ScubaSteve2000
Contributor
Bill, Mark J and I hiked Vista Point on Saturday. Then we went diving. Surface temps were 85 VT3 degrees. There was an abrupt thermocline at 49 feet. I haven't downloaded my dive computer but it felt like a 15º or better temperature change. Vis ranged from yucky to braille. The lake is just one big nav course right now. The placard signifying the beginning of the Balde Runner course was in about a foot of water on Saturday. It may be out of the water today.
To the folks who got certified this weekend, if you can dive in these conditions you can dive anywhere.
We trudged probably 100+ yards down to the shore line from the parking area ever thankfull for the steps cut into the side of the hill. After rinsing masks and donning fins we swam out about 30 yards from shore before descending.
We planned to dive north to the wall, then descend down the wall and swim up the ramp while hugging the wall to about 30 feet where we would cross the ramp . We would pause at the bottom of the wall to make sure we all made it thus far and again at the rail to make sure we all made it across the ramp. After that we would see if we could find a nice pile of rocks and boulders in the Spring Canyon area.
When descending on the first dive I ended up almost impailing myself on a tree branch. I couldn't see it when I started down but at about 10 feet I suddenly became aware of what looked like squid-like tenticals reaching up from below. Yikes! The tenticles became boughs of a tree and I was right in the middle of them. I twisted and rolled and finned my way out of trouble. I saw Mark holding his belly with one hand and his reg in his mouth with the other. From the amount of bubbles he was sending to the surface I could only guess he was laughing his ass off.
The rest of the dive went according to plan. We dropped down the wall and passed through an abrupt thermocline at 49 feet before we reached the bottom at 52 feet. After a few seconds Mark indicated he was getting cold. Laugh at me eh? We were in tee shirts and trunks while Bill was wearing a shorty. I found the chilly waters bracing and wasn't in a hurry to swim out of it. Who's laughing now? Just kidding. We ascended to a more comfortable depth and followed the boat ramp up to about 30 feet before crossing over to the rail.
After a few course adjustments we found some good sized boulders to explore. One of the advantages to the current conditions is the extended dive time we enjoy because we're keeping the dive relatively shallow. We surprised a couple of catfish and played with some bass that seemed on the lazy side. The bass were young adults and they seemed to display the behaviour we see just before and early in spawning season in as much as they wanted to stay in one place and wouldn't move unless you were almost touching them. Or maybe they were just a couple of bachelors hanging out looking for some action.
The lake is what it is and it isn't going to get any better any time soon. Still beats the heck out of not diving though. See you at the lake...or not.
To the folks who got certified this weekend, if you can dive in these conditions you can dive anywhere.
We trudged probably 100+ yards down to the shore line from the parking area ever thankfull for the steps cut into the side of the hill. After rinsing masks and donning fins we swam out about 30 yards from shore before descending.
We planned to dive north to the wall, then descend down the wall and swim up the ramp while hugging the wall to about 30 feet where we would cross the ramp . We would pause at the bottom of the wall to make sure we all made it thus far and again at the rail to make sure we all made it across the ramp. After that we would see if we could find a nice pile of rocks and boulders in the Spring Canyon area.
When descending on the first dive I ended up almost impailing myself on a tree branch. I couldn't see it when I started down but at about 10 feet I suddenly became aware of what looked like squid-like tenticals reaching up from below. Yikes! The tenticles became boughs of a tree and I was right in the middle of them. I twisted and rolled and finned my way out of trouble. I saw Mark holding his belly with one hand and his reg in his mouth with the other. From the amount of bubbles he was sending to the surface I could only guess he was laughing his ass off.
The rest of the dive went according to plan. We dropped down the wall and passed through an abrupt thermocline at 49 feet before we reached the bottom at 52 feet. After a few seconds Mark indicated he was getting cold. Laugh at me eh? We were in tee shirts and trunks while Bill was wearing a shorty. I found the chilly waters bracing and wasn't in a hurry to swim out of it. Who's laughing now? Just kidding. We ascended to a more comfortable depth and followed the boat ramp up to about 30 feet before crossing over to the rail.
After a few course adjustments we found some good sized boulders to explore. One of the advantages to the current conditions is the extended dive time we enjoy because we're keeping the dive relatively shallow. We surprised a couple of catfish and played with some bass that seemed on the lazy side. The bass were young adults and they seemed to display the behaviour we see just before and early in spawning season in as much as they wanted to stay in one place and wouldn't move unless you were almost touching them. Or maybe they were just a couple of bachelors hanging out looking for some action.
The lake is what it is and it isn't going to get any better any time soon. Still beats the heck out of not diving though. See you at the lake...or not.