Question about PK

[FIXXERVI6]

I'm wondering if this is the norm or did I just have bad luck on a dive.

Went to Scuba Point and jumped in, vis was about 5' or so, maybe a little less, hit about 50' or so if I remember right and there was like a "cloud" at the thermocline and lower with small particulate floating in it, buddy cleared his mask in the "cloud" and signaled to go shallower, after the dive he told me when he cleared his mask he got a sniff of the water, super rank and on the surface and loading up to leave the smell was rank, and the gear smelled too.

The people at the dive shop were EXTREMELY nice and went out of their way to take care of us, really great people.

Anyone else experience this?

 

[parrotheaddiver]

A long time ago in the 70's I dove PK lake in Nov and it was turning over which I was told that lakes do in the fall. What is on the bottom comes to the top and what is on the top goes to the bottom. Maybe that was the reason for the funky water. :06:

 

[FIXXERVI6]

This took place last summer, late summer.

 

[skeet]

I dive and work at P K lake, I have witnessed this several times. I was told this is lake turnover. I didn't really understand this process and through my searching find it is typical in lakes with a thermocline and very little flow and occurs in fall and spring when surfice or top layer ( 0-50 ft.) water temps change + or - causing the upper and lower layers to switch places. Anyway, I typed in "lake turn over" and recieved many hits. I am going to read some of the others now.

 

[Debraw]

I have dove at PK at least 100 times over the last 5 years. When I first started diving it was great and vis was great. Then a poisonous algie bloom overtook the lake and killed all the fish. That was about 3 or so years ago. It has never been the same since. Poor Visibility. Even when the vis was good I always smelled a rotten egg smell in my mask. Lake Whitney gives off a similiar odor. The fish are back now. I had heard a rumour that the reason the poisonous algae bloom happened because someone wasn't running the dam right. There was always an algae bloom late summer but not as bad as that one year. I haven't been there in about 6 months. I will try again late spring and maybe this will be the year the vis comes back.

 

[skeet]

they called it "Golden Algae Bloom". It hit two years in a row and killed almost everything in the water, there were dead fish everywhere. You could see schools of 100-200 fish around the training platforms before, as of last month you might see 3 or 4 fish come by. It is supposed to be in the process of restocking now.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

so my experience was not the norm?

 

[skeet]

I believe lake turnover will happen anually but not as severe as it was when the golden algea hit.

 

[Debraw]

so my experience was not the norm?

I think your experience was normal as of the last two or three years.

 

[skeet]

during late summer during your visit is the time frame of the usuall algae bloom,the green algae's, the golden algae almost exclusivly happens during Jan-Feb. Check out the Texas Parks And Wildlife website, I read a lot of information there.