It's been 4 months since anyone last reported anything here. So I thought I might put a little bit out if anyone ever looks at it again.
September has been very low water levels. About 25 feet lower than usual. Apparently there was a pumping station on the CAP canal that was down for a few weeks and the lake made up for the missing water. A lot of land and a few islands that have not been dry in a very long time were above water. The bad part was visibility has been less than usual. The wave action on shore was disturbing sediment that has not been disturbed in a long time. Add in some heavy rains that washed this into the lake. Hopefully this means the water will be clearer as it rises with all the sediment now settling on the bottom.
September had some pretty warm water, in the 80s and no real thermocline down to 100'. October has seen the rise of the lack, back up to normal summer low water levels. Cool evening have dropped the surface temps into the mid 70s. Maybe a slight thermocline at 100'. But that canal water being pumped in is cooler, mid 60s. But you need to be close to the dam and dive a bit deeper to enjoy that new found clarity. As f this past weekend it was spotty but 138' is where I marked the clear, cooler layer starting at. That happens to be about 90' below the top of the old dam. Overall water quality is just starting to pick up as well.
I am hoping that this makes for a nice winter of diving.