Searching for giant abs

Thanks DaveW and Spinal tap. If its all the same, then we're just talking about trophy hunting, taking the oldest and largest out of the gene pool, right?

Since I've never gotten a 10", I claim to be a "consumptive conservationist" and only selectively take abs < 10" 

Well, at least that's my story.....

Stuart

Thanks DaveW and Spinal tap. If its all the same, then we're just talking about trophy hunting, taking the oldest and largest out of the gene pool, right?

Since I've never gotten a 10", I claim to be a "consumptive conservationist" and only selectively take abs < 10" 

Well, at least that's my story.....

Stuart

I'm after "meat yield" myself.  I look at the size of the shell, but also the depth of the meat. 

Does a 10" ab taste better than an 8" ab?   

Stuart

I may be thrown off the stage here for suggesting this, but the more I eat abalone, the less impressed I am with it.  I'd much rather eat fish.  Personally, I think abalone gets a lot of hype only because it's relatively rare.  You can't buy it.

I'd much rather eat a nice Vermilion rockfish.

Fried ab is overated, I used to cook em up like that all the time....that got old quick so I started experimenting.  I pound em lightly so they'll still come out chewy and boil em so I can toss em in a cocktail.  I could eat it like that everyday.   

Does a 10" ab taste better than an 8" ab?   

Stuart

I may be thrown off the stage here for suggesting this, but the more I eat abalone, the less impressed I am with it.  I'd much rather eat fish.  Personally, I think abalone gets a lot of hype only because it's relatively rare.  You can't buy it.

I'd much rather eat a nice Vermilion rockfish.

Fried ab is overated, I used to cook em up like that all the time....that got old quick so I started experimenting.  I pound em lightly so they'll still come out chewy and boil em so I can toss em in a cocktail.  I could eat it like that everyday.   

I have to agree with Art....plain fried abalone is nothing special to my taste buds. Now Squidman and friend cooked up some bacon wrapped ab at Caspar last year that was to die for!. Can we start talking about how to cook up my meaty 8.5s now?

-Brian G

I like fried fish much more than ab, but my wife and kids like the ab better...  And 10" abs taste the same as the smaller ones for the most part, but you usually get much more meat from one animal.

videos like abking puts up are the best thing since cheese and it's not likely any lazy-ass hillbilly fisherman will put in the effort to get to those spots

On the other hand a little mystery never hurt a good story 

Thank you, bluekayak, for a very kind rebuttal to an earlier comment in this thread that has had me feeling like shit for 3 days.  It's nice to feel like someone's got my back.

There's so much here about the problems of special spots being "ruined"...  We're just delaying the inevitable (Newsflash - People are Ruining the World and it's not Slowing Down!!!), so maybe you should figure out just what your'e getting out of your "special spot", and then you can decide how your life and the lives of people you love can be enriched while the inevitable happens.  I'm not saying that giving anything away for free is smart.  For me, having a goal of meeting people who are cool enough to share your best spots with is a worthwhile pursuit.  I'll keep doing it.

Comments from bluekayak in the past led me to change to a more general description of my destinations:

We've got multiple stories going on here:  On the ab tasting thing, I just ate ten incher last weekend and it tasted the same as a healthy 7 incher, just more.

The thing I've noticed about taste is the correlation with the grey meat ones you get.  The greys are funky.  I usually find those in habitat dominated by coralina, that pink calcium carbonate algae that sometimes covers the bottom to the exclusion of other kelps and seaweeds.  I'm not sure if it has to do with what they eat or that they're not too healthy living in those conditions.  When you see them in coralina, they are never robust looking.  I usually go somewhere else if I can when I see that.

Our favoriate from the sea is fresh dungie crabs. Then comes abs in stir fry and a white fat free abalone chowder.
Fried in butter dipped in egg and ground ritz crackers is great but only once in while, wife is very much into fat free healthy eating. Abs pretty pick up whatever fats are used in cooking, so butter or bacon really makes a delious dish.
Fish are all done by dipping in eg white coating in ground corn flakes baking and then mixed into a sweet and sour fish dish.

