Low vis lake diving

Having only dove in tropical waters with great vis (except for my OW cert where the vis was about 5 feet) I'm trying to understand the draw to freshwater low vis diving.

Would like to hear from people that do this recreationally that enjoy it. I live in a land-locked state where even on a good day, the lakes within driving distance are lucky to get 10 feet of visibility.

What makes this fun for you? Are you just rabid divers that are willing to dive no matter what because you enjoy it that much? Are there underwater activities you've found that make it fun?

I just look at lake diving and I think: Low vis, cold, minimal uninteresting fish, mucky coral-less bottoms, rare man-made features (wrecks or other sunken objects) and I think, why?

I see some benefit to just keeping your skills up but to be honest I've dove all over the world going years at a time between dives and have really not had an issue recalling what I needed to know. And it's nothing a quick refresher with the LDS couldn't solve.

If you're an avid low vis diver, what makes you want to do it?

This past year about half my diving was in nice warm tropical waters, the rest in the St. Lawrence River or our local quarry.

All I can say is they're different, the warm clear stuff has the pretty fish & coral, the St. Lawrence is littered with wrecks which are a lot of fun to dive. With the currents you can do some great drift dives and let's not forget the convenience factor. I can toss my gear in the trunk of my car and be in Brockville/Kingston/Prescott in less than 2 hrs - you can't even clear security at the airport in that time any more.

Most of my diving is in our local cold dark and deep quarries.

Sometimes the vis is okay, most of the times it is crap.

For me, it is the enjoyment of getting out doing something I enjoy, hanging out with buddies that are also missing some screws and probably most important is continuing to hone my skills.

The more time I have spent in the cold, dark and deep spots, I feel as if my skills have improved overall.

I'm very cognitive of my buoyancy. I want to be close to the bottom, for reference, but I don't want to kick it up and make my 10ft vis go to 0ft vis.

I've learned to trust what my instruments are telling me. In the low vis situations, especially mid water column, I've learned to navigate three dimensionally and find my way around.

I've learned to trust that my gear is going to work. If you're 120ft in the bottom of the quarry and only have 10ft vis, you can barely see the bottom and not a lot of light is coming down from above, you feel as if you're in an overhead environment. You trust that your reg isn't going to fail.

You do enough dives in that crap, when you get down to the warm tropical waters, you feel as if you in the kiddies pool. You're not carrying half the gear, you can see, you are warm, there are great fish to see!

I've had experienced buddies come up and dive in my quarries and they mentally can't do it!

There are great training grounds.

I dove the lake because it was there.....................

If you love diving and have a good group then why not?

We do a weekly club dive and it is always fun.........

Some days the vis is better than others and there are some neat features underwater to explore.........

Keep your skills sharp........

Plus when you dive in "warm windex" you really appreciate it........

Now a night dive with 10 feet of vis is where the real action is.......

M

I'm smelling what y'all are stepping in. Appreciate the responses. Anyone else?

Herk, I dive a local lake, a mud puddle really, but have learned more there than anywhere. Because of the low vis compass navigation is necessary and I have made little games to amuse myself by plotting courses around the lake and returning to the starting point (small boat ramp). There is a submerged platform for diver training and I frequently practice skills. I have also taught myself to solo dive comfortably, a little bit at a time, and the puddle is a great place for this. Also a good place to try out new equipment and test weighting requirements. Fills in for days when I can't get off shore and essentially I just like being wet and weightless.

Herk_Man:

I'm trying to understand the draw to freshwater low vis diving. Would like to hear from people that do this recreationally that enjoy it. ... What makes this fun for you? Are you just rabid divers that are willing to dive no matter what because you enjoy it that much? Are there underwater activities you've found that make it fun? I see some benefit to just keeping your skills up but ...

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paddler3d:

Most of my diving is in our local cold dark and deep quarries. Sometimes the vis is okay, most of the times it is crap. ...For me, ... probably most important is continuing to hone my skills. The more time I have spent in the cold, dark and deep spots, I feel as if my skills have improved overall. ...There are great training grounds.

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Over the years, I have come to realize that I enjoy diving deep, dark and cold. That doesn't mean I don't also enjoy warm water, beautiful fish, and great visibility. But, I enjoy diving regularly, and to do that without excessive travel, local quarries are the most convenient choice. Plus, I will echo paddler3d's sentiment - it is good training. I enjoy regularly reassuring myself that I have the skill, confidence, and trust in my gear to do it. I want to see if it makes me anxious, so maybe I can better understand what is going on in the minds of my OW students in a cold, low vis quarry where we do check-outs. Even in low vis situations, I can work on buoyancy, I can tweak my gear configuration, I can practice procedures (valve shutdowns, lift bag / SMB deployment), I can simulate a dark, overhead environment and practice running lines. Plus, at the end of it all, we can still get out of the water, stow our gear, sit at the nearby picnic tables and have a beer (or 2 or 3) and snacks, and discuss our next dive trip to a warm, high vis area. Or, simply solve all the world's problems.

Some have to enjoy it because they can't afford to travel to warm places more than once a year and simply enjoy being underwater regardless of conditions.
The only difference between WWW diving and local is you have to go slower because in limited vis you can miss a lot of things.

I think it's like golfers. If the only course near you is the local municipal course, that's where you play golf. If the only body of water near you is the low-viz lake, that's where you dive. It gives you a chance to work on your buoyancy skills and really hone your navigation. Plus, you get to hang out with other divers - share that sense of community.

Plus, when you go to nice clear water, you really appreciate it.

Yes, the low viz lake is great for practising skills. Otherwise, since there are no decent shells there to collect, it doesn't interest me.