Calling all scuba divers..

[shppr01]

On the border of Wyoming And Idaho is a man made reservois that engulfed the old town on the border. You can dive there and actualy swim into the old buildings that are still standing .Its kinda cool ,but that is an isolated one. You will probably just get wet and bored ! Give it a try anyhow .

[Shuffler]

I've heard that. Personally the only thing I've done is fishing at Travis. Always wanted to dive, (used to work for a painter who also owned a dive shop out in New Braunfels) never had time/money for training. Another place they used to talk about was Guadalupe River. Apparently there's some caves to hit too.

The Guadalupe is the river that makes Canyon Lake. The lower Guadalupe is popular in the summer for tubing, kayaking, and rafting.

[MadHatter]

The Guadalupe is the river that makes Canyon Lake. The lower Guadalupe is popular in the summer for tubing, kayaking, and rafting.

I used to live in Startzville until I moved to San Antonio 3 years ago. Actually, I lived in Turkey Cove. You from around there Shuffler?

[texasmom]

Canyon Lake is supposed to be a great dive from what I have heard. You will see some very large fish. Another Texas lake to dive is Lake Travis at Austin. Lake Travis is one of the clearest lakes in Texas and is well known to the diving community.

I'm letting my kid participate in scuba diving lessons this summer. I was hoping it was Lake Travis we'd take him to, but we'll see.

[Estes]

Thanks for the replies guys, both bodies of water are in fact on private property. As ive never dove in, aside from the occassional swim or two I dont know exactly what the visibility would be like much deeper than that.

But id guess it wouldnt be terrible, its not crystal clear but not impossible to see through either. I would love to go diving in some of those lakes/rivers with submerged buildings.

Another quick question, as I havent done any diving in a number of years and im sure I would have to get re certed. Is that a PITA, or is it relatively painless?

I think ill hold off on doing any diving in the lakes here for now, however if anyone finds themselves this way it should definately be considered. Maybe we wont find a dragon, but who knows..We may find my old wedding ring I lost down there years ago.

Good fishing anyway, largest bass ive caught thus far was an eight pounder. Folks around this area im sure are aware of the much larger, lake Meredith. That would likely be a more eventful dive, as its rumored some murder victims may have been disposed of there (and who knows what else.)

[Tac]

re- cert isnt that hard. scuba diving is like driving... you never forget but you do have to spend a week reading and re-familiarizing yourself with new equipment standards and diving procedures.

its easy to check visibility.. just buy a cheapo digital camera pocket sized that has a timer function of 1 minute, wrap it in a ziplock bag, hook it to your fishing line with a decent weight and cast it.

If the picture shows just brown or grey you may as well go snorkeling in your toilet. if its blue and you can make out shapes then its relatively clear.

[Estes]

Tac, soon as this snow and overall cruddy weather blows away ill do what you suggest and post my findings here.

[Nefarious]

http://www.mtstorm.com/

Its in WV.  I personally have not dove it, but I have seen pictures of huge largemouth bass. From what I hear the water is usually clear and really warm from the power plant.

About 150 miles from Washington DC.

[Tupac]

I've heard that. Personally the only thing I've done is fishing at Travis. Always wanted to dive, (used to work for a painter who also owned a dive shop out in New Braunfels) never had time/money for training. Another place they used to talk about was Guadalupe River. Apparently there's some caves to hit too.

im in new braunfels, and i have my open water diving certificate, have to have a special permit for cave diving. its dangerous stuff, my dads best friend died cave diving

[MadHatter]

im in new braunfels, and i have my open water diving certificate, have to have a special permit for cave diving. its dangerous stuff, my dads best friend died cave diving

Hey cool, I used to live on Landa next to the Landa Park. What's the name of that dive shop near Whataburger? I wanna say it's Kai something but I keep forgetting.

[Tupac]

there isnt one next to whataburger that i know of, but darbys is kind of like a dive shop closer to san antonio

[MadHatter]

there isnt one next to whataburger that i know of, but darbys is kind of like a dive shop closer to san antonio

That little shopping center where the Whataburger is in. It's (or was) down at the end to the right as you're lookin at the Dollar General

[Tupac]

i never knew there was one there, ill look for it next time i go by

[eagl]

To my knowledge, there is no requirement that you re-cert, except for your own sense of safety.  If you act like you know what you're doing, most dive shops will just glance at your card and rent you whatever you ask for.

That said, a refresher course is never a bad idea even for experienced divers after an off season.  A basic open water 1 cert doesn't mean much more than you have a general idea how to put your gear on and which way to turn the valve to get the air flowing, so either a refresher or an OW2 upgrade (or any other additional training) is never a bad idea.  Some scuba instructors in my area offer refresher courses for around $50 plus rental, and you get pretty much one day's worth of instruction including a few hours classroom time and one dive.  That's pretty cheap anti-stupidity insurance

[Tupac]

To my knowledge, there is no requirement that you re-cert, except for your own sense of safety.  If you act like you know what you're doing, most dive shops will just glance at your card and rent you whatever you ask for.

That said, a refresher course is never a bad idea even for experienced divers after an off season.  A basic open water 1 cert doesn't mean much more than you have a general idea how to put your gear on and which way to turn the valve to get the air flowing, so either a refresher or an OW2 upgrade (or any other additional training) is never a bad idea.  Some scuba instructors in my area offer refresher courses for around $50 plus rental, and you get pretty much one day's worth of instruction including a few hours classroom time and one dive.  That's pretty cheap anti-stupidity insurance

I can't get anti-stupidity insurance anymore, the company dropped my policy