Lake Whitney

[BigBoB]

Has anyone dove Lake Whitny? Anything good?

 

[texdiveguy]

Has anyone dove Lake Whitny? Anything good?

I have dove it sevearl times,,,,was at one time a very good lake in north Tx. to dive,,,,but over the years the conditions have not been the best. There are several dive spots none of which offer very good vis if that is what you are looking for. On the other hand if you are interested in working on diving skills related to low/no vis diving this may be a good pick,,,,and diving in those conditions are a must for anyone wanting a well rounded dive background. Its wet and can be deep,,,,so give her a try.

 

[Texass]

The first 30-40' is green soup offering about 5' of viz. Below that it opens up considerably, but due to the top layer it's pitch black. There isn't ANY life down under. I've seen some dead fish and tree limbs, but it's mainly barren muck. Oh and that muck stinks a lot of the time.

The pluses:

As I said earlier the viz is great below the upper layer.

It's a pretty warm dive during the summer. I've been down around 90' in swim trunks and no tee shirt. If you ask anybody I've dove with, they'll testify that I'm a hard core Warm Water Weenie. That may be part of the reason for the upper green layer.

You can get some depth quickly. The roped off diving cove is about 45', but under 2 minutes from the first platform you can hit down around 90'. They have a platform near the cove that's at 80'.

You can follow along the cliffs for scenery at any depth you're comfortable with.

Just be aware on your return leg that on the left side of the cove is a large overhang. It's a bit disconcerting to most folks the first few times, especially since you aren't expecting it and don't realize you've entered an overhead environment until you start your ascent.

I've never had a boat out there so my only knowledge is Loafers Bend where the dive shop is.

 

[texdiveguy]

The first 30-40' is green soup offering about 5' of viz. Below that it opens up considerably, but due to the top layer it's pitch black. There isn't ANY life down under. I've seen some dead fish and tree limbs, but it's mainly barren muck. Oh and that muck stinks a lot of the time.

The pluses:

As I said earlier the viz is great below the upper layer.

It's a pretty warm dive during the summer. I've been down around 90' in swim trunks and no tee shirt. If you ask anybody I've dove with, they'll testify that I'm a hard core Warm Water Weenie. That may be part of the reason for the upper green layer.

You can get some depth quickly. The roped off diving cove is about 45', but under 2 minutes from the first platform you can hit down around 90'. They have a platform near the cove that's at 80'.

You can follow along the cliffs for scenery at any depth you're comfortable with.

Just be aware on your return leg that on the left side of the cove is a large overhang. It's a bit disconcerting to most folks the first few times, especially since you aren't expecting it and don't realize you've entered an overhead environment until you start your ascent.

I've never had a boat out there so my only knowledge is Loafers Bend where the dive shop is.

Des when was the last time you dove out there and had this good vis???

 

[BigBoB]

actually i'm from there (laguan park). i started diving after i left. don't think it will compare to the south pacific.

 

[Moostang]

I went diving there last year. I really enjoyed it because even after you get past the green low vis waters, it's still quite warm. It also has some caves or caverns, whatever you want to call them, that were really cool too.

Here is my report from last year:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=60539

 

[Moostang]

Des when was the last time you dove out there and had this good vis???

The visibility under after the green layer is dependent upon how bright your light is. When I was down there I could see as far as my light would shine. I felt that if i had a larger and brighter one, it would have been awesome!

 

[texdiveguy]

Will just have to give the lake another go.

 

[Texass]

I did a couple of dives last year. The caveat to the viz below the upper pea soup layer is that there is no ambient light. When I said pitch black I meant it. You don't want a punk little AA cell flashlight and you definitely want a backup.

I used to use a Sunlight 8 when we went there on a regular basis and could see pretty much as far as the beam went. That was back around 2000 before CSSP opened. I tried my Pro 4 HID last year, but it got finicky before we got deep so we stayed shallow.

We saw a HUGE cat out there along the cliffs West of the dive cove once. We kind of felt it more than saw it on our way out. Scared the crap out of both of us. On the return leg it was laying on a fallen tree. I made my son swim by him so I could get a better idea of just how big he was. (being the dad does have some advantages). My son is about 5' 7" so I'd put the cat a bit over 4 1/2'.

Hey Allen, we ought to make a trip down there while CSSP is still in it's arctic mode. We could probably coax ScubaNinja into meeting up with us since that's his stomping grounds. I haven't met the new owners, but Jason should be able to tell us if the shop is open yet. Bruce at Tuckers said they're heading out there this weekend, so I'll hit him up for a condition report.

 

[texdiveguy]

I did a couple of dives last year. The caveat to the viz below the upper pea soup layer is that there is no ambient light. When I said pitch black I meant it. You don't want a punk little AA cell flashlight and you definitely want a backup.

I used to use a Sunlight 8 when we went there on a regular basis and could see pretty much as far as the beam went. That was back around 2000 before CSSP opened. I tried my Pro 4 HID last year, but it got finicky before we got deep so we stayed shallow.

We saw a HUGE cat out there along the cliffs West of the dive cove once. We kind of felt it more than saw it on our way out. Scared the crap out of both of us. On the return leg it was laying on a fallen tree. I made my son swim by him so I could get a better idea of just how big he was. (being the dad does have some advantages). My son is about 5' 7" so I'd put the cat a bit over 4 1/2'.

Hey Allen, we ought to make a trip down there while CSSP is still in it's arctic mode. We could probably coax ScubaNinja into meeting up with us since that's his stomping grounds. I haven't met the new owners, but Jason should be able to tell us if the shop is open yet. Bruce at Tuckers said they're heading out there this weekend, so I'll hit him up for a condition report.

Des........ if you want to,,,,I am thinking of going out there this Sunday and dive the 90' marker for starter,,,you are always welcome and encouraged to join me...let me know via PM. Alan