Abalone for bait?

The guts come out of the shell separately from the ab meat, so I guess I could just leave them in the tagged shell and take them to beach like that...  Time for a bigger freezer.   

....I'd say if you're using them anywhere down in that zone its a guilty until proven innocent scenario...and if thats the case you're getting arrested and driven to morro for detainment.  It ain't a ticket.

Monterey Co Jail is...in...Salinas....

monterrey or thereabouts....we may have been outside of the moco line 


 

I knew this guy once, who was headed fishing at the Marin Headlands. Being lazy and cheap, he grabbed a couple slices of frozen abalone from the freezer. He set up fishing near an old and weathered Chineese guy, and proceded to catch two nice cabs. The chineese gent asks, "What are you using for bait? Ahhh... abalone? The cabs love abalone."

So the guy I knew, we'll call him pre-fishwrapper for short, the next time he cleans abs he saves the black trimmings... the mantle I guess. He takes these to the beach, and soaks them next to the old and weathered Chinese guy. "Huh, abalone's not working today", comments Pre. And like  Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid, the old guy says matter of factly, "You're using the outside. No good. Last time you used inside. It gotta be the inside."

 

The mantle is the part that attaches to the inside of the shell. If they ticket for that in Nor-Cal they are getting desperate.

I like to put the guts and hook in one of those little sand bags so as to keep them from seperating.

If you layer the guts in a can with rock salt it will toughen them up so they will stay on hook.
Best Cab bait that I know of.

yes

I thought you were just supposed to leave the guts out under the trees , so your dog can roll in it a week later ........by the way dog shampoo does not get rid of the smell and carpet shampooer actually made it worse for a while. Peppermint enzyme kills the smell

by the way dog shampoo does not get rid of the smell and carpet shampooer actually made it worse for a while. Peppermint enzyme kills the smell

Sounds like the voice of experience...........a true WAF killer if I've ever heard one.

by the way dog shampoo does not get rid of the smell and carpet shampooer actually made it worse for a while. Peppermint enzyme kills the smell

Sounds like the voice of experience...........a true WAF killer if I've ever heard one.

Squid juice makes ab guts seem like pot-pouri.  3-5 day old fish guts in a bucket in the yard (I'm lazy) make squid juice seem like soap.  It's all relative. 

I had a relative like that.

by the way dog shampoo does not get rid of the smell and carpet shampooer actually made it worse for a while. Peppermint enzyme kills the smell

Sounds like the voice of experience...........a true WAF killer if I've ever heard one.

Guess its a good thing I'm single

Back to the main topic... I got stopped by a warden this weekend up north of Fort Bragg and they told me it there was no issue with using guts for bait.  The transport rules are in place to the meat of the abalone only... hope the scraps make good bait, brought all that I could carry home!

Thanks for the discussion guys.

Hey guys, I have to tell you I always enjoy these discussions as they are informative and beneficial. This past weekend a group of dive buddies spent 4 days at Salt Point. We were checked by F&G every day. On Sunday my dive partner and I decided not to get wet and fished from shore while the rest dove. While fishing, a very cute, F&G and a guy in total camo garb approached to see how we were doing. I joked about casting out into a pile of kelp and dragging it to shore and that we were here more for exercise. She specifically asked what was in our bait bag, a clear ziploc of abalone gut, and I replied without hesitation not being aware of anything illegal. She said absolutely nothing about it, checked our licenses and chatted with us a few minutes about the weather before going on her way. Somewhat related is what occurred on a similar group trip about a year ago at Albion. We were all returning home on a Sunday afternoon and were stopped by a F&G checkpoint on hwy 128. Having carefully counted all of our abs, all zip locked in ice chests and attached to shells, we had no concerns when asked to search campers etc.. F&G found one baggy of cooked leftover abalone from dinner in the fridge and told us it would have to be counted as an abalone and technically made us one over but only issued a warning. This April 2010 our same group did the opener at Albion. One afternoon while just kicking it at the river dock I was approached by a F&G officer who wanted to know if I had seen any Salmon being caught. We chatted awhile and talked a little about abalone regulations and interpretation. I specifically asked about preparing for immediate consumption etc. and his reply was very clear. Removal from the shell can only be in preparation of the abalone for consumption. Recalling our incident a year earlier with the cooked abalone leftovers I asked him about cooked abalone. He told me that once abalone is cooked it is no longer considered abalone but food. Being a little confused about his interpretation and what had happened a year earlier I asked for clarification. He then, somewhat disturbed about my lack of understanding, articulated it again. Once abalone is cooked it is food not abalone, do you understand. At that I thanked him and we went on our way. We currently take our cooked leftovers food saver and freeze them for another time. Like all laws and the sometimes complicated language used in writing them, interpretation is always key.