Diving with Daryl

[thecrab87]

The weather here has sucked lately. Other than January 1 and 2, it's
been nothing but gusty tradewinds and high surf on the north shore. I
did get over to Oahu for one of my daughter's gymnastics meets and
stayed an extra day to get some diving in. Daryl Wong was gracious
enough to take me and my friend Mike Belatti out on his boat, and he
put Mike onto a personal best 35 pound white ulua.

[thecrab87]

We had a great day, even if the conditions weren't the best, and it
was nice to finally meet everyone face to face. Here are Daryl, Pete
Wolfgramm, and Joe Strona with their catches.

[Nikki]

SWEET! I miss it there already :D Thanks for posting the report and pics!

[Ironhed]

I was talking to my cousin and he said he was buying a house out there and said I was free to use it whenever I really hope to meet and dive with daryl when I finally get out there.

[Bill McIntyre]

I talked to Daryl on the phone yesterday just as he was heading out with Sheri Daye and her sister at Kaneohe. He said that his 70-year-old buddy Pete Wolfgram had gone out the day before by himself in his little inflatable and shot a 40 pound ono.

It must be nice.

[Ironhed]

done

[rigdvr]

pete got the biggest ono of the group last year on that little inflatable...I'll never forget him making fun of me in that thick German accent, "Im old...whats your excuse?" or "You know Mike...spearfishing isnt for everyone." Pete could take it just as well as he could dish it out though:) My favorite Pete saying however came after we were all picking on him for shooting small fish(and thats really small by Hawaiian standards) and he replied..."Im going to die soon, I want to get as many as I can before then."

[Ironhed]

what kind of fish is joe holding? they look too pretty to eat.

[Bill McIntyre]

what kind of fish is joe holding? they look too pretty to eat.

I forget the Hawaiian name, but I thinks its one of the surgeon fish. See that white thing at the base of the tail. Its a scalpel.

Daryl is holding a tiger cowrie.

[Nikki]

I think Pete has the sturgeon-fish and Joe has a kumu ($ fish)..........but my Hawaiian fish species knowledge has a lot of holes :D

[Bill McIntyre]

I think Pete has the sturgeon-fish and Joe has a kumu ($ fish)..........but my Hawaiian fish species knowledge has a lot of holes :D

Oops, of course you are right. I didn't read the question carefully.

A kumu is known as a goatfish in the English-speaking world.:)

[Nikki]

It looks like a goatfish :)

Most of the fish in Hawaii look too pretty to eat though - but they taste good!

[Ironhed]

you say kumu $ fish. what kind of money are we talking about?

[thecrab87]

I talked to Daryl on the phone yesterday just as he was heading out with Sheri Daye and her sister at Kaneohe. He said that his 70-year-old buddy Pete Wolfgram had gone out the day before by himself in his little inflatable and shot a 40 pound ono.

It must be nice.

Pete's the MAN!!!!

[thecrab87]

Daryl is holding a prized tiger cowrie, Pete is holding a palani (surgeon fish), and Joe is holding a moano ukali (goatfish).

Goatfish are all highly prized as food fish in Hawaii and are usually prepared steamed. The must prized is kumu, but moano ukali and weke ula are up there. Munu are good too, followed by the regular moano and yellow weke. Of all the goats, moano ukali are by far the hardest to spear.

[Ironhed]

done

[PatMyGreen]

I look forward to trying my hand at those wily hawaiian fish sometime, by all accounts they are some of the hardest to spear in the world.

[thecrab87]

Back on topic, I look forward to trying my hand at those wily hawaiian fish sometime, by all accounts they are some of the hardest to spear in the world.

Having speared only in Hawaii and California, I can't really say. I will say that calico bass are no walk in the park.

However, I have taken a bunch of guys diving here that are from all over, and they usually express that the fish are spooky.

