Local lake hazards...

[carlislere]

#1 Boaters, because 90% of boaters don't know a dive flag and what it means.
#2 Divers, because they do not pick up their line that they lay out, thereby creating entanglement hazards for other divers or student divers.
#3 Trees if you go deep enough to get into a grove.
#4 Instructors, because it is rare to see a dive flag on a float, so the 10% of boaters that know a dive flag when they see it can avoid it.
I have seen one snake in Lake Travis and that was over 25 years ago, however my son works for a marina on Lake Travis and he sees them regularly along the shoreline.

 

[spector39]

When you dive at CSSP be sure to wear some kind of hood. The cute little fishies out there love to nibble ears.

I can confirm this first hand! On my checkout dive at CSSP, I felt something hit my ear and thought someone hit me with their fin. When I turned around I saw a little bluegill looking at me like, "what are you gonna do about it?" It didn't really hurt but it did startle me. I couldn’t believe how brave those little guys were.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

Ok for just general shallow OW stuff like at CSSP your biggest danger is yourself, nothing in there is going to eat you, sting you to death and its not deep enough for you to fall into the endless abyss, narcosis is not an issue, there are some lines but your suppose to have a knife anyway, just diver lines no fish line. A trained compitent diver at CSSP is probably one of the safest activities you could engage in.

Lake travis up shallow you have boat issues but just be smart, surface near the shore etc.

The real dangers start when you start putting your toe in the deep water at travis, cold dark conditions lends itself to high narcotic levels, its not like diving the pretty blue, you get down in the bad vis (when I say bad vis it gets bad enough that no, you won't be able to see the rope) and trees there are like spider webs of rope and fishing line everywhere, don't go down there and they won't be an issue for you.

 

[svnipp]

Nice. I guess he was just telling you to get out of his pond.

Speaking of CSSP... What's appropriate to wear when diving there this time of year? I actually have a shorty wetsuit that I think is still in good condition. I really can't imagine that I would need more than this, but what do you guys think? I had honestly thought of just swim trunks, but I wasn't sure if I should wear something underneath the BCD to protect my skin?

 

[FIXXERVI6]

Nice. I guess he was just telling you to get out of his pond.

Speaking of CSSP... What's appropriate to wear when diving there this time of year? I actually have a shorty wetsuit that I think is still in good condition. I really can't imagine that I would need more than this, but what do you guys think? I had honestly thought of just swim trunks, but I wasn't sure if I should wear something underneath the BCD to protect my skin?

A great place to start asking about exposure protection your going to need is talking to your instructor.

If you wear swimming trunks at CSSP your going to freeze, you could do it if you wanna be "tough" but I prefer enjoying myself, which means not freezing, being warm helps you out a lot more than you think and you feel a lot less tired after diving if you stay warm.

 

[cruiser]

CSSP quarry is a good place for newby divers. There are no boats overhead, there's no fishing allowed, and it's easy to dive. The pond is approximately 24 acres so no matter where you surface, you're not that far from your entry point. In other words, you can't get lost.

The blue gills do get nippy. They've never nipped on me, but friends have gotten their ears bloodied. A hood will protect your ears and I always wear one for this reason.

Also look out for lines that are run by instructors and not removed. Last week there was a hot pink nylon thread tied off at Sisco and leading to who knows? There are also thicker lines running between the 2 sunken boats and nearby dive platforms. They shouldn't be there but I understand that it makes it easier for students to get around underwater.

Thermocline is around 22 feet. Anything below that will require more thermal protection than a shorty.

Have fun

 

[carrielsal]

The blue gills do get nippy. They've never nipped on me, but friends have gotten their ears bloodied. A hood will protect your ears and I always wear one for this reason.

Have fun

Holy crap! No wonder I have never made the trek to cssp.

 

[richerso]

Me thinks everything has been covered. In no particular order: boats, ropes, fishing lines, trees and the individual diver.

My personal two biggest fears are one, getting tangled in fishing line at any depth in any visibility condition. True, you should be able to cut yourself free from fishing line, usually. But even then I am always afraid of that fishing hook. I know it's around here somewhere.

My other big fear is myself. If i get down deep (100+ ft) and get narced in cold, dark water, what stupid thing might I do to endanger myself?

I have never really encounted any snakes while conducting dive operations. That sounds strange. But it's true. I have seen a few snakes in the vicinity of dive operations but I would call that just a visual sighting at a distance; not really an encounter. Of course, you could ask timeliner about snake encounters. He hates them (with good reason).

 

[C-Weed]

Also look out for lines that are run by instructors and not removed. Last week there was a hot pink nylon thread tied off at Sisco and leading to who knows? There are also thicker lines running between the 2 sunken boats and nearby dive platforms. They shouldn't be there but I understand that it makes it easier for students to get around underwater.

There was a pink line when I was there during certification a few weeks back too.

As for the wetsuit.. I wore a 3MM wetsuit when I went and it was fine.. but I liked staying in the colder parts. I would guess it depends on how easily you get cold on what you would want to wear. I would recommend at least wearing something

 

[PeppermintPaddi]

To Much Travis Hazard

We have a logo?!!!?
Bogrady - is it available as a sticker or patch?

We now return this thread to it's regularly scheduled programming:

If you're worried about alligator gar you _really_ need to be on the lookout for the spotted gar in Spring Lake. They'll tell you about them in the Science Diving Class. And then there was the 2ft snapper that Doc Watson flushed straight at me.....