Diving in Arkansas ??

[kf4hax]

Hello all, I recently moved to Arkansas and am searching for places to dive. Has anyone dived in Arkansas or know of any places to dive here? Its a beautiful state, just can't find many places.
Thanks.

 

[herman]

Don't know if there is any diving in Ark but I did notice you were new to the board. Welcome from 4 land.

73's de KA4HAM

I am assuming that is a ham call.

 

[nitroxbabe]

I've actually been diving in Lake Norfork. I guess it's not too bad as far as lakes go - there's some interesting walls and lots of fish. The temperature and vis dropped pretty severely at the thermocline though - watch out for that.

They have some interesting submerged items in the lake (it's a manmade lake, used to be homes etc in the valley)

There's a nice little dive shop in Mountain Home, very nice folks there - wish I could remember the name of the shop, but it's the only one in town. (Scuba Doo????)

We went spearfishing there for the 1st time ever - final score, us 0, fish 12.

 

[joens]

years ago before I started diving I lived in Arkansas and I remember a lot of places that I think might be nice to dive and I want to go back and try them but I dont have any actual diving experience there yet . where in arkansas do you live .I was in the fayetteville / fort smith area .

 

[lplace]

Arkansas has several great lakes to dive in. I used to go to college in the central part of the state. One of the best lakes in the country is Ouachita outside of Hot Springs. It is very clear had three dive shops on it but it is cold. Also DeGray in Arkadelphia is almost as good.

lplace

 

[kf4hax]

I live in Mena, Arkansas...about 2 hours south of Fort Smith, on the Arkansas/Oklahoma boarder.

What a call, KA4HAM. Very nice...and yes kf4hax is a ham call. Been a ham for about 5 years now.

Thanks for all the replies and the hospitality.

 

[RooLuvsToDive]

I did my openwater dives in Lake Ouachita outside of Hot Springs in late October. Since I didn't know any better, the diving was nice and the visibility was fairly good (about 12-15 feet). The surface air temp was 55 and the upper level water temp was about 65, although it dropped pretty dramatically at the thermocline. It was very comfortable with 10 mm of wetsuit on. At the dam, there are two boats, a four-wheeler, a kayak, a mailbox and a matching toilet/sink set sunk. One of the boats is at about 45'. The fish are fed, so they're quite friendly to the divers. The only bad thing about diving the dam without a boat is the very long staircase you have to descend to get to the water. I'm sure it would get tiring with lots of gear.

If you ever want to go diving, PLEASE, PLEASE get in touch with me!!! I'm in Texarkana (southwest corner) but I'll go almost anywhere to dive, as I'm new and very enthusiastic!

 

[kd5izq]

I don't know how many of you are still around, but hello. I did a search for any postings from/about AR and found this post. My name is Jamie and my HAM call is KD5IZQ. I'm sure by now you've tried out Ouachita and found it to be a very nice lake. I know Bull Shoals in NW AR is supposed to be some great diving as well, so check that out sometime. I went to Norfork a few weeks ago, but didn't have a boat to get to any of the good stuff, but I've seen the map and there are like almost 30 sites to dive on. At Jordan Marina there is a dive shop, with Nitrox, and they have a plaque you can get your name on if you visit all the dive sites. I dive with a group out of Fort Smith and our main diving area is Ouachita. I've also heard that there is supposed to be a good place to dive in Gentry, AR, but I don't know the name. Another good spot, just over the OK state line is Lake Tenkiller.

 

[grumpygrouper]

Hi

I did three dives at Bull Shoals last month to check out my new 7 mil suit. My first time to dive freshwater so no experience how good of diving it is. I liked it because I got to dive. My LDS in Kansas does open water tests dives there.

Happy and Safe diving

Ron

 

[Scubadawg]

Lake Norfork August 16th.
Jordan Marina is hosting a Treasure Hunt, 4 of my dive buddies and i are going for the weekend,anybody else planing on going?