good news and bad news

[Daryl Wong]

Aloha DB,


The weather was shitty, but better than staying home. No onos. The good
news is I got a nice ulua, the bad news is I may have a fractured wrist.
Sunday morning when I was taking the ratchet off the winch to unhook the
boat, the ratchet snapped and the handle whipped around and hit my chest
and then my right hand right on top in front of the wrist joint. My hand
was numb for a while and I got a big bruise on my chest.
It seemed ok during the day, but hard to load the gun. Then when we got
back it really stiffened up and now I'm typing with one hand. Good thing
I'm left handed. The wrist is swollen now and hurts like hell. Motrin
800 helped and today it felt better. I called a friend and he said not
much can be done so to go easy on it. If it doesn't get better I have to
get it xrayed.
We also checked an ulua house and Joe shot a huge one about 60 plus lbs.
The sliptip didn't toggle and all he ended up with was a bent shaft.
Later we went to another hole called the deep hole and there were a
school of bluefin trevallies all about 10-15 lbs. But two fish were
bigger and one much bigger than the other. The larger one left before we
could finish breathing up so I just dive bombed the hole before the
other one could leave. I saw it just as it came out from the archway and
shot it behind the head. The tip toggled on the other side of its belly
and it went nuts. It wasn't a kill shot so the cable ripped the side
open and I barely got it to the surface where my dive buddy Little David
put the kill shot into its head. As long as I can load a gun, I'll be
out next weekend.

Aloha, Daryl
left handed in Hawaii.

[Whopperhead]

Those are nice fish Daryl! I hope you recover fast! Those must be some powerful fish to bend that shaft like that!!

[Pastor]

What are we going to do with you man! Those winches do fly when they get the chance, let's hope that it's only a severe bruise or a sprain.

[ILDiver]

yeeeeowwwch....Hope you recover quick. Make your dive buddy cock the gun for you! Nice fish (as usual).

[Daryl Wong]

Aloha Aloha all,

The hand is much better. I can at least close it today. Yesterday I couldn't grab anything with it. Barely could hold a mirror at work.
Funny you should mention having my buddy load the gun for me. Little David in the picture took his brand new gun out one day and was partnered with me. The boat driver was just outside of us and was to come in after 45 minutes to pick us up. We had just gotten in when he came up to me and said he couldn't load his gun. This was back in the day before my friend Sheri Daye came up with the loading tab idea. So for 45 minutes we dove together and I would load his gun for him. The only problem was he misses a lot! Sometimes before I could go down, he'd take a shot and miss, so I would reload and then while resting, he'd dive again and shoot a fish. So for about every five times I loaded his gun, I would only shoot mine once. I finally got wise and said we would hang up one gun and share mine! It turned out to be a blast! He would make every shot count and we ended up shooting more fish that way. The only problem was he only had that one set of bands and couldn't load any of our spare bands for his gun. So for a whole day trip we paired up and I loaded bands for him. To say I was sore and tired the next day was an understatement. I mentioned the loading bands for me Sunday and he said we should be even since he helped me bring in the big Ulua. He's right, I may have lost the fish so I'll hope my wrist is better by Sunday. I can always use longer bands and add a third one if needed.
Those Ulua are one of the strongest fish I have ever speared compared to many of the fish I have taken on other dive trips. They use their flat broad sides to give resistance and they love to go back into and under ledges to escape. I mostly use 600lb ss wire when I check the Ulua houses. I've had 480 lb cable snap too many times. Same with tips. They can break a barbed shaft like it was glass. The barb and rivet hole at the tip are the main weak points on the shaft.


Aloha,Daryl

[ILDiver]

Need a hook on the muzzle to load it like a crossbow! Glad to hear the hand is better. Sounds like you'll be back in action by the weekend. I'm envious of you! Great conditions behind you from what I can see. Whopperhead, his brother and I were out last Sat, the water was fairly warm at 37 degrees. And the fish are not nearly as worth while as what you have.

Nice to hear the stories! Good luck this weekend!

[bgill]

Originally Posted by Daryl Wong

I've had 480 lb cable snap too many times. Same with tips. They can break a barbed shaft like it was glass. The barb and rivet hole at the tip are the main weak points on the shaft.

All I can say is "Holy Shit Man!"

[Daryl Wong]

Il Diver,



Glad to hear you were able to get out even if it was cold. Its nice too get out and shoot some big fish, but I think we all have the same common passion. We love the hunt! I get off diving different locations around the world to be able to hunt different types of fish. I learn more about my hunting abilities every time I go somewhere new. Its neat to see if what works for me at home works elsewhere and what I learn on trips, works here in Hawaii. Some of the hardest fish I have ever tried to hunt were less than a few pounds and I was more proud of getting them than my biggest tuna! The best part of diving is getting to eat the fish! I love seafood and fish.
The other thing about diving is the chance to meet and make new friends. My dream is to one day dive around the world year round and meet all the divers who have my spearguns. At this years Blue wild dive expo in Florida, I met over 60 divers who attended to say hi and experience the largest dive expo in the for freedivers.
Next year it will be in February and it will have a more international flavor with possible guests, Rob Torrelli, Umberto Pellazari, Kirk Krack and Mandy Crushank,along with a few former world spearfishing champions interested in attending.
I hope to one day meet most of you... Marwan, Seif, Pastor, Old Sarge, Il Diver,Bgill and all the rest.

Aloha,Daryl





Aloha,Daryl

[ILDiver]

I hope to get my first experience Ocean Hunting in about 2 weeks. I've been reading on here hoping to have a sliver of knowledge to take with me

Thanks for sharing your stories Daryl, it is great to have the knowledge and reputation you bring to the board. Along with a lot of the other great people on the board.