Sacramento Area Lake diving?

[Straight Up]

Hello, all...

My Scuba buddy and I got certified in November, but haven't been able to sync up dates to go diving. We have been planning to do a Monterrey Boat Dive with our local dive shop since we got our OW Certs. However, now we are not 100% confident in our skills, and we'd like to refresh at a lake local to the Sacramento Area. We got our OW Certs at Lake Natoma which was fine and all, but the depth was only 20', and there was very... VERY little to see (not to mention the 2' vis).

I was wondering if anyone had any cool spots to lake dive in Sacramento. I know lake diving is incredibly boring (according to everyone I've spoken to), but we need to at least get in the water. We're all in the Roseville/Rocklin area, but if there's a place to dive that's better than Lake Natoma, then we're good for driving a few extra miles.

Any... and I mean ANY feedback would be hugely appreciated.

 

[melfox26]

Hello, all...

My Scuba buddy and I got certified in November, but haven't been able to sync up dates to go diving. We have been planning to do a Monterrey Boat Dive with our local dive shop since we got our OW Certs. However, now we are not 100% confident in our skills, and we'd like to refresh at a lake local to the Sacramento Area. We got our OW Certs at Lake Natoma which was fine and all, but the depth was only 20', and there was very... VERY little to see (not to mention the 2' vis).

I was wondering if anyone had any cool spots to lake dive in Sacramento. I know lake diving is incredibly boring (according to everyone I've spoken to), but we need to at least get in the water. We're all in the Roseville/Rocklin area, but if there's a place to dive that's better than Lake Natoma, then we're good for driving a few extra miles.

Any... and I mean ANY feedback would be hugely appreciated.

I haven't dove there myself, but I know people that dive in Folsom Lake.

 

[boomx5]

Hello, all...

My Scuba buddy and I got certified in November, but haven't been able to sync up dates to go diving. We have been planning to do a Monterrey Boat Dive with our local dive shop since we got our OW Certs. However, now we are not 100% confident in our skills, and we'd like to refresh at a lake local to the Sacramento Area. We got our OW Certs at Lake Natoma which was fine and all, but the depth was only 20', and there was very... VERY little to see (not to mention the 2' vis).

I was wondering if anyone had any cool spots to lake dive in Sacramento. I know lake diving is incredibly boring (according to everyone I've spoken to), but we need to at least get in the water. We're all in the Roseville/Rocklin area, but if there's a place to dive that's better than Lake Natoma, then we're good for driving a few extra miles.

Any... and I mean ANY feedback would be hugely appreciated.

I live in Loomis so you can PM me anytime and see if we can set something up. Generally, if we can't go to Monterey, we'll head to Lake Commanche, Stumpy Meadows (George Town area) or Lake Spalding. Folsom is also nice when you just want to get out for a quick dive. We also do a lot of diving in Tahoe and have some great spots up there. PM me if you'd like and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Good luck,

 

[darkpup]

Looks like Mel and Scott beat me to it. Janeane and I are in Roseville, and dive locally quite often. Like Scott mentioned, Lake Comanche has been a nice spot between our Monterey dives. Vis is between 15' to 20', lots of fish, rocks, mud, plant life, etc. We'll be moving to Stumpy Meadows in a few weeks when the water warms up a bit. Last I heard, Scott said the temp was 39 degrees in February. Brrrrrrrr.

Stumpy Meadows has 40' to 60' vis, lots of crawdads, picnic tables, and stairs that go right into the water. It's a nice place to get your H2O fix.

Lake Spaulding is very low on water at the moment, and I'm not sure what PG&Es plans for the lake are this year.

Tahoe is definitely a blast, and is only 80 minutes from Roseville when the roads are clear. There's a nice sail boat wreck in 65' of water that we like to visit, and the vis is always 60' +. There is also Sand Harbor, Meeks Bay, and of course Rubicon Wall. All are at Tahoe. There's a speed boat wreck at Meeks Bay in 90' of water, and Rubicon Wall is absolutely amazing. Basically it's a rock wall that starts in 30' of water, and drops to 1056'. You get to float over the abyss, which is a total blast.

As for Folsom, there are several spots you can dive. We usually dive out of Rattle Snake Bar, but also dive Granite Bay and Brown's Ravine. The Dam Overlook point use to be a great spot, but you can't get to it any more. Dyke 8, which now has a more politically correct name that I can't remember, is suppose to be a great spot with a sandy bottom that helps get rid of the silt.

