SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
Another early morning and off to FL for some panhandle spring diving. This was the 2nd day in a row that I've been able to see the sunrise over the AL/FL border and again, it was one hellova site(snapped a pic this time too).
I arrived at Morrison Springs just before 8AM and Biggen was already there waiting to dive. There were two other divers onsite that said the visibility was decent - sounds good. WaterDawg arrived around 8AM and everyone introduced themselves, we'd be diving as a 3man team. I could barely talk(lost my voice last night and I'm still trying to get over a chest-cold, sinus's are clearing fine so I proceeded to dive) and Biggen was getting over a cold as well and wasn't sure if he'd be able to clear - possibly ending his dive just after getting wet. A few small setbacks, maybe, but the weather was great(maybe slightly chilly) with sunny skies, a light breeze, and mild temps(highs would end up in the high 60ºsF).
Water levels were around 6.5', which is about the point when Morrison is trying to clear itself of tannick water. Visibility was expected to be somewhere in the 10-20' range and we got exactly that. The tannick water still in the basin felt pretty cold, in the low 60sF, but the spring water directly above and inside the cavern was a comfortable 68F. Biggen had trouble clearing at first, so he called the dive only to find that he could clear a little later(after we were out of site) so he stayed on the surface and waited for us instead of heading home. WaterDawg and I ended up making 3 dives today, so Biggen was still able to enjoy 2 decent spring dives - his first freshwater dives as well as first cavern dives. Visibility in the cavern was flawless as always and we got to play with the catfish and freshwater eels. Near the entrance a few rock bass hung around the cavern flow. After we breathed away 1/3 of our cylinder, we explored the smaller cavern and the basin. There were bream, bass, mullet, carp, and even a small flounder to be found in the basin and the spring run. We also saw a bowfin buried nearly completely in the duckweed of the spring run. I tried to position myself in front of it for a picture, but it got startled and gave up its hiding spot while kicking up a huge duckweed ball of crap. This was the first bowfin I've encountered, I always get excited to see new fish at familiar dive sites.
WaterDawg brought both, his doubles BP/W setup as well as his single BP/W setup. On the 3rd dive he let me don the single tank setup - first time I've ever tried a BP/W setup. Trimming up and keeping bouyant came easily - great, more stuff I want to buy... Arg! WaterDawg took over camera duties for this dive so I could adjust to the new equipment without worrying about taskloading.
Morrison is great. There is no entrance fee, no cost, the spring has the potential to be as clear as any(its still fun when its not gin clear), you can park at the waterline, and you can do back to back dives as quickly as your tables will let you. We did 3 dives and were out of the water and packed up by ~2PM - not too shabby at all. Biggen had some things to do, so WaterDawg and I waved good-bye and headed over to Sally's to top the dives off with some good-ole country cookin.
Another good weekend of diving, I can't wait for the next! I'm friggin tired though...
I'll attach some pics, but the rest can be found here
http://www.suprbugman.com/gallery/album60
I arrived at Morrison Springs just before 8AM and Biggen was already there waiting to dive. There were two other divers onsite that said the visibility was decent - sounds good. WaterDawg arrived around 8AM and everyone introduced themselves, we'd be diving as a 3man team. I could barely talk(lost my voice last night and I'm still trying to get over a chest-cold, sinus's are clearing fine so I proceeded to dive) and Biggen was getting over a cold as well and wasn't sure if he'd be able to clear - possibly ending his dive just after getting wet. A few small setbacks, maybe, but the weather was great(maybe slightly chilly) with sunny skies, a light breeze, and mild temps(highs would end up in the high 60ºsF).
Water levels were around 6.5', which is about the point when Morrison is trying to clear itself of tannick water. Visibility was expected to be somewhere in the 10-20' range and we got exactly that. The tannick water still in the basin felt pretty cold, in the low 60sF, but the spring water directly above and inside the cavern was a comfortable 68F. Biggen had trouble clearing at first, so he called the dive only to find that he could clear a little later(after we were out of site) so he stayed on the surface and waited for us instead of heading home. WaterDawg and I ended up making 3 dives today, so Biggen was still able to enjoy 2 decent spring dives - his first freshwater dives as well as first cavern dives. Visibility in the cavern was flawless as always and we got to play with the catfish and freshwater eels. Near the entrance a few rock bass hung around the cavern flow. After we breathed away 1/3 of our cylinder, we explored the smaller cavern and the basin. There were bream, bass, mullet, carp, and even a small flounder to be found in the basin and the spring run. We also saw a bowfin buried nearly completely in the duckweed of the spring run. I tried to position myself in front of it for a picture, but it got startled and gave up its hiding spot while kicking up a huge duckweed ball of crap. This was the first bowfin I've encountered, I always get excited to see new fish at familiar dive sites.
WaterDawg brought both, his doubles BP/W setup as well as his single BP/W setup. On the 3rd dive he let me don the single tank setup - first time I've ever tried a BP/W setup. Trimming up and keeping bouyant came easily - great, more stuff I want to buy... Arg! WaterDawg took over camera duties for this dive so I could adjust to the new equipment without worrying about taskloading.
Morrison is great. There is no entrance fee, no cost, the spring has the potential to be as clear as any(its still fun when its not gin clear), you can park at the waterline, and you can do back to back dives as quickly as your tables will let you. We did 3 dives and were out of the water and packed up by ~2PM - not too shabby at all. Biggen had some things to do, so WaterDawg and I waved good-bye and headed over to Sally's to top the dives off with some good-ole country cookin.
Another good weekend of diving, I can't wait for the next! I'm friggin tired though...
I'll attach some pics, but the rest can be found here
http://www.suprbugman.com/gallery/album60
Not sure who did it, but WaterDawg positioned them back closer to how they were after I knabbed a pic.
