Posted by RaiderKar on April 23, 2001 at 11:48:29:
In Reply to: Re: how to abalone dive and only bring up the BIG ONES posted by Curt Billings on April 22, 2001 at 22:32:37:
I dont dive at Anchor Bay myself. I leave that site for the beginners. It is perfect because that camp has everything in it, plus you can wade out into the water from your campsite and ab dive right from there. It also has advanced sites on the Ocean side of the islands. It is perfect for a group of SoCal "tourists" who want abs from NorCal. The trip would be loads of fun too.
I got two 8inch plus abs this past weekend for myself. One was 8.25" and the other was 8.5". Each one held about 3 pounds of ab meat. Only one person in our group got a 9 incher. It was about 9.5" and it was practically 7" wide too!
We all passed up a bunch of abs smaller than 7" so there are tons of abs out there. The legal limit now is 4 in possession and 100 per year for 2001. Next year the talk at the DFG is to reduce the authorized take to 3 abs in possession and 25 to 50 per year. There is no cause for concern, based on my own visual observations, but I can agree to the DFG's roll backs. Then there would be even more abalone available to everyone, and larger abs would be easier to find.
So now, Curt, give me your beginners bug site in SoCal, and we can meet after that sometime and trade better info together. Depending on how many bugs I get, I just might then give you the NorCal highway marker info!!! But that has to be earned, buddy!
Thanks.
/s/ RaiderKarl
PADI D/M