This thread is really evolving...I did breaded and fried ab last night, and I have some more to finish cooking tonight. It's good but it can get old fast. I still swear by my mushroom gravy recipe posted under "Recipes."

That said, I'm getting a little tired of ab lately, so I need to slow down. A king salmon steak or a halibut fillet are two of the greatest gifts from the sea, and I would take one of those over an ab if given the choice. One of the big reasons I continue to ab dive is I love the North Coast and bringing a few meals back to share with friends and family is well worth it.

Favorite Ab Recipe:  Fresh, raw, sliced thin, but not too thin with lots of wasabi, rice vinegar and soy sauce.   You can really taste the kind of nutty flavor that way, and they have a crunchiness I like.

Abking:  I think we're all on the same page here.  Decisions in the fast-track internet age are difficult.  I think your videos completely stay the right course between giving away too much and keeping us stoked.  I vote to continue.

Dave

Ab casserole.   Ab/ Monterey jack / roasted green chile .  350 degrees 1 hour.  Choose the dish so its at least 2" deep. 

 I'd be happy to show someone the bare spots where I've taken 10"ers.  You'd have to kill me to find where I got the 11".  DcBatt

Abking:  I think we're all on the same page here.  Decisions in the fast-track internet age are difficult.  I think your videos completely stay the right course between giving away too much and keeping us stoked.  I vote to continue.

Dave

Thanks, Dave, that means alot to me. 

I've met up with Dave at the Cove and the Cape, multiple times.  He came up and fished and dove with me a few years ago at my best spot.  I trust Dave implicitly.  End of story...

 

People are Ruining the World and it's not Slowing Down!!! I do not agree with this IMO. Moreover lighten up dude. No one wins these internet wars. I for one enjoy your posts. I am sorry you are bummed out about this thread. I am bummed out over the new disclaimer after your forum handle. Abking is a good handle and the "king of nothing" takes away from the goodness IMHO and yes my handle "redyak" sucks. Half baked-working on-fully baked-& CU on the O2. jim

Hey Abking please leave your avatar like it was.  I don't post nearly as much as I should but I've really enjoyed reading all your post and watching your videos.  Life's to short to argue with people, or to let things people post bother you.  I've noticed their seems to be a few people on this forum with to much time and to many opinions.  I've noticed you always have kind words for others and often leave nice simple compliments on peoples threads.     

This thread is really evolving...I did breaded and fried ab last night, and I have some more to finish cooking tonight. It's good but it can get old fast. I still swear by my mushroom gravy recipe posted under "Recipes."

That said, I'm getting a little tired of ab lately, so I need to slow down. A king salmon steak or a halibut fillet are two of the greatest gifts from the sea, and I would take one of those over an ab if given the choice. One of the big reasons I continue to ab dive is I love the North Coast and bringing a few meals back to share with friends and family is well worth it.

I am going to try your recpie this week. Sounds great!

Yes, I get too wrapped up in it, but I changed my avatar a long time ago.  "King of nothing" is my attempt to show that I didn't adopt the handle "Abking" due to any notion of being the king of ab-diving.  I'm wanting "Abking" to be representative of my view on the environment - conservative harvest and deep appreciation.

So, Jim, I'm sorry for the Chicken Little act, but the whole overpopulation issue along with the rapidly expanding side effects like global warming, acidic oceans, species loss...etc. seem to be the biggest elephant the room has ever (not) seen!  I don't want to beat this horse any deader, but consider this:  as a kid learning about the animals of the African plain (elephant, lion, rhino...etc.) did you ever think you'd learn later in life that we've just about did them in?  I didn't...  We accept the bad changes too readily, IMO.

I got a conciliatory PM from Ravensblack, and, because I'm such the macho-insecure type, I feel better.   

Andy - thank you.  I figure people must notice my constant niceties on others' fishing reports, and it likely comes off as needlessly over the top.  The truth of that is I want to hear nice things about my posts, and I think it would be really selfish of me to want that without offering it too.

Thanks for the kindness - it's all I'm really after.