Local lake hazards...

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svnipp

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Location
Fort Worth, TX
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I asked this question on the general noob board, but probably should have asked it hear. I was wondering about what you guys run into most often as hazards in diving the lakes here in TX? I'll admit that I'm a wuss when it comes to snakes. I don't like 'em, no how, no way. You guys run into many diving? I've always heard sea snakes won't bite underwater. Is the same true of our local water moccasins? I'm a bit nervous about this since it seems that I will often be dealing with vis of under 10' so I many never even see the snake before it lays into me.

OK. Enough about snakes... What about other hazards? I've heard some fish like to nibble on earlobes. Is this really a problem? Should I invest in a hood? I've heard of alligator gar here in TX, and these things both have teeth and are aggressive. Any run-ins with these beasties? Any plain ol' gator encounters?

Thanks in advance. I'm just a bit nervous about not being able to see what I'm doing and getting myself into. Have any of you had the same trepidations and overcome them?
 
Snakes have never been an issue for me.
The fish at Windy Point have been hand fed weenies by divers for so darn long, they expect it. If you hang out on a platform some of the fish are downright aggressive. They don't have teeth. If they nip it's just an interesting sensation.
I have caught a couple of gar fishing, but I don't ever remember seeing any while diving.
Fishing line is always an issue. It's hard to see underwater and is easy to get tangled in.
Trees can be a challenge. If you don't have good buoyancy control you can silt out the area when you bump into them. It's easy to get caught in the branches. In Travis the trees start around 80-90'.
 
#1 boats
#2 fishing line and rope, when I say rope I mean the kind you won't be cutting with a z-knife or even a little DIR hacked off kitchen knife
 
We are gonna have this guy scared before he even gets in the water.

But yes, boats are nerve wracking in my opinion, especially on a crowded day at the lake.
 
Yeah guys... I'm looking for you to allay my fears here, not build them up. :)

Maybe it's naivete on my part, but ropes really don't worry me that much. I can see them, so that's a big plus. Seems that with rope you would just need to take your time to back out of the situation. Getting actually hooked on the other hand sounds very unpleasant, but I imagine that to be incredibly rare for a diver to actually get hooked by someone.

Snakes, now that's my big fear, especially in lower visibility water. I'm pretty sure I would freak pretty good if I'm swimming along and all of the sudden there is a snake arm's length away from me, or worse yet getting bit without even having seen the beast in the first place.
 
When you dive at CSSP be sure to wear some kind of hood. The cute little fishies out there love to nibble ears. Many divers have come up from a dive with bloody ears. So far I have been lucky and haven't been bothered too much.
Last year while diving at Stillhouse when I came up with my marker...my flag was gone. I can only assume a boater ran over it or stopped and took it. I think boaters who have no clue as to what a dive flag is my biggest hazard.
 
I dove in a quarry in Celina 20+ years ago....earning my "Criminal Trespass Diver" certification.....encountered a trot line about 5' from a wall....found it when a hook went into my shoulder. Had to cut myself free and go to the ER to get the hook removed and get some painful shots and gobs of pills.

'Bout it for me hazard wise....although I did encounter a snappin turtle once. Big guy. We left each other alone.

CTDiver.jpg
 
Maybe it's naivete on my part, but ropes really don't worry me that much. I can see them, so that's a big plus.

You haven't dived in Travis yet have you ? :D

Seriously,the biggest hazard is a mixture of entanglement opportunities (fishing line/ropes/trees) and bad viz.
Had a buddy once who swam into one of the 1/4" ?? steel cables that hold the swim buoys.He never saw it until it wrapped around his manifold. Made for an exciting minute or 2.

Be careful and keep it shallow at first. Getting tangled up in a tree you cant even see at 100+ foot depth could spoil your entire day.
 
You haven't dived in Travis yet have you ? :D

Seriously,the biggest hazard is a mixture of entanglement opportunities (fishing line/ropes/trees) and bad viz.
Had a buddy once who swam into one of the 1/4" ?? steel cables that hold the swim buoys.He never saw it until it wrapped around his manifold. Made for an exciting minute or 2.

Be careful and keep it shallow at first. Getting tangled up in a tree you cant even see at 100+ foot depth could spoil your entire day.

Dive instructors have been running tons of line at WP lately, and not removing it. Last time I was there a couple of weeks ago there was line everywhere that students were getting caught on.
They are definately hazards for new divers.
 
The worst hazard I’ve encountered - Travis is too easy to get to -
which leads to diving every weekend,
which leads to neglecting the duties back home,
which leads to upset wife,
which leads to expenditures on flowers/jewelry/dinner,
which cuts into my dive gear budget.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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