Oahu fish are the worst. They all have PhDs. On Maui, they just have Masters. :D

[bakayaro666]

This thread brings me to something I've been thinking a lot about lately. I've taken guys out here from the mainland and they've all said that shooting fish here on Maui is pretty friggin hard. I'm wondering what techniques you guys use to bring the fish in? I wonder if throwing sand and tapping rocks are universal fish callers....

BTW. Willie you've got da skills baby. I'm gonna steal some of your pics off of your webpage and claim thats me with the ulua...ha ha.

[mattymatt]

Daryl is holding a prized tiger cowrie, Pete is holding a palani (surgeon fish), and Joe is holding a moano ukali (goatfish).
.

Still confused, what is a tiger cowrie? Is that a shell?

[Bill McIntyre]

Yes, a cowrie is a shell. If I'm not mistaken, tiger cowries from Hawaii are the largest cowries in the world, although don't hold me to that since its been over 30 years since I was in to it. Tigers from other places in the Pacific where I have been diving are smaller, as are other species of cowrie. I recall Madagascar cowries in Hawaii were almost as big, but not quite.

They have a beautiful glossy finish as long as you catch them alive.

I'm ashamed to say that I have quite a few of them in boxes on shelves.

[Bill McIntyre]

Here is that ono that Daryl's friend Pete speared diving from his inflatable a couple of days ago.

Doesn't that piss you off?

[EL TIBURON]

nice gut shot

[Corpsman]

So, the shell is valuable?

[deepdestroyer]

Im heading on over there on march 11th. I was really hoping to get a ono but Daryl said they would be gone by then :mad: but I'm really excited just to dive with Daryl in clear blue water :D

[Bill McIntyre]

So, the shell is valuable?

I doubt it. Like everything else I'm sure they are harder to find after all these years, but I got a lot of them easily in 1961-63 when I was there.

[Aimrite]

Hey El Tiburon -That is a damn nice gut shot!

I dive with Pete every weekend and I can assure you I hassle him more than any diver on earth with maybe the exception of his best friend Bob Bachman.
Pete has shot just about everything that swims in the ocean long before most of us were even born! How old are you? 30?? shit his "Speedo" is older than that! :D He can dive a solid 90' and is constantly giving me shit because he has close to a 5:00 min static apnea and is almost 26 years older than me!!! That's right hot-shot, he is 71 years old this year so "you" might want to give this extraordinary senior spearo a little slack on the gut shot comment!!! We have a saying out here in Hawaii: "A dead fish in the cooler is a dead fish in the cooler" But quite possibly you would like to share with us a few of the many pictures of "ONOs" (Wahoo) that you have stoned? :lol: :D

Pete as much as you aggravate the hell out of Daryl and I (at times) we hope we are half as good as you when we are in our 70's. :thumps:

[Bill McIntyre]

Dammit Rick, I wish you would have left out Pete's numbers.

While he gives me hope that I will at least still be diving at his age, he also keeps me from effectively using age as an excuse.

[rigdvr]

Rick, when you goin under the knife?

DD, you will have a great time. One of my favorite trips of all time was last year with Pete and Daryl. Rick was off doing Command Master Chief stuff so I cant vouch for that guy... :D Didnt shoot any big fish by gulf standards, didnt really shoot alot either but the fish were extremely fun and challenging...even the chub are smart there! The water was like floating in air it was so clear. We did however, swim with a pod of pilot whales(within 2-3 ft of then) for almost 20 min or so, see 2 adult female humbacks with a calf between them( even though they were 60 feet or so below us, their size was unimaginable), swim with several pods of spiner dolphins...and best of all we got it all on video! Too many friendly turtles to count and just when I would get frustrated at my lack of hawaiian skills, a whale would call in the distance and all I could do was smile. Dont go for the spearing but go for the experience as a whole. Im trying to reschedule this years trip until after Rick heals :thumps:

Andy York was on the trip with me and he put some teaser clips together of some of the footage he got. Check it out at www.hypoxicimages.com Hes got alot of other cool stuff there but check out the hawaii movie to really get pumped about your trip. Thats me and Daryl with the pilots and you can see the humpbacks though its kinda hazy, one was rightside up, the other swam upside down with the calf between.

