Tenkiller turned. zero vis

[fire_diver]

I talked with Nautical Adventures in Cookson today. They said that the lake turned last week, and that vis was about 1 foot. Vis is supposed to be screwed until about May, by then it should be back its normal self.

What a bummer. I was going to try to get wet this week. Guess I'll just sit in the bathtub in my scuba gear.

Comrade Stroke

edit-oops, wrong month. I changed the date to reflect that the lake should suck until almost May, not April.

 

[tgood]

I went to Lake Elmer Thomas last weekend, Vis was 15 to 20', Water temp was 54 degrees. Its about the same distance as Tenkiller from NW Oklahoma.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Lakes don't turn over in the spring.

 

[mudhole]

Lakes don't turn over in the spring.

"Turn-over" is reported more often than it occurs. . . I witnessed a turn over while it was happening, years ago. In the spring, if the surface of a lake is colder than the bottom layers, there will be a flip of these layers when the surface warms above 39 degrees. . . water is heaviest at that temperature. What we watched was large particles of moss, algae, twigs moving up and down in strings . . . all kinds of debris that was on the bottom. These verticle strings were all over the lake, my partner and I tried several different areas that we were familiar with. If it matters(?) all the areas were near the main chanel with deep water nearby.

I have never witnessed a "turn-over" in the fall. But have been told by others that there is a fall turnover when their favorite south shore was muddy. What I think is going on in the fall. . . all summer long the winds primarily from the south, keep the north shores clean and the south shores accumulate more silt. When the North winds of winter arrive, those dive sites on the south shores are stirred up. In the fall, and you find a muddy shore. . . try the upwind shorelines, you may find clearer water.

Often, after heavy rains, people will report bad visibility. Parts of a lake will remain clear if there is not a lot of runoff. It might take a boat to take advantage, but there will remain clear water upstream from the runoff.

I'm most familiar with Tenkiller. There is an underwater park at the state park at Pine Cove. If there is rain with run off, a lot of water goes in at Pine Cove. The muddy water will come out of Pine creek and carry right past the state park, ruining the visibility. At the same time on the north side of Pine cove the visibilty will be much better because not much water runs in from the bluff overhead. I have seen 15 foot visibilty on the north side under the bluff, when the underwater park may be less than 2 foot viz. Also, if there is recent rain and runoff, Crappie Point near the dam will be muddy. . . a lot of runoff from the park dumps in there. If you cross the dam, you can see the mud at Crappie point, with blue (-ish) water just slightly off shore.

Keep diving. . . there are still lots of mysteries underwater.

 

[Jethroish]

I'm most familiar with Tenkiller. There is an underwater park at the state park at Pine Cove. If there is rain with run off, a lot of water goes in at Pine Cove. The muddy water will come out of Pine creek and carry right past the state park, ruining the visibility. At the same time on the north side of Pine cove the visibilty will be much better because not much water runs in from the bluff overhead. I have seen 15 foot visibilty on the north side under the bluff, when the underwater park may be less than 2 foot viz. Also, if there is recent rain and runoff, Crappie Point near the dam will be muddy. . . a lot of runoff from the park dumps in there. If you cross the dam, you can see the mud at Crappie point, with blue (-ish) water just slightly off shore.

Keep diving. . . there are still lots of mysteries underwater.

And we got a little rain here in the Tulsa area, but I believe there was quite a bit of rain in NE Okla over the past week. Runoff and crap flowing down stream...

 

[soonerwink]

I dove Tenkiller today at the Scuba Park, and the report is correct only about 1 foot visibility. Surface temp was 55, only went to 36 feet, temp 50 at that depth. First dive my buddy and I got seperated, couldn't see buddies fins or tank, which both are bright yellow. Second dive tethered together by 15 foot rope with D rings attached to each end. Our dive club at Poseidon Adventures in Tulsa is having an underwater Easter Egg hunt on Sunday April 1st. It should be alot of fun finding eggs if the vis doesn't improve.

 

[mudhole]

soonerwink. . . along the north shore of pine cove, there is a small curved bay. It is just outside the marker buoys and not as far as the bluff. It "may" be better than the south shore of pine cove. It is a popular spot for Scuba poker, compass runs and treasure hunts later in the summer. There is parking and a shelter to the east. Be sure no divers go into the cove, there is a popular boat ramp further in the cove. So much water comes into the lake through pine creek the underwater park area will be slow to clear. That north shore is usually spared because of the lake current, along the old river channel. Good luck to you all.

 

[soonerwink]

mudhole..Thanks for the info I will pass along this thread to our dive club. I have never dove on the north shore.

 

[Timeliner]

Every Dive I've done at Tenkiller had spots with less the 2 feet of Vis.
But... there were also times that it cleared out.
The surface water it changes all the time. Once you hit about 50 feet there and deeper things can get special.
It still changes all the time while you dive but it's usually not bad. Beside I sorta like freaky water !

There are magic days sometimes you know and you just have to get lucky but April- early May can be dream time !