Saturday abalone diving sonoma county Updated version

 So I was going to blow the opening weekend of abalone off to bad weather. I mean it really did suck all week so no big deal BTDT. Tote calls last night at 5:30pm and says they are coming down to visit some friends at Pedottis ranch. I commit to coming out thinking "you dumb shit, you know it's going to be rough". I decide to make the best of it and if it turns out to be a meet and greet , thats cool too. Out the door at 5:45am. Hey ,no wind, nice stars.Well this is different. As I get closer to Bodega aka Blowdega , no wind. Over a road to hiway1, guess which one(from pic 1and2).  Damn nice as I get closer to the destination I realize that I forgot to take care of some business before I left. You know that thing that happens after some coffee and then some more coffee. I stop to see a sign warning me of danger ahead. On a scale of 1 to 10 , 10 being the most stimulating to the olfactory senses, I give this one a 8+. After that evrything seems much lighter and as I wind my way up 1 I am treated to some beautiful vistas. I see where Tote is staying and we mmet up. Check out Stillwater, no go too lumpy. Back to Reef. Oh my Reef the savior of dive spots. North end 15 to 20 ft deep. abalone 8-81/2. Nothing huge but hey, I didn't even think we were getting in the water. So everything is cool. We met Bloodbath( great name huh?) solsrfr1 and Lorenzo. The were telling us the day before was just smokin windy. They quizzed us as to the conditions and they were off to the dive site. I dropped Tote off and stopped at Jenner for the obligatory hot dog and headed home. Thanks Tote for coming down and getting me off my ass and out to the coast. here are some pics of the days events. Craig

Sounds good, Craig. Let's talk in the AM and hopefully we can meet somewhere up there.
Andrew

The forecast got friendly fast!  Just goes to show how it can change rapidly and you need to be a study of the forecasts and conditions.  Have fun, Guys.   

Glad you guys had a great day diving.  Thanks for the report and pictures Craig.

more shots

Beautiful! Thanks for the pics. 

Nice pictures Craig. Thanks for sharing.

Jedmo

I'll guess that you guys limited out??  I was actually at reef around 200pm.  I suited up in my waders and wetsuit top with splashguard over it and went out to the southside of the rocky area and did my first time rock pickin.  Yeah, rock pickin.  I picked quite a few rocks from underneath rocks.  I told some guy it was my first time and he was like, "yeah, looks like it"    He gave me some pointers and I just kept going for it.  Found a few nice abs that were clamped down in some tough to get to spots.  Also had my girlfriend there who after 2 hours got really bored and started throwing rocks at me to get my attention to go. 

We ended up camping at reef that night.  Super nice conditions out there.  I'm thinking next time I shore pick it will be a more isolated spot , and for the most part I need a suit.  Nice pics.  JTF

It was cool to meet you last week at San Quentin Flats. The last time I saw you , you were paddling hard towards deeper water. Try Horseshoe cove for rockpicking next time there is a super low tide. Someone I know picked a 9.5 inch abalone rockpicking for crying out loud. Thats a nice ab I don't care where you are.

Oh, one more thing, when I said I found some abs clenched to the rocks, that was all, I only found them, didn't pick them.  This is all new to me, the frustration of not getting any abs makes it more exciting to get out there again.  If anyone has extra dive stuff, I'm in the market.  I already purchase the iron, gauge and gamebag.  PM me though, dont threadjack please.

And also, the wind never came up yesterday afternoon.  It was nice all afternoon, the girlfriend and I cruised around checking out day use areas and hiking around.  Pretty nice. 

Some guy pulled a 9" only 50' from shore yesterday also, he was whooping it up.

Great hook up Craig. Thanks for making it out. You shoulda stayed tho.
Here's my version. 
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,17222.msg168890.html#msg168890