Diving in Rivers

[John C. Ratliff]

I’ve been diving rivers all my life (many decades). Here are a couple of YouTube videos which will describe some of my diving.



From a safety perspective, I dive a float, and always carry my dive knife (BFK) on my leg sheath. Any cutting tool has to be immediately accessible, because of the hazard of fishing line, which is almost invisible underwater. Current is best handled by diving to the bottom, where it is not as bad. I dive smaller rivers, which have the shore immediately available.

And, I see things most others never would see. Here’s another video, quite long, but showing how I handle river diving. I was documenting the spawning habits of the lampreys that inhabit the Pacific Northwest rivers.


SeaRat

 

[pdwh]

I’ve been diving rivers all my life (many decades). Here are a couple of YouTube videos which will describe some of my diving.



From a safety perspective, I dive a float, and always carry my dive knife (BFK) on my leg sheath. Any cutting tool has to be immediately accessible, because of the hazard of fishing line, which is almost invisible underwater. Current is best handled by diving to the bottom, where it is not as bad. I dive smaller rivers, which have the shore immediately available.

And, I see things most others never would see. Here’s another video, quite long, but showing how I handle river diving. I was documenting the spawning habits of the lampreys that inhabit the Pacific Northwest rivers.


SeaRat

That's for that. It's good info. I did find a couple of places in the US that teach the SSI River specialty but it's apparently rare. That sort of bothers me for two reasons. 1, it means that any diver going into the rivers may not have awareness of potential risks or proper gear for it and 2, people aren't interested enough to explore them.

 

[pdwh]

Just some info for everyone who has commented or has interest - I found some good information here - Divegeek Myths & Realities. He's a University of Michigan professor who teaches diving and does it in the St Clair River, between Great Lakes with heavy shipping traffic. He's got some interesting ideas on custom equipment too. I doubt I'll ever do anything that challenging. My local rivers are a bit . . . tamer.

 

[rhwestfall]

Up this way, we drift dive the Upper Niagara River (steady 3 kt), and also venture over to the St. Lawrence River (some sections rip while other sections seem practically still). They are a lot of fun, the later being an amazing world known wreck diving location. A shop here where I live sponsors weekly dives over the summer on the Niagara, and another has the River as part of their training program (NAUI Master Diver) as well as runs it's Rescue Class in it for one of the segments. Yeah, it is "different"....

 

[tmassey]

Just some info for everyone who has commented or has interest - I found some good information here - Divegeek Myths & Realities. He's a University of Michigan professor who teaches diving and does it in the St Clair River, between Great Lakes with heavy shipping traffic. He's got some interesting ideas on custom equipment too. I doubt I'll ever do anything that challenging. My local rivers are a bit . . . tamer.

Hey, that’s my river!

I live an hour from that dive. Through the summer, I probably do it 30 times? It’s by far my favorite local dive that doesn’t require getting on a boat. And other than paying for fuel and breathing gas, it’s free!

It is a very challenging dive. I do not recommend that inexperienced divers do that dive without a very experienced mentor to help them. Having said that: recreational divers with only a handful of dives and normal generic equipment do that dive nearly every day.

I guess it depends on your level of risk tolerance, but I think that many of the adaptations described in the site linked above are overkill. Yes, there’s a very real danger of entanglement. No, I don’t think taping down the flaps of your mask strap are going to change that risk in any measurable way.

Don’t let those types of concerns scare you off. I’m not saying to think casually: like I said, this is a very challenging environment. But with good quality equipment in excellent repair, an experienced mentor and a conservative, careful mindset, I think the majority of divers can execute a safe and successful – and enjoyable! – Saint Clair River dive.

The nice thing is, there are different sections of the river that have different levels of difficulty. There are areas where you can wade in, drift along, and then wade out. There are other areas where you have to climb over a railing and drop 10 feet down into the water and then climb a recessed ladder back up those 10 feet and climb back over the railing. There are some areas where you will stay in 18 feet of water and drift along as three shipwrecks pass below you. There are some areas where you have to kick like crazy for five minutes out to 80 feet of water where all the while it seems the entire river is pushing against you the entire time. That means that, as long as you have a certain reasonable level of scuba skill and physical fitness, there is probably a section of river that will meet your tastes and abilities.

So, if you’re ever in the Detroit area during the summer, consider finding a local River Diver and see if it’s something you can take advantage of!

