Low Visibilty, Fast Current, Large Debris, Dangerous diving (need advice)

[Ironlock]

I just recently was certified in February SSI. Since then I have made dives in Honduras and Cozumel and lately I've been diving daily (have about 30 dives logged) just below a large dam in the Missouri River while spearfishing walleyes. Each dive I experience some newly realized danger and am now in a position to truly appreciate the level of danger this style of diving is subjecting me to. Let me describe a typical dive. I have been entering from shore (rip/rap) and descending to the bottom 15-30 feet, the visibility is usually around 4-6 feet and one can only see if one is hugging the bottom. The bottom is littered with large trees, barrels, cables, boulders and other random structures. The current is flying (similar to drift diving in Cozumel) and I have a surface flag attached to a rope which is attached via lanyard to my wrist. Also on my wrist is my speargun attached via lanyard. From my BC I have a metal cable stringer which looks basically like a big nail attached to cable attached to my BC (it is constantly getting hung up). I have a knife strapped to my calf and am diving with no wet-suit. (If I realized I had forgot my knife, I would immediately surface and go get it). I am hunting walleyes and other game fish, and am constantly being forced to solve problems created by the risk of getting hung up on debris and being subjected to the current. The low vis makes it difficult to anticipate what is coming as I drift. I would greatly appreciate hearing any criticisms or ideas regarding improving my safety. My local instructor just saved a man 2 weeks ago who had drowned after getting hung up without a knife (had his flag rope tied to his BC instead of on his wrist (not smart) and panicking. The instructor realized no flag was visible, so he free dove 30 feet with no fins to cut the man free and bring him up, blue and dead. They revived him. This really brought the danger home to me. I have been diving alone and don't think it's feasible to dive with a buddy. Thanks for the help!!

 

[Wookie]

Only advice I have for you in that case is to make sure your insurance is paid up, tell your wife and kiddies that, while you love them, you don't love them enough to stay safe, and that a walleye dinner means more to you than they do. Then, have a blast.

A certification to dive is not a permission slip to be stupid, but as I've stated many times before here, I'm not going to stand in the way of anyone's particular flavor of suicide. I hope your final moments aren't too scary. The way you've described the diving, there doesn't seem to be a safe way to do it to me, but what do I know, I'm an old diver, not a bold one.

 

[tracydr]

Do you have redundant ........anything?!!

 

[TechDeep]

I smell a troll...

 

[redacted]

I would not consider "Cozumel current" to be flying. What you are doing sounds a bit risky but what diving is not. I would add another cutting tool, manage the risks, and enjoy the Walleye fillets.

If I were not reasonably comfortable, Id probably take it to the lake where it should be easier. It is hard to believe you can shoot everything except Sturgeon and Paddle Fish.

 

[Ironlock]

Thanks first of all to Quero, who moved this thread (my first) to the appropriate area to save me the grief of non-helpful attacks, which I should have expected. I am just learning, and obviously my education through experience has made me uncomfortable enough to ask for help, which in turn.... led to my discovery of this forum. Thanks to awap for the thoughtful response, I agree regarding an additional cutting tool, and plan to follow through and take your advice. Despite the fact that I feel as though good swimming technique and mental discipline (forcing myself to stay calm).. has allowed me to navigate obstacles effectively so far...my instincts are telling me that adjustments are needed. I failed to mention the importance/additional risks caused by the scuba flag roped to my wrist, boats are a constant above me in the channel, and so one worries about the rope getting swallowed up in a boat prop owned by an ignorant driver, increasing the risks.

 

[tracydr]

The reason I said what I did is that I see a lot of places where you are setting yourself up for failure. The risk of entanglement is huge. What if, while you're trying to get untangled, you drop your knife snd can't reach it? And, then, because of the high current+ sediment, your reg starts to free flow?
This is just one simple scenario that I can think of where redundancy could be life saving. I'd want three cutting devices in various locations, one that can cut barb wire. I'd want a redundant air source in case I lose all my air. If you need light, I'd want extra lights. Have an extra mask in your pocket in case yours is swept away or knocked off by a tree branch. Consider using a drysuit or at least a wetsuit for redundant buoyancy, in something happens to your wing. Unlikely,I know but,everything can fail. You could wash the inside of your BC and put the O-ring to the inflator hose back on wrong, causing it to not hold air.
Practice ditching every piece of gear. Make sure your rig is balanced. ( you can swim it up from the bottom with a full tank and no air in the BC).
Being trapped even a few inches of water can cause the best cave diver or spear fisher to drown. Read some scary books about cave and wreck diving. They will help you realize some of the crazy things that can happen. For example, Berna Van Schaik almost drowned in a cave when her fin got tangled in the guideline, which caused a cascade of events. Her book is a good one, called Fatally Flawed.
When you only have 30 dives and you appear to be a young, probably strong and healthy guy, you probably feel pretty immortal. You need to think about the fact that you can die and how to decrease the risk of this happening. You might consider taking a solo diving class to help you learn some of the things you may not have thought about,too.
The good thing is, you're thinking about some "what if's" and asking the right questions.
I used to be immortal when I was in my 20s and even in my 30s, and I'm not even a guy. Then I got old and now I'm risk adverse. Getting old can do that to you,lol.

 

[Wookie]

You have 30 dives, you aren't looking for a better skillset, you're looking for permission. I have over 6000 dives, and you won't get it from me. Skillsets take time and repetition to learn. All I can say is you're doing everything wrong, from diving solo before you have the skills to dive solo, to diving in a dangerous condition without the skills to safely make the dive, to asking a bunch of yahoos on ScubaBoard how to do it better.

Each dive I experience some newly realized danger and am now in a position to truly appreciate the level of danger this style of diving is subjecting me to.

That's because you have 30 dives. You don't know what you don't know. My criticism (which you asked for) is that you are doing too much too fast. My advice (which you also asked for) is to go dive you next 70 dives in a place with no current, no sunken logs, no overhead boat traffic, with a buddy. You can still spear walleyes. Then, take a solo class. Or get mentoring. Quite frankly, I wouldn't try to do the dives you are doing. I might have when I was 20...

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Get more and different cutters, including shears. Put the knife on the inside of the calf or better yet on the arm. Shears at the belt. A trilobite or another knife somewhere else, maybe the other arm. Given the conditions and your lack of experience, you will get tangled sooner or later: whether you die or not because of that will depend on how you handle panic and whether you can cut yourself free.

Lose the float/dive flag, even if it's legally required. That's an entanglement waiting to happen. Carry (and know how to deploy in current without goating everything) a spool and SMB for if you have to ascend midstream.

Find a better way to hold your catch; a large mesh bag with a wire-reinforced mouth, boltsnapped to your harness, might be better. Beware metal to metal connections.

And do pay up your insurance after reading its terms carefully... it may be that they won't pay for SCUBA deaths where the diving was beyond your certification. And unless you have gear redundancy you haven't mentioned, this is beyond any solo certification of which I'm aware.

I personally don't think there's anything wrong with your approach, though it sounds like your gear configuration is sloppy and lacking thought, but I also assume you understand you really have a good chance of getting knocked in the head, panicked, and/or entangled and spend your final breaths tearing your own flesh apart in a futile attempt to get to the big air tank in the sky just 20-30' short feet away. If you don't do that, you'll probably learn a good bit about diving...but there are easier, less risky ways of doing that.

 

[Wookie]

I apologize, Ironlock. Seems others I think highly of don't think what you're doing is beyond your skills. I'll go back to being a pussy now.