Bluebonnet Hole

[smckee]

Yes. Four members of the Pisces dive club of Austin dove it Easter weekend.

This is a dive report from Andy Simmons, one of the participants.

At present low lake levels, this is a 90 foot wall dive. The wall
is a limestone cliff that crosses the river bed. Bottom is gravel
in some areas and silt/mud in others. My max depth was 96 feet.

Observed jurvenille catfish and very large bass.

There are patches of aquatic grass growing at a few spots along the
wall, at depths that are always submerged, 15 feet and deeper. This
is something I've never seen in Travis before. There are fissures
in the wall, possibly caves, but I did not see any large enough for
a diver to enter.

Vis was below average for Travis at this time of year, although vis
was not bad from surface to 30 feet along the wall. Temperature was
64 degrees at the bottom.

Saw no unusual hazards in the water. There are some ropes and
fishing line. The hike in and out with gear is hazardous due to
rocky terrain. Watch for snakes.

Public access from shore is an extremely physically challenging 30
to 45 minute hike along the rocky river bed. There is one easy
access from shore, but it is privately owned, with a house and few
trailer situated there.

We were able to explore only a small portion of the site. I intend
to revisit when I can get a boat in there.

Pictures can be found at:

http://shawnmckee.net/index.cfm?fa=bbh

Shawn McKee

 

[Willie]

Yes. Four members of the Pisces dive club of Austin dove it Easter weekend.

Thanks for the report and the picts. Very interesting. I am looking forward to trying it some time.

Willie

 

[JonAustin]

Thanks for making the trip, smckee! Sounds interesting. If I had a boat, it would sound like fun!

 

[NadMat]

I hear ya on the waiting for some more water, me and buddy were thinking about trying it whenever water got up so could get his boat in. That might not be till next year. How about getting a four by four in there? I think my '85 toy might make it down that ramp.:winky: Could be a fourby and diving combo adventure. better than gear lugging ....

 

[smckee]

The ramp is only four feet wide at most plus you have to walk down some narrow steps and across the property owners front porch first.

 

[NadMat]

Guess that nixes the toy :frown:

Must continue praying for rain.....

Thanks again for all the great info and pics.

 

[Willie]

The ramp is only four feet wide at most plus you have to walk down some narrow steps and across the property owners front porch first.

So any way to get a 4-wheeler down? Could one be used to carry gear?

Willie

 

[DandyDon]

So any way to get a 4-wheeler down? Could one be used to carry gear?

Willie

Know where you can rent pack mules...?

 

[smckee]

So any way to get a 4-wheeler down? Could one be used to carry gear?

Willie

Not that I could see. It is all private land around there. If you could make friends with a land owner the trip would be a piece of cake.

Shawn

 

[deepwaterferret]

Four of us explored Bluebonnet Hole about a month ago. Lake Travis was about ten feet below average elevation at the time.

Public access from shore was extremely challenging, about a 40 minute hike with gear over rocks and boulders. If the lake were at normal levels, I am not sure you could hike to it at all. Most of our path would have been underwater, and there is no way in from the cliffs.

The north side has an ideal entry, but it is on private land.

Best way to get there is probably by boat, but that was no feasible with the lake so low.

About the dive. The max depth we recorded was 96 feet. The main feature is a limestone wall that crosses the river channel. It is about an 80 foot vertical wall. The bottom was gravel and mud/silt, and was flat.

Visibility was about 10 feet, whereas visibility at that same time at the more popular Travis sites was 20 plus. So, we were disappointed by the vis. Water temperature was the same as the rest of the lake at that time. 70 on surface, mid 50's to 60's below the thermocline.

We did not see any springs. No cream of wheat like at Aquarena Springs. No evidence of an old quarry.

Geologically, it just looks like an old water fall or cataract.

Aquatic life consisted of large bass, baby catfish and aquatic grass.

It is a big hole and we were only able to explore a small portion of it near the wall. Even so, I am sceptical of the claims of 200 plus depth. But I feel there may be more to see than what we could find on single tanks. I just don't know where it would get any deeper than at the bottom of the wall.

We had maps and GPS. Even without that, it would be hard to miss. The lake is shallow in that area until you get to the hole.