Lake Amistad

[Satshark]

Were is the best dive location on Lake Amistad in Del Rio? Does anyone know of a dive shop there I can contact? I have heard it is a great place to dive but the information is second hand from a non-diver. :06: Thanks

 

[Debraw]

I did a quick Google search for Lake Amistad and came across this link that I thought was pretty cool. It is from 2002 so I would check the info directly with the dive shop there:
Amistad Scuba Divers, (830) 775-0878

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Article names 10 top dive spots in Texas. It kind of makes me want to get a map of Texas out and start diving every spot I can. I am betting there would be several people here that would take up a challenge like that. We could call it the "Texas Swamper Challenge". PADI actually has a special Texas Diver Certfication specialty card. My husband has all of the information at work but he kind of remebers it saying something about you have to do a quarry dive, a river dive, a lake dive, an ocean dive, etc. all within Texas. Then you have to get your logbook signed by an PADI Instructor that you did it. As soon as he gets me the exact info I will post it here.

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2002/may/ed_1/

 

[cyklon_300]

I've dived there a couple of times recently with a group that is conducting cave exploration efforts at Goodenough Springs.

At this area of Amistad, visibility in the upper water column (75-85') has been poor (~5') over the last several months. At the current lake level, dives to the cavern/cave zone are beyond recreational depths.

The group also located the Lake Walk dam and power plant building which is in approx. 120' of water. The 3-story stone building is a pretty interesting dive.

 

[Satshark]

Thanks. The number goes to Amistad Marine a marine/dive operation. The lady that answerd the phone was LESS than kind or helpful.

I like the sounds of the Texas Specialty cert. I have the quarry, Lake and river dives completed with a PADI instructor. Maybe I can drag him to the Flower Gardens for the saltwater dive. I look forward to more info on that.

I was hoping for a better report on the Amistad conditions. I can find crummy viz here in San Antonio without the drive. Maybe I will have to rethink this trip and plan to go there later in the year when the viz gets better.

Mmmmm? Maybe make the 2hr drive to Lake Travis.

 

[WaterWayne]

Cyklon apparently had better diving than did our group from the Austin Scuba Club a summer or two ago. We dove President's Landing and under the bridge. The Landing had almost no visibility, worsened by the silt-loaded trees which we did not always dodge. Getting down to the water then was a chore, and it was even harder coming back up that steep incline in the heat with our gear. I understand the lake level has risen since then, though. Under the bridge was better, but not great. Vis there may have been 10'. Especially under the bridge, there were fair-sized fish, but not as many nor as close as the Vienna-sausage-spoiled critters in Lake Travis. Other sights included car batteries, etc.

Regarding the "dive shop", it's mainly a bait-n-beer operation for fishermen. There was a dubious-looking compressor, which only the husband of the store's couple could run. Hours were limited.

Incidentals: There is great fishing in Lake Amistad, I understand. The Mexico-U.S. border is in the middle of Lake Amistad. You can easily take a taxi across the border into Ciudad Acuna for an evening of the predictable cheap thrills, such as watching young airpersons from Del Rio's Air Force base chug cheap beer. SatShark, you can do that in San Antonio, right?

Still, I'm glad I went; got experience, even if not great diving. Is international border diving a check-off item on the Texas diver cert?

 

[Satshark]

Double post. Sorry.

 

[Satshark]

Actually you don't get much of the drunk airperson thing here. Drinking age in Mexico is only 18. So I would think it would be popular with the young under 21 crowd. Besides, I am not a real fan of border towns.

But hey, how many people can log two countries on a single dive with a single tank?

I'm seriously considering feeding hotdogs to the Lake Travis fish at Mansfield Dam now. I'll save Amistad for the better winter months.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

I was suprised to hear that the viz was so bad. We used to go there when the lake was full and you could get down to the water fairly easy. The viz was good around 15-25ft on some dives. We have not dove there since the drought the lake level was so low we couldn't drag our gear back up the hill over the rocks any more. We didn't have a boat so we quit going. Use to be a nice lake looked blue against the white rock.

 

[archman]

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Article names 10 top dive spots in Texas.
http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2002/may/ed_1/

I can't figure this list out. I think it's supposed to signify most visited dive spots, rather than best dive spots. It's got Blue Lagoon & Amistad listed, for goodness' sake. Few folks would call Athens great diving either, expecially in comparison to CSSP (which ISN'T mentioned). And Spring Lake didn't make the cut either, holy cow. Oh yeah, and for Lake Travis, Mansfield Dam Park is completely omitted... criminy who wrote this thing?

I've been to Amistad a few times to dive at different times of year, and it was okay but certainly not great. Even in a sheltered hydrilla cove in early fall the vis wasn't better than 10 feet. This was rather frustrating, as the monster-sized fish that live in this reservoir zip in and out of your field of vision so fast you can't appreciate them. I dove once in late spring and the vis was like 3 feet, bleah!

I did find some neat colonies of freshwater sponges growing on sunken trees around 60 feet, and there is supposed to be a nice cave somewhere in deep water.

I'd say Lake Travis is a better dive site, both at the Dam or at Windy Point. Logistically easier too for most Texans, by like an order of magnitude.

 

[cyklon_300]

I've been to Amistad a few times to dive at different times of year, and it was okay but certainly not great...and there is supposed to be a nice cave somewhere in deep water.

The cave you're referring to is likely GE. The entrance is currently around 140' and the system was dived to 393' ffw in August. This is not the terminal depth, just where the team turned the dive.