So I figured it out. I found most of the things on the map and a few that was not there. Here is the story.
A group of friends and I drove to Athens, Tennessee on Saturday. We arrived at the quarry after eating lunch at the local zaxby's. We had made arrangements to sleep in the cabins! (It is hardly a cabin and more like a tin can!) The tin can kept us dry and the bugs away so I can't really complain about it.(Planning on staying in the can again next time too
) We tried to find out the story behind the making of the sheet metal buildings, but the owners were not there and thier daughter did not know. It is a rather interesting looking cabin(looks like the home depot barn covered in sheet metal inside and out.) So on to the diving!
We did three dives for the day. The first dive was a lap around the quarry in between the 25-40 foot range. At the start there was several catfish that followed us from around the dock(wanting food) in our counter clockwise circle around the quarry.They left us about the time we hit the swim thru. I was hoping to see them in the "catfish tree" but no such luck. There was several neat over hangs cut into the walls around the quarry. There was abundant fish life everywhere. We saw multiple bass hang out along the walls nibbling at the algae growth. We finally surfaced about 50 yds from the ramp that we entered from.
Dive one stats
Dive time:56 minutes
Depth: 42'
Temp at: 42' was 67
o
20' was 80
o
Vis at: 42' was 40'
25' was 15'
Surface interval: 1 hr 26 mins.
Again, we saw multiple catfish, one paddle fish, tons of bass, and a huge @$$ shark:shocked2:! Plus there was a few hidden items on the ledges around the quarry.
Dive two was down the wall in front of the dock to 76'. I found a boat at the bottom of the down line. It was a little chilly here as I was only in my 3 mil and my buddy was in his skin and shorty. I got the its cold, going up sign, and we went up to thirty feet. We went back to the shark and platform. We played on the buoyancy course and along the wall. We saw three more paddle fish. One was at 50' and the other two around 30'.
Dive two stats
Dive time:45 minutes
Depth: 76'
Temp at: 76' was 65
o
30' was 70
o
20' was 80
o
Vis at: 76' was 40'+
25' was 15'
Surface interval: 4 hr 8 mins.
The last dive was a short night dive. I was wanting to try out my new light for the night dive. So my buddy agreed to a short dive. Our goal was thirty minutes. We got in, heading down the old road bed. We saw a few bream bedding down for the night. We had a few bass stalking prey by hiding out of our lights view and waiting for the smaller fish to show up in the light. The shark was cool looking at night! We did not see any paddle fish but they were probably there.
Dive three stats
Dive time:23 minutes
Depth: 36'
Temp at: 36' was 70
o
20' was 80
o
Vis at: 36' was as far as my light would reach
20' was pretty good but got hazy in the distance.
Surface interval: 24 hrs +
Overall, it was a great weekend of diving with friends. The staff is friendly and very knowledgeable. They have an awesome service that picks up your tanks to get filled and then brings them back. "Thanks again, George!"
I am looking forwarded to heading back and exploring the quarry a little more.
If so would you mind sharing the temperatures at different depths and how the visibility was during your dive(s)? (The last update on the website and a post here on scubaboard are a month old.) I am looking to visit there sometime soon. What are some cool things to see in the quarry and are they easy to find?