There's a group of us training for a RecTriox class the weekend of April 23rd, so Janeane and I will be busy the next couple of weeks. After that though, we'll be back to fun diving, and you're more than welcome to dive with us. We usually dive at least once a week. We like to do single day trips to Monterey twice a month (or more), and mix it up with local dives in between our long drives. We will also start up Thursday Night tweaks in the next month or two, and you're welcome to come join us for those as well.

So basically, after May 1st, let us know when you want to dive, and we'll get wet.

~ Jason

 

[boomx5]

Dyke 8, which now has a more politically correct name that I can't remember, is suppose to be a great spot with a sandy bottom that helps get rid of the silt.

~ Jason

I think they renamed it "Folsom Point", but let me double check on it.

 

[Straight Up]

Thanks EVERYONE!!!! Right after I posted this, I did a search for "Sacramento" and saw the SAUE site. Very cool. Like I said, we just got certified, and haven't been back in the water since, so as you may guess, we have to rent equipment, so I'm not sure I'll be joining you too often. But I'll PM you later...

I think we may try Rattlesnake Bar this weekend, but Stumpy Meadows sounds awesome!

We are going to get Advanced Certifications on the next (and first) trip to Monterrey through Nautilus Dive Center in Rocklin. I'm not sure how familiar you all are with the various dive centers in the area, but Jeff Ross (not the comedian) organizes Monterrey Boat Dives every month, and he offered to go down a day early to get our Advanced Certs taken care of.

I REALLY appreciate the replies.

Thanks heaps,

Brian "Straight Up"

 

[darkpup]

Hi Brian,

Yep, I know Jeff. He taught my Open Water course in 1986, and Janeane took her class in 1997 through Jeff's shop. You should have a fun time.

We usually dive with Jim Capwell off the Escapade in Monterey once or twice a month. Do you know what boat Jeff charters dives on? I've also dove with Phil on the Cypress Sea. Both are a lot of fun.

When are you doing the AOW class?

~ Jason

 

[boomx5]

Thanks EVERYONE!!!! Right after I posted this, I did a search for "Sacramento" and saw the SAUE site. Very cool. Like I said, we just got certified, and haven't been back in the water since, so as you may guess, we have to rent equipment, so I'm not sure I'll be joining you too often. But I'll PM you later...

I think we may try Rattlesnake Bar this weekend, but Stumpy Meadows sounds awesome!

We are going to get Advanced Certifications on the next (and first) trip to Monterrey through Nautilus Dive Center in Rocklin. I'm not sure how familiar you all are with the various dive centers in the area, but Jeff Ross (not the comedian) organizes Monterrey Boat Dives every month, and he offered to go down a day early to get our Advanced Certs taken care of.

I REALLY appreciate the replies.

Thanks heaps,

Brian "Straight Up"

If you want an "outside" opinion on gear, classes, etc from someone who doesn't have a financial stake in making recommendations, PM me or Jason (Darkpup) and we'll happy to help.

 

[Straight Up]

Thanks Scott!! I will definately talk to you sometime about that.

Jason - Jeff charters out the Monterrey Express. (http://www.montereyexpress.com/). Check out his site: http://www.nautilusdivecenter.com/).
As far as AOW goes, it's whenever my dive buddy can make it. Probably June 12. I work at Infineon Raceway, and the next boat trip (other than this month's) is May 15, which happens to be the Kawasaki AMA Superbike weekend... Oh well. June isn't THAT far away.

Thanks again, guys!!

 

[darkpup]

Jason - Jeff charters out the Monterrey Express. (http://www.montereyexpress.com/). Check out his site: http://www.nautilusdivecenter.com/).

I haven't dove with them before. Let me know how it goes.

As far as AOW goes, it's whenever my dive buddy can make it. Probably June 12. I work at Infineon Raceway, and the next boat trip (other than this month's) is May 15, which happens to be the Kawasaki AMA Superbike weekend... Oh well. June isn't THAT far away.

Awesome. It's been a while since I've been to the AMA Superbike event. I sold my bike a few months ago, and have gotten out of riding.

Have you read the AOW book? I would suggest reading it before you sign up for the class. I first heard this same sugestion here on ScubaBoard, and would recommend you do the same. Hopefully it will reinforce your desire to take the class, and you'll get that much more out of it.

You can borrow my book if you want to?

~ Jason