Lots of neat fish in quarries. Depending the quarry and the time of the year we get some fantastic visability also...the warmest times of the year are the worst.
In the spring at france park, just off the beach before the road bed and on the shallow start of the roadbed there will be monster bluegils on nests. If you can hang there without making a mess or spooking everything you can watch as the bluegils chase the bass fry and the male bass chases the bluegils...all the while the catfish are trying to sneak up on the bluegil nests. A heck of a show. Do a night dive there and it's not uncommon for several bass to follow you the whole dive using your light to hunt by.
Then there is crappie rock where several of the largest crappies I've ever seen can be found hanging out. Be stealthy though because the big ones spook easy. Of course you have to be able to find that rock. I could tell you how but then I'd have to kill you.
I've dived france park when the vis had to have been close to 100 feet. you could see the truck almost from the bus. I was there this spring just to go for a walk and from the bluff I could see the bottom almost everyplace. You could see the bus, the roadbed, the secret rock I mentioned, the truck and the fish crib. I don't think I've ever seen the place that clear...but it wasn't open for diving.
July and august bring about the worst vis at France park because of algea blooms and divers who can't get hold of their fins. September - November are probably the best with it being on and off the rest of the year. I really loved the place when you could come and go and dive as you pleased. We used to go after work and do night dives year round. Insurance problems put an end to that and now you have to dive on the Diving Den's schedule. Oh well at least it's still open...sort of.
Gilboa, Haigh and Blue Springs can all have good vis with Gilboa being the best on average. Haigh and Gilboa are both great for fish watchers. Gilboa has a ton of freshwater sponge too. I kind of got away from diving blue psrings because for a long time they couldn't decide if they were open or not and when.
Nothing to see in quarries? HA! When they train midwest divers in quarries they need to really teach divers how to dive in them so they can see what's there. Unfortunately they try to teach reef diving in quarries. LOL Once at Haigh I saw 2 divers kneeling in the middle of the bluegil nests taking turns taking pictures of each other. They never noticed what was going on around them. I tried to politely inform them of the havock they were reaking and get them to move but I'm not sure they got it.
I'm not diving much these days because of little things like involuntary career changes and stuff but if any one passing through the area and new to quarries needs help finding things to look at, let me know and maybe we can set something up. I know some of the quarries pretty well...probably too well.
