Recent Lake Pleasant conditions/reports

[AZ Desert Diver]

Had a GREAT night dive last night off DT! It had been a long time since doing a night dive out there and I forgot how peaceful it was. Temp was 58 deg. and the viz was 20-25ft. Not much out but some LARGE crayfish and some small bass. However, I did manage to find the weight belt that one of the IE candidates dropped last weekend though.

 

[pdelannoy]

Dove Vista Point today. Got out there at my usual 9-10 a.m. arrival time and found lots of people. Campers, boaters, and divers-its the busy time of year so arrive early if you want the table. Vis in the shallows is poor, but starting around 30-40 feet it opens substantially to around 30 feet, or more, deeper. But because of the layer at the surface its pretty dark so bring a light.

Temps are 59 sunnto degrees at the surface and 54F in the deeps. A definite thermocline exists around 50 feet or so.

Also, a sun shade is now recommended.

See you out there.

PD

 

[pdelannoy]

Great diving today at Vista Point. Lots of divers today including Andy from Black Dog and the Sports Chalet crew. The lake is warming up and it was 61F suunto in the shallows and 54F under 55 feet. Definite thermocline at 55-60 feet. Visibility was around 15 feet in the shallows and 20-30 feet in the deeps. The visibility was good enough to zig-zag between the rail and the wall. A good circuit is to take a 330 degree bearing at the entry point and follow it to the wall and then the rail. Take the rail to the treasure box and make a square back to the wall.

Awesome day!

PD

 

[scubajcf]

Great dive day out at Lake Pleasant yesterday. It was good to see everyone out there. Water was a little cooler than last week and the vis was down just a bit. I expect the cooler weather and little rain we had last week had a bit of an effect. Great time nonetheless.

 

[andresrumis]

Anyone interested on some diving this WED or THU, vista point?
have not been at the lake since last year
PM me
Andres

 

[pdelannoy]

Awesome day at Vista Point. After Scuba Day last week, the lake (at Vista Point) was quiet. When I arrived there was only one other party of four-an open water class. One of the students lost a fin in approximately 20 feet of water. So keep an eye out. I searched for it but did not find it.

Vis in the shallows was about 15 feet and 63F. Saw stripped bass and a big cat fish. I hit the thermocline at around 55 feet. Under the thermocline the temps drop to 54F under 100 feet but the vis is amazing-probably 30-40 feet. But because of the upper layer, bring a light.

All-in-all had a great day.

PD

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

Bill, Josh and I were at Vista Point on Saturday. This must have been an off week because there weren't as many divers out as usual. Probably some kind of holiday (okay, I know it was Mother's Day weekend).

The vis for the first 15 feet or so is pretty mucky. Most of the floating gunk is finally water logged enough to sink. Some of it is staying suspended making it seem like you're swimming through veggie soup (did I mention that I'm on a diet?). The lake bed in the shallows is covered with a layer of the stuff too. I don't remember it being this bad last year.

The vis opened up below 20 feet but we needed lights on before we hit the thermocline. The icecream headache passed after a few minutes. We dropped down the wall and swam across the ramp to the rail. There was a series of markers, of sorts, sitting on the rail pointing the way down to the geocache box. A flipflop and beer bottle showed the way. I drew an arrow on the top of the rail which is probably covered with silt by now.

We didn't find the box. We did find a line that looked like the one the box was attached to. Did somebody move it or did we give up to soon? Buddies were getting cold so it was time to turn anyhow. We navigated over to the wall and swam up the ramp to the depth we started at. It was nice to be above the thermocline. We took an extended safety stop swimming parallel-ish to the shore in 20-ish feet of water. After burning air down to a respectible level we surfaced right in front of our entery point.

On the second dive we stayed just above the thermocline and crossed the boat ramp. Found a dandy pile of rocks hiding crawdads and bluegill. On the way back Josh seemed to become possessed with the idea of building something - underwater. Bill, I and a big catfish hovered nearby enthralled with the whole affair. We came across another dandy rock pile at about 20 feet almost due west of our entery point. We explored it until we had to make our way back to the shoreline.

We hung out for a while after the second dive with Sea Princess and Willie. They just finished a class. The weather was wonderfull and the friends were fun.

 

[Jax]

Bill, Josh and I were at Vista Point on Saturday. <snipped>
We hung out for a while after the second dive with Sea Princess and Willie. They just finished a class. The weather was wonderfull and the friends were fun.

Thanks, Steve - What were the water temps, please?

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

Thanks, Steve - What were the water temps, please?

52 VT3 degrees below the thermocline. Low 60s at the surface.

 

[pdelannoy]

Busy day at Vista Point yesterday. Many divers and classes. Visibility in the shallows might have been 15 feet and temps were around 63F suunto degrees. We did two dives: the first was to the wall and out into the deeps. Under the thermocline the vis was 20 feet and temps were 54F. Bring a light.

Our second dive was to the rail and down to the treasure box at around 92 feet. Then to the wall and back. My buddy saw a nice sized cat fish.

The water level is down a few feet.

PD