regul8r
Contributor
Being in the midwest, we are all familiar with water visability that allows one to punch him/her self in the eye and never see it coming.
But, what I wonder is do these huge mud puddles get clearer when you go deeper?
Does it get clearer?
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Being in the midwest, we are all familiar with water visability that allows one to punch him/her self in the eye and never see it coming.
But, what I wonder is do these huge mud puddles get clearer when you go deeper?
cummings66
Contributor
Yes, they get better. But you need lights then.
You will never get anything even remotely close to the ocean if you're talking max vis, but you can get 30 feet routinely in some areas. Honestly, I'm happy with the 10 feet of vis that seems standard. More of course is nice.
You will never get anything even remotely close to the ocean if you're talking max vis, but you can get 30 feet routinely in some areas. Honestly, I'm happy with the 10 feet of vis that seems standard. More of course is nice.
OP
regul8r
Contributor
so 40+ in most lakes with lights gets ya 10-30'...kinda like a nite dive durning the day, huh?
I have on rare occasio seen fairly decent viz in Table Rock, Lake Quachita and Bull Shoals. It generally clears up below the thermocline. I have seen upwards of 20 or more but it rare. I am living here in Kansaw but I am from the deep south, where I could get to the Gulf as easy as I get to Table Rock here. I kow your question was not specific to Table Rock but in my opinion, it is the best dive spot within easy reach of Wichita and Salina. I don't know much about the lakes down in Oklahoma. We are not here forever so I make do and also travel some to dive. As far as any lake here in KS, I have no idea, they all look way muddy and no they won't get clearer. N
OP
regul8r
Contributor
Nemrod,
Wilson is about the clearest in ks. bout a hour from salina, so i'll probably try to find someone to hit it with me next year. But with Milford and Tuttle being so large and close would love it if they would clear up at some depth...
Wilson is about the clearest in ks. bout a hour from salina, so i'll probably try to find someone to hit it with me next year. But with Milford and Tuttle being so large and close would love it if they would clear up at some depth...
It depends on the body of whater.
In our quarries we have several sources of bad vis ranging from silt from divers and swimmers, run off from weather, alege blooms in summer and sulfer clouds. Often vis is better both abaove and below the thermocline because algea and silt seems to be held arounf the thermocline. Sulfer too, seems confined to layers though sometimes deeper.
I've seen similar patterns in bigger lakes like Norfork in Arkansas where, in the summe, we sometimes have great vis very shallow then it clouds up as you get closer to a thermocline (sompleace around 30-40 ft. Way below that it can VERY clear but be completely dark. Other factors like bottom and shorline composition contribute to local vise within a body of water also.
In our quarries we have several sources of bad vis ranging from silt from divers and swimmers, run off from weather, alege blooms in summer and sulfer clouds. Often vis is better both abaove and below the thermocline because algea and silt seems to be held arounf the thermocline. Sulfer too, seems confined to layers though sometimes deeper.
I've seen similar patterns in bigger lakes like Norfork in Arkansas where, in the summe, we sometimes have great vis very shallow then it clouds up as you get closer to a thermocline (sompleace around 30-40 ft. Way below that it can VERY clear but be completely dark. Other factors like bottom and shorline composition contribute to local vise within a body of water also.
LakeScubaDiver
Contributor
Tenkiller in Oklahoma the vis opens up the deeper you go, sometimes you can be at 100 ft and not need a light, we have dove in Table Rock and been around 120 ft and no lights needed! Lake Elmer Thomas near Lawton, OK was similar to what MikeFerrara was describing - AWESOME vis (20-30ft) above the thermocline at 35 ft depth, then a big muck cloud of algae and nastiness sitting right there!
cummings66
Contributor
I've never needed a light below 100 feet in Table Rock, but you will find that if you use one there are things that you'll notice which might have been missed before.
So sure, you'll see ok enough to dive and it's not exactly like nighttime, but it's not that far from it. A light makes things jump out and that's about it. Right now the thermocline is around 50 feet so you'll probably need to hit 60 feet to start getting better vis. While you're passing through it your vis will probably drop to maybe 5 feet, I've seen one foot as well in some areas with lots of milk clouds...
So sure, you'll see ok enough to dive and it's not exactly like nighttime, but it's not that far from it. A light makes things jump out and that's about it. Right now the thermocline is around 50 feet so you'll probably need to hit 60 feet to start getting better vis. While you're passing through it your vis will probably drop to maybe 5 feet, I've seen one foot as well in some areas with lots of milk clouds...
We dove Jake's Point today at Table Rock. At 30ft (thermocline), the silt slid away and it cleared off. It definately got dark beyond 45ft. I was taking a diver on his Deep Diver cert today. At 100ft on a light, we had nearly 50ft of horizontal vis (until he stirred up the bottom a bit).
Different locations will present different visibilities. I've been to a handfull of different sites on Table Rock. So far, I liked Jake's Point the best. The spillway is great if you have students for OW class, the dam is great for fun dives, Kimberling City coves were great if you wanted to hunt for cut-away anchors while learning to dive in braile, but Jake's had beautiful vis today.
Oh, I managed to find someone's vacuum cleaner on the dive. Anyone want to claim it?
Different locations will present different visibilities. I've been to a handfull of different sites on Table Rock. So far, I liked Jake's Point the best. The spillway is great if you have students for OW class, the dam is great for fun dives, Kimberling City coves were great if you wanted to hunt for cut-away anchors while learning to dive in braile, but Jake's had beautiful vis today.
Oh, I managed to find someone's vacuum cleaner on the dive. Anyone want to claim it?
While the viz is never perfect, it’s almost always better than the lakes at Oronogo and it’s closer to Kansas than many other sites.
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