Tag Archives: Jack Likins

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I'll let Roger Rude tell the story. He wrote, “I was searching a rock structure in 20 feet of water when I came upon a rock gully. As it opened up below me, I could see some large abalones along a hole on the side. I dropped my ab iron, which was attached to a float connected to my dive board, and returned to the surface for air.

“On my next dive, I followed my float line back to the hole and measured three large abalones. I saw one more off to the side, nestled on the ceiling of the hole. This one clicked on my ten-inch gauge.” Roger retrieved his ab iron and easily popped it off the rock.

Roger wrote further, “At the end of my breath, I grabbed the ab and headed for the surface. On the surface I carefully measured it and confirmed it was over ten inches. This was my 40th abalone over ten inches, a small milestone towards the completion of my bucket list of a lifetime goal of 100.”

Roger Rude finds a trophy Abalone by Jack Likins

Here's a photo of one of Roger's other 39 trophy abalones. He looks pretty darn happy, doesn't he?!

Roger Rude with a huge Abalone by Jack Likins

Roger's diving partner, Jack Likins, has already recorded his 100th 10-inch abalone, considered trophy abalones, an amazing feat and Roger’s goal. Many divers never get a single trophy abalone. It takes skill, peak conditioning, intelligence and a dash of luck.

Roger took a video of finding the abalone in the first photo. You can see it here: https://youtu.be/auqn-MkmV7g

Thanks to Jack for allowing me to share his photos of Roger, and thanks to Roger for sharing his experience. Roger did tell me the abalone in the video did come off the rock amazingly easily.

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Jack Likins looks for abalones that are at least ten inches across, known as trophy abs. He found his first one several weeks ago.

Jack Likin's first ten+ inch Abalone of the year by Frank Hurd (Large)

Jack's diving buddy, Frank Hurd, took this photo. You can see the abalone is a nice fat one. With the concerns about the sparse bull kelp, which abalones eat, Jack was happy to find such a healthy abalone.

Thanks to Frank for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To learn all you've ever wanted to know about abalone and the divers who search for them, here is the website of local diver Eric Anderson: http://www.abaloneten.com/tendivers

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Marilyn Green came across this on a local beach a few weeks ago.

Abalone shells wash up on beaches and are fun to find. Someone did a little collecting and left them for others to take. It's the interior of the abalone shell that has iridescence.

A rare chance to use an 11 inch abalone gauge by Jack Likins (Medium)

This photo was taken by Jack Likins of a eleven inch abalone he dove for a few years ago. To get a ten inch ab is a dream of many divers. Jack's accomplishment of an eleven incher is amazing.

Thanks to Marilyn and Jack for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

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Jack Likins and Roger Rude went diving three days in a row recently. Conditions have been quite good. Roger scored two ten-inch abalones and speared a 36 inch Ling Cod, and Jack found the biggest abalone of all.

Jack Likins finds a big Abalone by Roger Rude (Large)Jack's abalone is 10 7/16 inches. I like how he's posed with Naked Ladies, a non-native flower that we love.

Jack reported on the health of abalones and the kelp situation:

"The great news is that there are still plenty of large Abalones out there, even though we haven’t had much kelp due to the warm water. Kelp is abalones’ main food source.

“The bad news is that there is a purple Sea Urchin explosion. They are all over everything, including the abalones. According to CDFW there are 60 times more urchins this year than normal. Urchins compete with abalones for food. Only time will tell what affect this will have on the ocean environment and the abalones."

 

Thanks to Jack for this information and thanks to Roger for allowing me to share his photo of Jack.

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Jack Likins went diving off The Sea Ranch on Father's Day, last Sunday. The visibility was good and he had a most successful dive. Jack found a big one, a trophy Abalone. It measured 10 and 9/16 inches.

Jack Likins with a 10+ Abalone by Thayer Walker Jr.

That's the perfect Father's Day gift for an experienced diver like Jack. Thayer Walker, Jr. took the photo and I thank him for allowing me to share it with you here.

To learn much more about abalone, here is Eric Anderson' excellent website: http://www.abaloneten.com/