Diving Dale Hollow

[Gentry1375]

Hello,

I'm Gentry and new to diving. I got certified in Cozumel in Jan. I am looking for dive sites in Kentucky. I have heard Dale Hollow is good. I have access to a houseboat at State Dock in Jamestown and also a deckboat. I don't think there is anywhere to dive there. I am planning on taking the deckboat over to Dale Hollow. Does anyone have info on dive sites, where to launch, anything you know will be helpful.

 

[crpntr133]

Never been there but really want to go. Here is a link to the marina that should give you enough info.
I'm sure that if you need a dive buddy or two that someone would join you. Just organize something and post.

 

[Diver Lori]

A group from my dive shop rented a pontoon boat and did a few dives there a couple years ago. We couldn't see 1 foot in front of our faces. We did have a good time of comraderie though!

If you live closer than us, you may have better luck. It's too far a drive for us gambling on vis.

 

[SCUBAJENNIFER]

I'd always heard that Dale Hollow was really clear??

 

[crpntr133]

That is the first time that I have heard about bad viz.

Jen, get rid of the cat.

 

[ElizabethGreene]

I was in a group that went on Labor Day '07. Take what you read here with a grain of salt as this awas ~ my 10th dive. We rented a dive boat from the Marina and about 40ish of us went diving. First we dove a little island with lots of shale littering around, then one of the locals sent us to a sandbar that had a sunken bridge and a boat on the shallow side and a 60+ foot rock wall drop off on the other. The visibility was good (until the students swam through). Above the thermocline I was fine with a t-shirt and swimsuit. Below the thermocline I was a little cool in a rental shorty.

Anecdotally I've heard that there are some old foundations and possibly structures at some point in the Lake, but I do not know where they are. A google search should point you to the marina dive shop and they will likely know all the good dive spots. If you think about it, could you send over some gps coordinates? please.. pretty please?

AFAIK, the DM is planning another trip this year, but he hasn't set a date yet.

One more thing. As a last resort, a bait shop or the Wal-marts sporting goods section will have a waterroof "map" of the lake, and they usually indicate old structures and such. I found a couple of bridge footings (deep) in Percy priest lake this way.

-ellile

...wishes she had a side scanning sonar unit.

 

[SCUBAJENNIFER]

Jen, get rid of the cat.

Bite me!

 

[crpntr133]

Bite me!

She shows her love in the weirdest ways!

Back to the thread. The LDS went a few years back and bought a map from the marina. It was a huge roll out map and it was pretty detailed. I think it even had GPS cords on it. From the way they talked I would suggest a dry suit. The buildings and bridges that they dove were all in the 40 degree waters. This was Labor Day weekend.

 

[Don Wray]

Always remember, vertical viz does not always equal horizontal viz...I dove Dale once and viz horizontal was horrible....vertical was beautiful....pretty good fishing though as long as you use 3 or 4# test line.

 

[scubagal28]

I've dove there several times...vis has always been decent. If you go into the dive shop there they have a map with points of interest on it. I personally like to dive in the weed beds. You'll see lots of fish and turtles. Its best to dive in one of the coves. Even though I've always had a dive flag above me the boats and especially the jet ski's just don't pay alot of attention to it. All in all...its a close decent dive site.