[EL TIBURON]

Point Taken Rick. I have never taken an ono before ...and to tell you the truth i really didnt even look at the guy holding the fish... i was looking at the fish! Most of the Ono ive seen in pics or on film have been gut shot i assume do to their high speed and allthough most probably lead the fish they still inevitably end up with a gut shot. Your buddy Petes Stats are pretty amazing...sounds like a hellofaguy.

[Bill McIntyre]

About gut shots- I have shot all of one ono in my entire life, but the experience sticks with me.

The fish was moving very slowly, barely moving, so there was no question of having to lead it a lot. I aimed right behind the gill plate, and then things happened so fast that I didn't even see the fish depart.

When I finally did get the fish back in sight, I was amazed to see that I had hit it maybe a third of its total length in front of the tail. I may be a lousy shot, but in this case I had plenty of time to aim and I don't think I'm quite that bad, so all I can conclude is that the fish jumped that far forward in the time that the shaft, driven by 4 5/8" bands, was in flight.

[Aimrite]

El Tiburon

No worries! Pete and I have a love hate relationship and therefore are constantly going at it. But at the same time he is like that brother you argue with and pick on but you don't want anyone else to do the same. ;)

Hey Andy

We scheduled the surgery date for after the Wedding. March 4th Angela and I fly down to Fiji to spearfish for 14 days!!! Oh yeah get married too :D Then we are flying over to Australia for a week with her family before flying back at the end of March my surgery date is scheduled for 10 Apr.

[rigdvr]

wrong one...its Mike:)

[Aimrite]

Ooops! :confused:

Sorry about that Mike but you should see what your buddy Andy is doing to my webpages! Pure genious man!! :thumps:

[rigdvr]

he sent me a little preview for some constructive feedback, looks good to me!

Enjoy the wedding and the trip. Good luck with the surgery and recover quick!

[thecrab87]

I doubt it. Like everything else I'm sure they are harder to find after all these years, but I got a lot of them easily in 1961-63 when I was there.

Actually, yes, they are quite valuable. Tiger cowries get to sizes in Hawaii found nowhere else. I've seen big ones (5" or bigger) go for $300 in specialty shell shops in San Fran, for example.

I have collection of them, that are all very special to me, that is displayed in my living room. There's just something about them that is neat... maybe it's that they're all different (different spot patterns, different background colors, different spine colors). They really are an awesome shell.

[thecrab87]

BTW. Willie you've got da skills baby. I'm gonna steal some of your pics off of your webpage and claim thats me with the ulua...ha ha.

LOL!

Nah, I'm not that good... just lucky and blessed.

[thecrab87]

Pete's ono shot:

I'll say that I wish I was shooting ono that size!

Seriously, the initial run on ono is so friggin' fast it makes your head spin. A lot of times, they tear a big hole even with a slip tip from that run. I'd suspect that's what happened with Pete's fish. It actually looks to me like a pretty decent shot, for an ono.

[Bill McIntyre]

Actually, yes, they are quite valuable. Tiger cowries get to sizes in Hawaii found nowhere else. I've seen big ones (5" or bigger) go for $300 in specialty shell shops in San Fran, for example.


Damn. I wonder how many I have packed in boxes in the garage.

[Bill McIntyre]

Daryl will probably kill me for this, but I can't sit on any longer. He should have known better than to send it to someone with no self control.

Which one is the crab?:)

[Spinal Tap]

:lol: :lol:

Bill, your next gun is going to look like a boomerang.

Oh wait, doesn't Daryl have one of your guns now? :lol:

Maybe Daryl will put a special name on the gun.

