear day, his tools, and the signs and omens seen in the clouds are important.] |
| 2400 | ʻO Kāʻelo ka malama, pulu ke aho a ka lawaiʻa. | Kāʻelo is the month when the fisherman’s lines are wet. |
| | [Kāʻelo was a good time to do deep-sea fishing.] |
| 2403 | ʻO ka hana ia a ka lawaiʻa iwi paoa, iho nō ka makau, piʻi nō ka iʻa. | That is the way of a fisherman with lucky bones — down goes his hook, up comes a fish. |
| | [Said of a lucky person. It was believed that certain people’s bones brought them luck in fishing. When they died their bones were sought for the making of fishhooks.] |
| 2443 | ʻO Kaulua ka malama, ʻolo ka ʻōpū mālolo a ka lawaiʻa. | Kaulua is the month when the bag nets of the fishermen sag with flying fish. |
| 2490 | ʻOla nō ka lawaiʻa i kahi poʻo maunu. | A fisherman can subsist on his left-over bait. |
| | [Bait made from octopus heart was carefully prepared and kept in a clean container. When a fisherman had no luck in fishing, the bait was eaten with poi.] |
| 2493 | ʻŌlapa ka hoe a ka lawaiʻa, he ʻino. | Diffcult to handle is the paddle of the fisherman in a storm. |
| | [Said of one struggling against a difficult situation. First uttered by Pele in a chant about the winds of Kauaʻi.] |
| 2598 | Paoa ka lawaiʻa i ka ʻōlelo ʻia o ka ʻawa. | Unlucky is fishing when ʻawa is discussed. |
| | [ʻAwa (kava) also means “bitterness.”] |
| 2704 | Pua lehua i ka lawaiʻa. | A lehua blossom in fishing. |
| | [An expert in catching fish.] |
| 2723 | Puʻipuʻi a ka lawaiʻa. | Stout fishing lad. |
| | [Said of an energetic fisherman. ʻUmi was so called because of his skill in fishing.] |
| 2724 | Pūʻiwa i ka lāʻau pākuʻikuʻi a ka lawaiʻa. | Frightened by the splashing stick of the fisherman. |
| | [Said of those who are suddenly frightened and flee in panic, like fish driven into the net by the stick that beats the water.] |