Recent Lake Pleasant conditions/reports

[Scubeneath]

09/01 6:30 AM
Unamed island protruding surface about 1/2 mile offshore from dam.

Outside Conditions: Partly/Cloudly Air temp 85
Surface temp: 83
Vis was approx 25' in water < 35 ft. Once below thermo or close to it, vis down to 5' or less.
Saw many bass, some good size some small stripers. some cats.

Interesting spot, some nice gentle slopes like a "Dougs Reef" as well as area on the North side of this island that had a wall that went DEEP. The water at wall went into blackness below. w/o a suit, I only made to about 53' where the water was colder than above , too cold me to stay to get a reading for more than about 2 mins. I am guessing about 75 though. The Thermos were interesting Monday as on one side of the island, they started at about 35' and on the wall side, we were able to get to about 45' before hittin the cold stuff. We located one section, in a canyon, were even at 48' it was cooler, but not drastic change as 3 feet deeper, making the Thermo at 51' !! Very strange, but was nice to get deeper and stay warm.
One strange note....as we played on the wall, from 35' to 50' found several really crevices and outcroppings. In one of these crevices, about 5' deep into the wall, I threw my light onto an approx 2-3 Ft Flathead. Big Boy just chillin' n the crack of the wall.
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A HUGE THANK YOU to "The Scubateers" !I have recently became aquainted with this Dive Boat and a group of EXTREMELY nice, very laid back, and completely accomodating Dive boat. I HIGHLY recommend going on a Lake Pleasant Dive with them, aboard their boat. Check out their site, they are willing to go nearly ANY day of the week. Thank you Rob, Karen, and Aaron, can't wait to go out w/ you all again !

Scubeneath

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

Sounds like you had a great time. I've gotta do a boat dive at the lake sometime. No suit eh? Practicing for your 100th dive are we?

Steve.

 

[Scubeneath]

LoL...no suit, but next time I go out w/ the Scubateers, i will bring one. That spot is very interesting. There are great shallows w/ interesting bottom but more intriguing is the wall w/ black water below. I want to know how deep that wall goes !!

 

[AzDiver23]

Anyone got any plans for a night dive this week? Or even something this weekend?

 

[Scubeneath]

The Scubateers (as mentioned above) are doing a night dive on Friday the 5th. Check out this calendar for details and call them for further information. I am trying to arrange my work schedule so I can go myself, The Scubateers are great bunch of peeps.

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

Anyone got any plans for a night dive this week? Or even something this weekend?

Attending a Rescue class this weekend by Beismeyer Point so we're camping there all weekend. I could do a night dive Saturday night. Maybe Fiday night too if I get there early enough.

Steve.

 

[Charles R]

Sunday 8/31 My son and I did the first 2 dives of his Jr OW by the 10 lane boat ramp. Dove with Terry from El Mar. Vis wasn't to bad around 6'. Monday did 3 dive next to the 10 Lane boat ramp my son is now a certified Jr OW Diver. Vis was a little better ~10-12'. All and all they were great dives and Terry is an excellent instucter.

 

[scubajcf]

Dive Report

September 13, 2008
Depth: 40 feet +/-
Temp: 80 Degrees - No wetsuit needed
Visibiliy: 10' +/-
Time: 50 Minutes

Saw a couple of bass. Water was a little cooler than last time I dove, but still fine without a wetsuit. Visibility was good, but no one was on the lake yet. We got out there at 700A.

Didn't see any of the Scubaboard folk. Did run into some guys at the Picnic Table from Ultimate.

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

I had a great time diving with AZDiver23 (Josh) at DT last Saturday. DT changed quite a bit since the last time I was there at the end of July. I think we could have followed the road all the way over to Beismeyer Point if we wanted to. Water temp was about 80 degrees. We never experienced a thermocline even as deep as 48 feet. It's pretty shallow over there right now and we had to really poke around to find the 48 foot mark. Vis averaged about 8 to 10 feet with "clouds" of silt that reduced it to zero. We were both sans wetsuits since the water was so warm. The surface intervals were kinda chilly though with the wind whipping around. Definately warmer in the water.

This was a bit of a homecoming for me because my OW class took place in that same area last November. I'm happy to say that boats/jetskis were almost a non-issue this weekend. We did two dives and only had one boat and one jetski come into our area. They even obeyed the no wake zone but I think it had more to do with the Sheriff's boat buzzing around collecting autographs and alleviating the tax burden than our lil' ol' Diver Down flag.

After the dives I scouted around a bit. Last spring Josh and I were diving off Two Cow Cove and came across a spot that was VERY deep and had a lot of boulders and concrete blocks strewn around. As I recall, we were at about 70 feet and though the vis was pretty good the beam from our dive lights couldn't penetrate to the bottom. We didn't have the air to explore it...then. It was surreal driving on a road that a few months ago I was finning along in 30 or 40 feet of water. I saw fire rings and rock formations that not long ago served as hatcheries and safe havens for bass small fry.

I found it. The bolders were right on the water's edge. A corner of one of the concrete blocks (these things are several feet on a side) was just breaking the surface about 30 feet off shore. A couple of fishermen in bellyboats were right about where Josh and I hovered shining our lights down in an attempt to see the bottom. I had an extra tank in the van and I struggled with the thought of dragging it all down and finally exploring the bottom. Wouldn't be fair to Josh though, would it.

I was amazed as I looked back up at the bank we dove from at Two Cow. It was a long way up. This is my first Fall since getting my c-card. I'm still quite the newby and obviously easily entertained because I find diving at the lake really interesting because of the changes it goes through during the year. Can't wait to get back. Seven day surface intervals are a sin!

 

[Scubeneath]

Dive Report

September 20, 2008
Depth: 53 feet +/-
Temp: 80 Degrees - No wetsuit needed
Visibiliy: 10' -15' with 'clouds' of brown algea in depths 0'-8'
Time: 40 Minutes

After the clean up (Thank you Chris, ALL WET SCUBA), went out w/a group aboard The Scubateers dive boat and did a couple of dives on "Tech Island" a GREAT newly uncovered island with AWESOME shelves, cliffs, and various bottoms not too far from 10 Lane boat ramp. noticable changes in Thermocline depths, as again this weekend, we did not find any thermo until we approached 48'-50' in most places. Only 3weeks ago, it was consistently at approx 40'. This spot inpaticular has some REALLY COOL, large crevices, large open cracks, and cliff overhangs. This has become my favorite dive sites to date at Lake Pleasant due the diversity of landscape, fish, and various bottoms. On a side note, the "clouds" of brown algea are something new to me at Pleasant. They were surrounding the island, from the surface down to about 9' or so reducing vis to nearly ZERO. Once below 9' the clouds seemed to subside and vis was a decent 10'-15' for the rest of the dive.

Anyone who dives Lake Pleasant should check this "Tech Island" spot out before the water begins to go up again in mid December ! Call The Scubateers, jump on the boat and come out, I'll be going there again too.

Scubeneath

Had to try the new camera out, heres a pic of part of "Tech Island"

One of crevices at Tech Island, Lake Pleasant from 45' looking up.

A gentle shelf at Tech Island, Lake Pleasant from about 35'. 3 decent Bass lurking near outcropping.