Crystal Lake

[brutus_scuba]

Anyone know the temps in Crystal Lake. Are there thermoclines? What should I be ready for? I have some good topographical maps of the lake, and my girlfriend knows the lake pretty well from swimming there for years but has never dove it.

 

[krawdady]

I wish I could tell you as I am going to be heading up there myself at some point. I'll give the thread a bump and hopefully someone can inform both of us.

 

[cldwdiver]

Unless the lake is extremely shallow, like Houghten Lake (<10 ft.), it will most likely have several thermoclines at around 10, 20, 35, etc.

I have dove many Michigan inland lakes and I have yet to find one that did not have them.
I have not been in Crystal Lake, but I would expect it to be similar to other Michigan inland lakes.

 

[do it easy]

I did a clean up at Crystal Lake a few years ago. Just to be sure, it's in Crystal Lake, IL???

Max depth is 41', but the deepest I got was 27'. I was there in Sept, 2005. Water temps were about 70f. Vis was poor, 5' or less. There might be boaters out there. Be sure to check for any dive flag requirements.

The lake itself is roughly bowl shaped, although it is long and stretched out. The edges are in the 10'-20' range and the center is the deepest at 41'.

Some things you might not know about Crystal Lake:
average depth 14'
max depth 41'
size 228 acres
shoreline 2.8 miles
elevation 891' MSL

 

[Dive Right In Scuba]

I agree with do it easy...I have never dove there, but I have boated there alot. Make sure you have a flag and BE CAREFUL! Boaters for the most part are ignorant of dive flags and will come over to see what it is or what your doing. I hope no boaters take offense to this....but its a very busy lake! I was out this past weekend Wake boarding and almost got ran over by a jet ski, she didnt even see me, and a boat was about 20ft from going over my head when he veered away and the people in the boat waved while I waved a nice gesture back! Hell both times I had the wake board vertical in the water to warn them.

Just please be careful there!!

 

[brutus_scuba]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm actually headed to Crystal Lake in Michigan. I will have a flag, and my girlfriends family has access to a private beach where boat traffic is minimal. They have owned the property for 25 years and know the lake very well. I've been assured visibility is pretty good, and the largest challenges will be cold water, which I'm pretty much 98% of my diving anyways.

 

[caymaniac]

I have dove in Crystal Lake, if it's the one by Frankfort MI., good viz., not a lot to see, I caught a 24 inch sucker with my hands.....for about 3 seconds. I did hear someone say there was a spot to dive with possible artifacts or an old dumping grounds, but when I got to the lake to dive I had no info on where this area would be. It should really help if you have someone that knows some of the history of the area/lake. I dove in this time frame of July, water temps was in the 60's, there was a thermalcline but I don't remember how deep...it would vary anyway. I wore a 5mm and was comfortable.