New diver's ramp location at Lake Jocassee, reviews?
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tarponchik
Contributor
I did the new ramp in June and wasn't impressed. There were some kayakers but I do not mind. The dive was mostly shallow, with few distinct features, just freaking silt everywhere. I miss the underwater platforms where some large bass used to hide. The guys at the dive shop told me they were going to relocate stuff from the old ramp to the new one but I do not know if they already did. I will try again end of the month or in Sept.
This should be enough info to find the parking areas.
Take Jocassee Lake Rd heading towards Devils Fork State Park at 161 Holcombe Cir, Salem, SC 29676.
Turn left and follow Devils Fork Rd. Take first right after unmanned pay station to new area, second right for the old divers ramp.
My pin for new area might be off a little, I have been to the old ramp but not yet seen the new area.
tarponchik
Contributor
The new road and parking lot is not pictured in Google maps yet, unfortunately.
Everything slows down after Labor Day weekend....Sept and October is the best months to dive Lake Jocassee. For those wondering, the platforms were detached from the legs and taken over to the new area...one is at 35', the other in 55~60' there should be a line running from just left of the steps to the 35' platform, I haven't been to the deeper one so you'll have to explore. The Jocassee Memorial, or fake cemetery, is getting all of the headstones refreshed and will be put into the new area soon. I do not know what other dive shops have planned for the area.
tarponchik
Contributor
I'll miss her.
2 dives at Jocassee today.
#1 was at the left side of old ramp, flag in tow. An ok dive in familiar territory, but felt a restricted by not wanting to dive in front of the ramp or too close to it. I will do it again, but only when I get bored with other options.
#2 was at the new area, not expecting much but figure it would be worth one dive just for the novelty of something not seen before.
We submerged at the stairs and then headed left (roughly East). Moving at a leisurely pace, we hit 60' after 12-14 mins, seeing very little on the way. A few fish, couple bottles and cans, a small tree laying on its side was the most interesting feature.
Found a bouy weight around 70' at 15 mins and from there the featureless bottom became much more interesting. Runs of small rock ledges from 2-5' height, and a little valley with rocky outcrop sections where I found a fishing rod. Decided it was not worth salvaging and kept moving deeper. Continuing east we got down to 96' after 20 mins, where the temp was 70F. At that point we leveled off, but looks like it would be possible to continue deeper.
From there, headed NW slowly ascending and following contour lines. Found a dropped Mercury outboard motor that has not been down too long, could be a nice salvage for someone. My wife found a pair of sunglasses that cleaned up nicely and suit her well. Fun times finding treasure and enjoying the underwater features. Once we hit 50' or so, started heading back towards the stairs and the bottom returned to flat silt with a few rocks bottles and cans.
Today's review, we both enjoyed our dive at the new area more than the first dive at the old ramp. No doubt that is partly due the fun of exploring a new dive site, as well as feeling restricted on how to dive the old ramp compared to last year. But the new area was certainly more interesting that expected once we got past the 60' mark, I look forward to seeing more of the area and happy to have another shore dive option.
Keeping it in perspective, quarries and Jocassee are what I currently dive and I am not hard to please. Most any dive with temps above 70 and vis more than 5' is a good dive these days.
#1 was at the left side of old ramp, flag in tow. An ok dive in familiar territory, but felt a restricted by not wanting to dive in front of the ramp or too close to it. I will do it again, but only when I get bored with other options.
#2 was at the new area, not expecting much but figure it would be worth one dive just for the novelty of something not seen before.
We submerged at the stairs and then headed left (roughly East). Moving at a leisurely pace, we hit 60' after 12-14 mins, seeing very little on the way. A few fish, couple bottles and cans, a small tree laying on its side was the most interesting feature.
Found a bouy weight around 70' at 15 mins and from there the featureless bottom became much more interesting. Runs of small rock ledges from 2-5' height, and a little valley with rocky outcrop sections where I found a fishing rod. Decided it was not worth salvaging and kept moving deeper. Continuing east we got down to 96' after 20 mins, where the temp was 70F. At that point we leveled off, but looks like it would be possible to continue deeper.
From there, headed NW slowly ascending and following contour lines. Found a dropped Mercury outboard motor that has not been down too long, could be a nice salvage for someone. My wife found a pair of sunglasses that cleaned up nicely and suit her well. Fun times finding treasure and enjoying the underwater features. Once we hit 50' or so, started heading back towards the stairs and the bottom returned to flat silt with a few rocks bottles and cans.
Today's review, we both enjoyed our dive at the new area more than the first dive at the old ramp. No doubt that is partly due the fun of exploring a new dive site, as well as feeling restricted on how to dive the old ramp compared to last year. But the new area was certainly more interesting that expected once we got past the 60' mark, I look forward to seeing more of the area and happy to have another shore dive option.
Keeping it in perspective, quarries and Jocassee are what I currently dive and I am not hard to please. Most any dive with temps above 70 and vis more than 5' is a good dive these days.
homerdoc
Contributor
Hold on now....96' and 70 degrees.
I might be able to convince my wife to go dive Jocassee again.
What was temp around 60'?
I might be able to convince my wife to go dive Jocassee again.
What was temp around 60'?
2 more dives today at the new area. Both times we went directly out to around 80' where there is an old roadbed. First dive turned right, second dive turned left. Today we retrieved a kayak paddle in good condition and a pair of raybans that are slightly crusty but might be restorable.
Both dives were enjoyable, visibility a bit better on the left side. Enough rock features, stumps, and logs at depth to keep us entertained. On both dives large bass were spotted by my wife, I managed to catch a glimpse on the second dive. Mostly I just saw the clouds of silt left behind when the fish jetted out from under logs and stumps as we approached.
On the first dive, we returned swimming along the bottom of the cove that is in front of the entry stairs and I can understand why nobody gets excited about that area as it is fairly monotonous. But again today, the areas out past 60" to 70' depth were good fun to explore, and I look forward to the next set of dives.
Both dives were enjoyable, visibility a bit better on the left side. Enough rock features, stumps, and logs at depth to keep us entertained. On both dives large bass were spotted by my wife, I managed to catch a glimpse on the second dive. Mostly I just saw the clouds of silt left behind when the fish jetted out from under logs and stumps as we approached.
On the first dive, we returned swimming along the bottom of the cove that is in front of the entry stairs and I can understand why nobody gets excited about that area as it is fairly monotonous. But again today, the areas out past 60" to 70' depth were good fun to explore, and I look forward to the next set of dives.
My computer is a bit slow to update temp as I move around, but figure it is around 77-78F at 60' right now.
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