Free dive

by Matt Albertsen
(Butte county)

All I can say is I got lucky. First dive of the year (2016). I had every intention of getting 9" abs or bigger this year. The weather was bad and after only finding one 9, I just grabbed 2 legal abs. I could hear the Pearl shaking loose in the shell. When we got home it was late, so I just put the abs in the fridge with the intention of cleaning them when I returned from work the next day. By the time I got home, my girlfriend had cleaned the abs. She left the Pearl in the shell for me to see. I couldn't believe it. It's semi flat, maybe a 1/2" at its thickest point but twice the size of a quarter. I'll get it weighed in due time, but for now, it sits in a jar of salt water and I look at it everyday. Kinda like finding a gold nugget. The ab it was located in was only 7 1/2".