SeaYoda
Contributor
I headed to the spring early to beat any classes and I got there about 07:00. The gate was closed, and since the local deputy was not happy that I had taken the "High Road" in last time, I decided to wait for him to come open up. At 07:20 my patience got the best of me and I went over to the gate to find the chain not looped around anything - just drooped to look locked. I took it upon myself to aid the County and perform the opening ceremonies myself. Of course there were no humans to be seen - none until I surfaced from dive one in fact. The sun rises have begun to get later, the spring was lit but the sun was not quite above the trees. There was a mist on the water that hung around until the end of the first dive - around 09:00. The water is up about a foot, the platform is at 11' now and the stump on the left, as you enter, is submerged again (a piece of it had been sticking out of the water). The recent afternoon rains have washed a lot of the sand off the beach, making ruts and flowing into the walk-in area. Just walking into the water stirs this stuff up. The first dive was straight into the lower cavern for some experimenting with ISO 400 on the camera. Not many eels present but several catfish swimming about. There was one eel with his tail hanging out of the ceiling (I think he thought he was hiding) - if they weren't so skittish I could have yanked it and scared him half to death (not that I tried sneaking up on him or anything 
). After the lower cavern, I made a stop in the side cavern and then back to the surface. There was a class of five topside getting ready to dive as I got to the car and switched tanks. I decided to check out the shallows and the run on dive two. I left the pony behind due to how it dragged in the mud on my last attempt to go down the run. Between the increased depth and lack of pony, I did make it down a ways. The run was cloudy at the edges, probably run-off from the afternoon rains. There were the usual pike, bass, turtles, and sunfish along the roots. I did see a huge carp looking fish in the distance but it saw me and took off down stream before I got a chance to get close. Upon returning to the basin area I swam over some roots and spooked a monster bass that was on the basin side of the tangle. He shot off like a bullet across the platform and over to the far side of the basin. I collected the flag and hit the beach after two good dives. Several locals and divers were getting ready to enjoy the spring as I exited the water. Water clarity was great on both dives except for along the edges down the run. River level was up to four feet but no tannic water has entered the basin. Seeing the river rising reminds me to enjoy the clarity while it lasts! I bought a new chicken vest/hood and tried it out today - great piece of equipment! I wore my 3mm full with the vest and stayed pretty warm for both dives. I guess the beanie will be retired for the fall and winter . Here are some pics - not many underwater due to lack of willing participants, shallow viz, and the experimenting I did:
). After the lower cavern, I made a stop in the side cavern and then back to the surface. There was a class of five topside getting ready to dive as I got to the car and switched tanks. I decided to check out the shallows and the run on dive two. I left the pony behind due to how it dragged in the mud on my last attempt to go down the run. Between the increased depth and lack of pony, I did make it down a ways. The run was cloudy at the edges, probably run-off from the afternoon rains. There were the usual pike, bass, turtles, and sunfish along the roots. I did see a huge carp looking fish in the distance but it saw me and took off down stream before I got a chance to get close. Upon returning to the basin area I swam over some roots and spooked a monster bass that was on the basin side of the tangle. He shot off like a bullet across the platform and over to the far side of the basin. I collected the flag and hit the beach after two good dives. Several locals and divers were getting ready to enjoy the spring as I exited the water. Water clarity was great on both dives except for along the edges down the run. River level was up to four feet but no tannic water has entered the basin. Seeing the river rising reminds me to enjoy the clarity while it lasts! I bought a new chicken vest/hood and tried it out today - great piece of equipment! I wore my 3mm full with the vest and stayed pretty warm for both dives. I guess the beanie will be retired for the fall and winter . Here are some pics - not many underwater due to lack of willing participants, shallow viz, and the experimenting I did:
