Larval settlement is shaped by the interaction of biological processes (e.g., life history strategies, behavior etc.) and the environment (e.g., temperature, currents etc.). This is particularly true for many reef fishes where larval stages disperse offshore, often spending weeks to months in the pelagic realm before settling to shallow-water reefs. However, there is much uncertainty in the prediction of reef fish settlement and subsequent recruitment and population dynamics. Here we develop and employ a high-resolution biophysical model to examine how biology interacts with the physical environment to shape settlement predictions for reef fish off West Hawai'i. We identify specific life history characteristics that predict the self-recruitment pathways necessary for population persistence for the relatively isolated Hawai'i Island. These results can be used to develop future hypotheses regarding temporal and spatial variation in recruitment for reef fishes in Hawai'i and beyond.