Daryl, if you read this, I suggest:

GOP Bill
I love "W"
Karl Rove

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[thecrab87]

Damn. I wonder how many I have packed in boxes in the garage.

Don't let Nancy know. Then you'll have no excuse for not cleaning out the garage! :)

I'll take a picture of my tiger cowrie collection when I get home and post it.

[Bill McIntyre]

:lol: :lol:

Oh wait, doesn't Daryl have one of your guns now? :lol:

Maybe Daryl will put a special name on the gun.

Daryl, if you read this, I suggest:

GOP Bill
I love "W"
Karl Rove

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Damn, I forgot that he has one of my guns.

Oh well, its too late to delete it now. I'm sure someone would rat me out anyway.

[thecrab87]

Bill, your next gun is going to look like a boomerang.

Oh wait, doesn't Daryl have one of your guns now?

Maybe Daryl will put a special name on the gun.

Daryl, if you read this, I suggest:

GOP Bill
I love "W"
Karl Rove


Oh man! That is funny!

Might I suggest "Screw the rules... Dubya in '08"

:D :D :D :D :D

[Spinal Tap]

Or just

"Neptune-Life Member"

[snowstopsspears]

:rofl: God, that's better than the Aristocrats. Two ROFLers in the same week. Who would've guessed?

[Platypus]

That sure was one hell of a grumpy crab! He had some nasty claws on him too! I think it is a "sponge crab"?

[Bill McIntyre]

I'll take a picture of my tiger cowrie collection when I get home and post it.

Well, you inspired me to take a photo of my own. I don't know how many are in boxes, but these two have been on the lower shelf of a glass-topped coffee table for many years. The tigers are in the background, and a Madascar and a mole cowrie (I think?) are in the foreground.

As I recall, the mole cowries were said to be thick as flies in other parts of the world such as Africa, but relatively hard to find in Hawaii. In any event, I belonged to the Pearl Divers club down at SubBase, Pearl Harbor, and this shell won me their quarterly shell contest. The prize was a nice carved wood replica of it.

Of course this was all in 1962 or 1963, so its all kind of fuzzy.

[Bill McIntyre]

That sure was one hell of a grumpy crab! He had some nasty claws on him too! I think it is a "sponge crab"?

I knew it. Its too late to delete my posts now- Angela would rat me out anyway.:)

[thecrab87]

The one on the upper left looks like a nice one, Bill.

The critical thing is to take good care of them so that the sheen is perfect. The shell should be shiny!

A 5" tiger cowrie is not that easy to find. I only have one (a really rare dark purple one), but I have a bunch of 4" shells.

[thecrab87]

I think it is a "sponge crab"?

Yup, that'd be my guess.

[Bill McIntyre]

Those two are about 4.5 inches. I suspect that if I had a 5 incher, it would be out on display.

Now that you remind me, its neat how the colors can vary so much. I found one more under the stuff on the coffee table and put it next to one shown in the earlier photo, and you can see a lot of difference.

[Bill McIntyre]

About that "mole cowrie." I found another one just like it on the table, so maybe that is another kind altogether, and the real mole is in a box. Its been too long.

I used to have a good shell book, if only I could find it.

[Bill McIntyre]

Correction on my cowrie ID. Those mole cowries were common. Now I have to remember what that other one that won me the contest was called, and where it is.

[Bill McIntyre]

I can't imagine that everyone has been waiting with bated breath for this info, but I finally found my book on Pacific Sea Shells, by Tinker. I'm not curious enough to unpack all the boxes of shells in the garage to make certain, but I'm pretty sure that the cowrie that won me the shell contest was the Chinese Cowrie, Cyprea chinensis.

Does anyone from Hawaii happen to know whether these things are relatively hard to come by there, or are they a dime a dozen now?

Also, FWIW, the one in the previous photo that I called a Madagascar cowrie is really a Mauritius cowrie. I also have some Madascars, but they are very different. Both species were very common when I was there.