Did two dives today in my never ending quest to explore the most obscure freshwater sites in the valley
Lake Errock is situated on Hwy 7 east of Deroche. There is a public beach with easy shore access (but no washroom). After a milfoil zone from 5-20ft I maxed out at a 24ft soft bottom of undisturbed silt. Low vis plus a sterile bottom without even old bottles to keep one entertained. As an amatuer naturalist I was intrigued by two variants of freshwater sponge, an encrusting form and a fingerlike form that I found and I also saw a few small trout, sticklebacks and a school of several hundred minnow/shiner like fish.
Still, not a site I'd recommend to anyone though I may return one more time to dive the cliffs on the opposite shore.
Here's a link with a depth map and info
http://www.sharphooks.com/tripplanne...rock&lakeid=57
Albert Dyck/Walmsley lake is a former gravel pit/quarry lake just south of Abbotsford. Two thirds of the lake is leased by the Abbotsford waterski club with no public access so I dove the public beach section. The vis on the surface looked promising but I descended to yet another sterile bottom where the vis got worse and worse. I bottomed out in a depression at 43ft in some of the worst vis I've ever seen (pun intended) 2-3ft max (fingertip). After a bit I realised the particulate was in fact dense living clouds of small suspended animal organisms simular to copepods. There were very few fish but a school of ten or so Bass followed me curiously up near the Milfoil/Egeria (Elodia) zone. Though there was not much in the way of old bottles to scrounge I did find a BMX trick bike in remarkably good condition that my son appreciates.
After the dive I spoke to some members of the waterski club who stated that I could dive the whole quarry as long as no boats were running. I plan a return dive to the mid section of the lake where they reported depths of 70ft. or so.
I like to take the long way up.
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