Best shore dive site at Tahoe ?

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onbelaydave

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Ft. Collins, Co
I'm doing a 3 day "Warm-up" trip to Catalina prior to diving w/ the Rodales' Truth charter, then we're heading up the coast and over to Yosemite for 3-4 days of climbing before heading back to CO. I'm thinking of staying the night at Tahoe and would like to sneek 1 dive in. As I've been searching it, Rubicon Pt. sounds pretty good. Anyone here have experience at Tahoe ? I was actually shocked to see that Tahoe was lower than most of the places I dive here in CO. I know that it's a "Gin Clear" desert, so what's the best "been there, done that" dive that I could do from shore ?
 
My "Lake Tahoe signature dive" recomendation would be Rubicon Wall. This is at DL Bliss State Park on the west side, just north of Emerald Bay. You can stand on shore and throw a rock into a couple thousand feet of water.

It's a pretty dive, and also quite a workout getting to it.

If you get there early enough, you can park at the upper parking lot. It's about 150' (vertical drop) of switchbacks from the lot down to the water, then about 400' of surface swim.

The lower lot is at the water's edge, with about 600' of walking along the beach to get to the water entry point.

Either way, make sure you're well south of the point and it's shallow boulders before submerging. If you dive too soon, it's just kind of a steep slope with boulders. The rock above the water looks almost vertical and plunges straight into the water.

Unfortunately, the dive is not as impressive as it once was. Human habitation at the lake has caused an increase in soil erosion. The topsoil contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria; this yields nitrogen "fertilizer" that has caused an increase in algae. When I began diving in Lake Tahoe in the late 70's, the water was indeed "gin clear". I would conservatively estimate the vis at 250'+. Now, I see 100' on a good day and more usually 80' on the west shore. Truly sad.

Still, it's a pretty dive, soaring along the wall. It's also a great way to thoroughly rinse the salt out of your gear!

All the best, James
 
fdog:
Unfortunately, the dive is not as impressive as it once was. Human habitation at the lake has caused an increase in soil erosion. The topsoil contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria; this yields nitrogen "fertilizer" that has caused an increase in algae. When I began diving in Lake Tahoe in the late 70's, the water was indeed "gin clear". I would conservatively estimate the vis at 250'+. Now, I see 100' on a good day and more usually 80' on the west shore. Truly sad.

The environmentalists attribute the decreased vis to the gas motors that were/are there, and banned (most/all) two strokes as a result...Hmmmmmmm

I like your explanation better.
 
Dave,

In general the "best" Lake Tahoe dive spots are accessable by boat.

The most common / popular place to shore dive at Lake Tahoe is at Sand Harbor on the Nevada side. It usually has a number of divers, including classes. However it is not very deep. It was about 44 feet within the main area. Some small fish, and lots of crawdads. The occasionally trout is seen, but not yet by me. Lots of sand and big boulders.

If you continue out a bit further, it does start to drop of pretty dramatically, as does the temperature. Since Sand Harbor is shallow, it tends to be shall we say, not as cold as other areas.

Note that Nevada law requires divers to use a dive flag, so if you swim out past the roped off area, you are supposed to have a dive flag.

My buddy got winded walking fully geared up from the parking lot to the water. After the second dive he breathed some of his remaining Nitrox on the walk back to the car and he was much better.

------------
Rubicon Wall is on the California side, so a dive flag is not required. James (fdog) described the details, here is the overview. The way I hear it, there are two ways to get to the wall dive site 1) Park in the lower lot and you have a loooong swim, 2) park in the upper lot and you have a long steep hike but a shorter swim. It depends upon which you dislike less. (again, leftover Nitrox can ease the hike / walk back to the car!)

I hear that the wall is cool, with some good sized fish, and LOTs of crawdads. Not much else though.

BTW, when we took a class at Lake Tahoe (at Sand Harbor) the Instructor showed us something interesting. He took us to a granite rock the size of a small car. The rock had a sharp pointed ridge. Nearby was a large plank (10 - 12 feet long, 2 x 12 inches). He set the plank across the rock ridge, and put a diver on each end. It made for an interesting underwater teeter-totter. It took a bit to get it working right, but it was good practice trying to change your bouyancy as needed just through breath control. The tricky part is timing with your buddy. As soon as the teeter starts to totter, you each need to inhale / exhale to slow it then reverse it. Once you get it going it is funny to watch. I just wish that I had a video of it.

Also, when he picked up the plank, there were at least a dozen crawdads suddenly exposed, as they tend to congregate under the plank.

Just some thoughts at random,


Wristshot
 
I made no recommendation.

fdog recommended Rubicon. I did not agree or disagree.

I didn't say Rubicon was the best dive, I just described the two most popular locations. Without knowing more about the diver, his skills, capabilities, wants and desires, I would not recommend anything. I just provided information and opinions for people to use as they please.

Just want to be clear.

Wristshot
 
Scubasean, the mechanism behind the declining vis comes from the UC Davis Limnology Department. Although I'm sure the reduction in fuel and oils released into the lake are beneficial, the real reason behind the bill that restricted two-stroke motors in Lake Tahoe is more self serving.

The bill was the genesis of a state Senator who became annoyed at all the whiny Sea-Doos that spoiled his weekends at his lakefront home. When he found out that they all had two-stroke motors, well...who can argue against serving the environment? Amazingly, he said all this in interviews, and the bill still passed.

Karma, though: all the new "personal watercraft" have 4-stroke motors and are exempt.

Also interesting about the lake, generally water temps during the summer are 5-10 degrees F warmer on the east side. This is due to the prevailing westerly winds and the circulation they induce in the lake. For when Dave expects to be at the lake, water temps at Rubicon should be in the mid to upper 60's.

All the best, James
 
Sad to hear 'bout the vis problems though. Back where I grew up (Lk Geneva,WS.) they have the opposite problem. The introduced "pollution" of Zebra Mussels have gotten so prolific that you can't even swim or walk in the lake without slicing yourself to ribbons. The other main side effect is that the shear biomass of the pests acts as a huge plankton filter and the water is becoming much clearer ! Historically, the bottom edge of the weed-beds was about 15-20' before lack of sunlight cut them off. Now-a days, there is growth even down to 30-40'. The huge streaming schools of "minnows"
that used to be 100' across, feeding at the surface, are now gone. Next will be the gamefish that fed on them. Sad times.
 
Dove Meeks bay last weekend and can best describe it as an underwater ski slope including a few trees. Also lots of crawdads just past the thermocline at 60 feet.
 

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