Lake Diving

[FishDiver]

I am a resident of Plano, TX on a 2-3 year expat assignment in Sydney, Australia. I never dived in the US but got certified and got the bug here in Oz. I have done over 100 dives this year and will probably have done over 300 by the time I move back to TX.

I have done a lot of bass fishing in TX. I would be very interested in seeing bass habitat from the perspective of a diver. Is it safe (or even possible) to dive the big impounds like Ray Roberts and Sam Rayburn or does the boat traffic and poor vis preclude diving?

Where do you folks dive locally in the DFW area? Please tell me that little tank in Terrell isn't the only spot!

 

[Timeliner]

I am a resident of Plano, TX on a 2-3 year expat assignment in Sydney, Australia. I never dived in the US but got certified and got the bug here in Oz. I have done over 100 dives this year and will probably have done over 300 by the time I move back to TX.

I have done a lot of bass fishing in TX. I would be very interested in seeing bass habitat from the perspective of a diver. Is it safe (or even possible) to dive the big impounds like Ray Roberts and Sam Rayburn or does the boat traffic and poor vis preclude diving?

Where do you folks dive locally in the DFW area? Please tell me that little tank in Terrell isn't the only spot!

Some of us dive all year long
You can pretty much dive anywhere you feel like it. If you are not picky about visibility then most anyplace in the shallows will do fine. Lets face it even 2 feet of vis. beats out Dancing with the Stars, Wife Swap, American Idol and Nanny 911 and any Daytime eyepatch wearing Soap opera star you care to name. In the shallows ....Thats where the Bass hang out this time of year . Suggestions from me would include little trip up to Lake Murray , OK anytime of year. vis. isn't great but is between 4 and 15 feet depending on depth and time of year. The Bass are there year round but are most active in the Summer.
Lake Travis down near Austin is good all year. Lake Broken Bow, OK is a secret I share as well... probably my best secret too. Clear deep cold and always has fish.

 

[WesTexDiver]

My favorite dives are in TX lakes..at night. Fine and fun during the day, but something about night dives seems to make the fish just hang out and let you get much closer to them. Two or three months ago in StillHouse Creek I had a group of white bass who thought my dive light was the place to hang out. As far as largemouth I got within a few inches of some real hogs. Love it, and do it al I can.

 

[Timeliner]

Ditto !! The bass especially just go nuts during the night and they seem to get closer and follow you around.
Very Cool ! Down deep in the dark on the bottom of the lakes they seem to do the same during the daytime thing too .

Darkness is cool !

Oh... BTW I didn't mention Tyler Lake State Park.
I'd have to say that if your into fish then that place is the best. I'm surprized I forgot it. .. Small lake , pretty clear not too deep but man. lots of freaking fish !!
visit my Photo Gallery and there are some monster bass from Tyler Lake ( Bubba the bass)

 

[FishDiver]

visit my Photo Gallery and there are some monster bass from Tyler Lake ( Bubba the bass)

Nice pics.

As a former stump-jumpin' tourney bass fisherman, I am terrified of getting nailed by a boater in the shallow TX lakes. How do you avoid this?

I didn't know what a dive flag was until I became certified. I'll bet the freshwater boaters use them as slalom markers!

 

[LakeScubaDiver]

FishDiver, we have lots of local dive sites in TX on our website...check it out in the link below and then click on the "map" for the USA dive sites! We have two buddies in Plano!

 

[PvilleStang]

The best sites for fish are often zones where no boaters are allowed. Examples: At Lake Travis, there are two popular dive parks, Mansfield Dam and Windy Point Park (Barstow's side, not county) where fishing is prohibited. Here, the fish become fairly domesticated, and at the same time, no threat of boaters and fishermen.

 

[Narcd_dvr]

One thing you'll noticed when you dive in either Mansfield and Windy point, the big fish will be following you around, expecting for some food. If you dive on both places, make sure you buy some Vienna Sausage.

 

[Timeliner]

Nice pics.

As a former stump-jumpin' tourney bass fisherman, I am terrified of getting nailed by a boater in the shallow TX lakes. How do you avoid this?

I didn't know what a dive flag was until I became certified. I'll bet the freshwater boaters use them as slalom markers!

There are a few very effective ways to avoid the boats.

Dive when it's just too darn cold to be out on a boat is my favorite one
Never surface near your dive flag..... Never !
Stay deeper then 5 feet unless there are sailboats and then stay deeper then 10 feet.
(keels really suck and they don't make any noise)

My good fortune up here in N.E. Texas and Southern OK. is that most folks at the lake don't have the skill to tie they're shoes...
Shoot most never even owed shoes so mastering other knots required to sail is out of the question.

Just listen and probably you'll hear a boat.

Even still I remember one time that TexDiveGuy and I surfaced near our dive flag at Lake Broken Bow right in the middle of at least seven V8 500+ HP speed boats one afternoon.
They were just parked yackin' it up and enjoying the day

We never heard a thing... Not a Thing !!! 'Totally blew our minds.

 

[FishDiver]

My good fortune up here in N.E. Texas and Southern OK. is that most folks at the lake don't have the skill to tie they're shoes...
Shoot most never even owed shoes so mastering other knots required to sail is out of the question.

Speaking of NE TX, have you ever dived Sandlin? I have a fishing cabin there and I would love to spy on the bass with my dive gear.

BTW, Where do you get your tanks filled out there in the hinterlands? I doubt NTB has adequate filters on their compressors!