A Little Hill Country Help? Desperately Seeking Clear Water

[Seth Patterson]

I've dove the San Marcos a couple times (not spring lake) and really enjoyed it but I was wondering if anyone knew of any other clear-water dive sites around the Hill Country?

Depth isn't much of a concern for me. So long as my tank isn't sticking out of the water I'm pretty happy. I'm also okay with very small bodies of water that don't allow for much "exploring" (i.e. a river hole), as my main objective is photography. Specifically, photographing the Texas native freshwater fish, amphibians, and invertebrates.

Are there any places like Jacob's Well where one can dive? Even on a much smaller scale. I personally have little interest in cave or penetration diving but would welcome the clear spring waters of the vertical shaft to take some pictures. It'd be fantastic if the County would let people dive just the shaft of Jacob's Well without doing any penetration into the caverns but I guess there is no way for them to regulate it.

I know the drought has everywhere hurting for water but any suggestions are much appreciated! I do plan on heading out to Balmorhea this fall sometime, maybe over the Thanksgiving Holidays, but I tend to make it up to the Austin area more often as I have family there. Hopefully the Diving for Science program will be reinstated at Spring Lake and I can take the course and do some diving there as well.

 

[diver 86]

Reveille Peak Ranch outside Burnett. I've not been there, just know of it from ads. I'd love a report if anyone's been. Here's a link:
Contact Us | Reveille Peak Ranch

 

[chrpai]

I've never been to Reveille but I have buddies who have and they tell me that Reveille isn't anything special.

Best vis I've seen in Austin was some Lake Travis dives in Dec / Jan. I've seen the vis open up to a full 20' - 25'.

Honestly your SPI pics the other day made me drool. I don't mind the 5'-10' vis I usually get but it sure would be awesome to look at something other then catfish, carp, bass, perch, beer bottles and rock walls.

 

[Seth Patterson]

Don't get me wrong, I love the Gulf! I've had 80' visibility at the Texas Clipper and it is absolutely fantastic. I typically dive sites closer to shore, like South Padre Island Artificial Reef, where visibility is usually around 5-10ft and I'm perfectly happy exploring those areas. The whole reason I dive is to see and photograph fish and other aquatic animals. It's something I'm very passionate about.


Texas actually has some very unique freshwater species found nowhere else, like, for example, the Comanche Springs Pupfish in San Soloman Springs (Balmorhea) and the Fountain Darter in San Marcos River. Likewise, several species of salamander are highly endemic to very specific springs around the Hill Country. I'm fascinated by these critters and would like to try and document as many as I can.

So that means me getting out into any clear(ish) water I can, and explore!

San Marcos Salamander (Eurycea nana)​

 

[driftwood]

Reveille Ranch is great for training but not a place for a good dive. Pretty much a typical quarry, deep water and nothing to see. The most redeeming feature of the trip is that it's not a long drive to buy some jerky at Whitington's in Johnson City.

 

[atm_diver]

Don't discount places used for training or with low vis. These were from Blue Lagoon and Lake Travis with about 10foot vis.

Lake Travis

Lake Travis

Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon