I know I'm not the only diver in Iowa!

[Jafo123]

Hi everyone! I live just north of Sioux City, Iowa if anyone knows where that is. Just recently OW certified and have been doing most of my diving at Lake Francis Case in Pixtown, South Dakota. Always on the lookout for new places closer to get wet.

Jafo

 

[Bob3]

Check out the rivers, there is usually a good supply of junk (treasures to some) waiting to be picked up.
We scarfed some interesting bottles out of the river in Cedar Rapids.
Hit the library for old platt books from the 1800s. They show a lot of the more interesting aspects of the area, like old docks, bridges/dams, Indian camps, mills, etc.

 

[Bluefish]

What sort of techniques do you use for river diving. I'm right on the banks of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers, but between current and no-viz, I'm not really sure how to approach it.

 

[Bob3]

It's always nice to have some viz, so that pretty much rules out anything deeper than 6" in the Mississippi River.
In other tannin-stained waters you can be happy with a foot, sometimes less.
Here is a good article on river diving that covers some of the other aspects: http://www.mindspring.com/~divegeek/rivertech.htm

 

[Bluefish]

Really interesting site Bob. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Iruka]

Hi...I lived & got certified in Iowa back in the 1980s...although we drove up into Wisconsin to actually do our dives. Now I'm in Guam, where I've been diving about 8 years, and have 4920 dives or so. My brother lives not terribly far from you, I think...Spirit Lake. I'm from Dubuque originally, and also lived in Council Bluffs. I might dive Spirit Lake or Okoboji or whatever one of these years when I get home on vacation....change of pace from the boring 100' plus viz we have to deal with over here in Guam!

 

[aalbinger]

"Big Blue" in Mason City is supposed to be ok. http://www.seatasea.com/BigBlueQuarry.htm

I'd like to dive in Okoboji sometime too.

Here in Cedar Rapids there is the resivoir at Palo but the algae bloom pretty much destroys the visibility by now.

-Andrew

 

[bluedestiny]

How is Big Blue or Okiboji?
I'm on the far southeast side of Iowa

 

[flexlarson]

hello Im from south eatern south dakota
I dive at the pickstown resevoir .

How is Big Blue or Okiboji?
I'm on the far southeast side of Iowa

 

[StSomewhere]

I'm closer to Omaha than I am to most of the rest of Iowa, but I'm not allergic to road trips. Looking forward to a trip down to Oronogo or Table Rock when the weather warms up a bit, but I could also be talked into driving up to Okoboji...