Low vis lake diving

[bane51031]

I have a mudhole 30 minutes from home, viz. typically averages 3 feet or less. I have taken friends there and often they ask what I get out of it?
I go back they do not, the last student I trained asked to go dive it with me, he made it through the dive, practically on top of me(viz. was measured in inches that day), he was amazed that I was able to do the dive and make it back too the dock with him in tow, he said he would never dive that again but, said he was impressed at my comfort/navigation skillls in zero viz., he signed up for advanced with me that day LOL.
So why do I dive it, because the nearest lake with 5-10 foot viz is an hour and a half away, also it provides me the opportunity to hone my skills, although not for everyone it works for me......

 

[divern2h20]

HERK,
Low vis is great when you are hunting, we spearfish in South Missouri [Table Rock]and North Arkansas [Bull Shoals , Norfork] lakes. These lakes are usually 30'+ vis but when the thermocline developes in summer it can get less in the TC and then once below can open up to 80-100' vis just gets cold.
I also became booooored with green rocks and fish until I was introduced to the speargun.
We have even taken a weeks vacation to "dive locally" and nothing like fresh fried walleye or cat fish you've just pulled from the deep !!
If it's legal where you live try it, or make a trip to Bull Shoals ,Arkansas and give it a try.

 

[dementid]

Dont know about everyone else but for me (a) I dont have the money to go dive blue water all the time. (b) it gives me a chance to get wet suck some gas plus it relaxes me even in 5 to 10 ft vis the only time I had a problem where I started to get panicy was once when I was diveng in lake murry in ok and got seperated from group and was leary of just surfacing do too boat traffic and had my bearings turned around

 

[segundo3000gt]

For me, it's similar to golfing locally. Sure, I'd prefer Pebble Beach to my local public course, but golf is golf. The course itself hasn't changed in 50 years yet I know that every round I play will be different in some way. Such is diving. I wouldn't mind getting off of work and diving Cozumel before dinner but it's simply not feasible. Diving a local lake allows me to get into my gear and simply enjoy a quick dive. You have to enjoy it for what it is and look for something interesting each dive.

 

[Nemrod]

Surprised to hear you say this........

I was just in a bad mood, when I lived in Houston and Phoenix I had a pool and would sleep on the bottom of the pool.

If you have a nice, clean, friendly local quarry, by all means jump in and dive, dive, dive.

I also for some reason have had a blast in some of the large Arizona Lakes and the lakes of Missouri, especially Table Rock. Table Rock actually has stuff to see and occasionally you can see it which is all the better. By "stuff" I mean things other than toilet bowls and lawnmowers. Sunken bridges, mysterious submarine villages, large penetrable wreck etc.

It is all fun, if zero viz and freezing your beehind off works for you then go for it.

N

 

[TwoBitTxn]

There will always be people who are willing to and enjoy low-vis lake diving. Lakes in different areas have different things to offer in regards of things to see or find.

I think there are many things that diving in low vis can teach you that great vis can't. I saw a thread about vertigo under water. This happens when you lose reference to direction in mid water. The chances of experiencing this are greatly reduced in great vis. It's all about learning.

I dive because it's relaxing. I enjoy it. Sure, I would love to be able to get into blue water much more often than I do, but because that's not possible, I continue to enjoy my local lakes.

The fish are there. If you want to see the fish slow down. They know you are comming long before you ever see them and they move. They may not know what you are, but they do know you are big and noisy. They also have no desire to find out if you eat things smaller than you.

TwoBit

 

[photobyace]

I originally planned on only diving crystal clear warm water on vacations. I came very close to doing one of those two day certification classes on vacation, but decided I wanted to do it the right way, even though it meant taking the class back home in Michigan. The very first day of our OW's, I was hooked! Sure the visibility was 5 to 6 feet, but there were still fish and various objects on the bottom. Never looked back and almost think I'd dive a mud puddle now.

Maybe it has to do with everything is so new, or maybe it ultimately comes down to how much you love the sport, but the thrill for me is finding something unexpected or unusual. I loved my trip to Cozumel this year it was beautiful, but my favorite dives of the year were chasing crayfish and turtles in pea soup lakes. I also agree with the people who talked of improving skills. There's no doubt in my mind that my dive buddy and I are much better divers based on our low visibility lake dives. So, on the record I'll say to improve skills. Off the record, it's the adventure of finding something on the bottom or seeing something new that makes every dive fun.

I definitely was one of the types of people who would say "why would you want to dive that". Now I'm the type that says "why don't we dive that".

 

[NETim]

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.

How better to stay in shape for diving than to dive? Even in mud holes.

The lack of good vis diving spots is the price I'm willing to pay to live in country that gets to -20 this time of year.

 

[Diver Kat]

I'm with TwoBit. We started lake diving with our OW training, then kept at it to keep our skills up and keep learning, so when we did travel, we would be better divers. Somewhere along the way it totally morphed into something that we really enjoy doing. Although viz isn't great in the local lake, the fish are still interesting, the landscape is interesting, and just being underwater is super relaxing. The normal routine during dive season is to hit the lake on the weekend with a couple tanks each and a picnic lunch for the SI. Even the SI is enjoyable, with other divers around, watching the sailboats out on the lake, what more could you ask for!

 

[ems_is_4_me]

Does anyone ever dive ponds I have a few just down the road that look to be fair size with depth may be 30 or so.