 

[Germie]

Riverdiving is teached in Europe in Swiss near Verzasca for example. So there is a specialty programm for it. I don't know what you will learn that you cannot figure out yourself, but I can tell you that diving in some rivers is really fun. I cannot help you with options in Florida, I have only been there for the overheard rivers, aka caves.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

One of the reasons for my diving in freshwater rivers is to observe the aquatic life there. One of my two BS degrees is in zoology. I've seen redside shiners spawning, photographed the river sculpins, gotten closeups of crawdads (crayfish), and the Western Pearlshell Mussel spawning. That's also why a lot of my diving is solo in rivers; I stop and observe, where others may not be interested in staying in one place and waiting for things to happen.

SeaRat

 

[rhwestfall]

I stop and observe, where others may not be interested in staying in one place and waiting for things to happen.

Nice that you can stop. My "home river" is 3kt steady. You simply go for a ride. If you grab a rock to possibly stop, you can get a mask ripped off with the velocity of the flow or the boulder may start to move. With a granite ledge rock bottom, there isn't much to get a stab into either.

 

[tmassey]

Nice that you can stop. My "home river" is 3kt steady. You simply go for a ride. If you grab a rock to possibly stop, you can get a mask ripped off with the velocity of the flow or the boulder may start to move. With a granite ledge rock bottom, there isn't much to get a stab into either.

That’s the funny thing about rivers, at least our river.

We have every bit the same circumstances as you’re describing. Unrelenting current, rocky bottom, and if you grab onto something it’s just likely to come with you as stop you. (After all, in the end, it’s actually the same river as yours! )

If you look around, though, you can easily find little nooks and bends that get you out of the current. Most people kind of avoid those areas. After all, many of us are usually in the river for the excitement of a roller coaster ride.

But not everyone. @John C. Ratliff ‘s post reminded me very much of one of my river dive buddies. @Below blue water diver spends a tremendous amount of time in the river going absolutely nowhere. Like John mentioned, those are not my favorite dives, and he almost always does those solo, He has some outstanding video, not just in the St. Clair River but also in rivers that are 5 feet deep and go nowhere fast.

He has a great YouTube channel to check out: Below Blue Water Diver

And here’s a couple of videos that highlight the contrast. Here’s one where we stayed in exactly one place and saw what was the coolest site of fish I have ever seen: millions of minnows.




And here’s one where we drifted with the sturgeon. I’m the guy in doubles. It really highlights the speed with which we are moving. You’ll notice I’m not finning at all, yet the bottom is just flying by.




He has an amazing presentation he does about diving in the St. Clair river, covering history, shipwrecks, fish, diving strategies and techniques. I don’t think it’s out on YouTube yet. But if you’re a local, get in touch with him and find out when he’s doing it again.

 

[Below blue water diver]

Rivers Rivers Rivers!

My favorite diving environment and definitely the most slept on. You know in Michigan alone there’s just as many miles of rivers as there is shoreline miles in the *Entire* United States?

Theres a river out there for everything. From treasure hunting, to clear water drifting with scuba, to lazy pools where you can get 3 hour long dives to of course my favorite. Fish, tons and tons of the most beautiful overlooked and under appreciated fish you’ll ever find. Some more than capable of competing with ocean fish for beauty.

Where does one begin? That’s where things get interesting. I highly recommend you tag along with someone who knows their particular river well. The difference between a pleasant dive and an escape by the skin of your teeth can often only be yards apart.

I would also recommend ditching your scuba gear and switching to snorkeling little rivers that are less than 3 feet deep. Learning how to ride river currents, how to maneuver, how to stop, how to handle the full force against your face trying to rip your mask off, you can learn all that in relatively safe waters and then directly apply what you’ve learned there to larger rivers you can dive in.

You will also learn exploring little rivers how to read currents. An experienced eye can spot fast waters, spot deep pools of slack water, spot safe eddies that you can just sit at and most importantly spot hazardous waters with obstructions like log jams, shipwrecks and vertical eddies that can ruin your day.

Rivers in general have wild swings in viz. these are usually wind and rain related. Generally smaller rivers are immune to wind but highly susceptible to rain bigger rivers have both rainwater and wind to contend with.

My “home” river the ST Clair for instance can have 100 foot viz days and drop down to nothing in just an afternoon if the wind blows the wrong way or we get too much rainwater.

When exploring new places for the first time you wanna put the odds in your favor as much as you can. Only try clear water days, try drifting on the surface close to shore to get a lay of the land, it’s gonna be slow steady baby steps before you can safely do say an hour long 2 mile drift. But the results when you get to that point is totally worth it

Try simple stuff and work your way up from there, keep your eyes open for invites and take them when you get them. Every river has its own little treats and rewards for those willing to explore