Two divers make some bad decisions at Manatee Spring

[holstin]

Thanks everyone. Catfish hole is the only thing open right now due to water levels so that is the only place for me to go. I am staying in the Chiefland area for the winter. I will be staying as far right to the ladder as possible. i have been there and done a walk of the location with my wife to look at things before we even decided that tomorrow we would go there.

 

[kidsdream]

As other have noted, at Catfish Hotel it is totally obvious when/where the overhead section starts. And the true entrance to the cave system is something like 70' deep where the sign and the gold line start.

The biggest issue with the Catfish Hotel side for OW is there is a lot of Duckweed on the surface, not really problem; just messy. The main spring run side will be clear.

This is an older post but I came upon it as I am researching a dive my wife and I are taking in the next couple days. We are as Newbie (OW) as you can be since this will be our first dive without our instructor. We just so happen to be going to Catfish hole to do this dive. I by no means want to get into anything that will put my wife and I in danger.

Is this place marked clearly so that my wife and I can not enter this cave system on accident. We want to go there just to practice some of the skills such as Mask Clearing and Buoyancy control.

 

[DennisW]

Since I don't do deep dark holes, I would never be in this situation, but you two likely saved their bacon. Scary is just one word to use. I could think of quite a few more that would violate the ToS.