Its like Safari diving out there!

It seems like the last few dives have been just like the old Mutual of Omaha wildlife shows of the 70s. The weeds are like forests and the bottom can be full of algae. The plus side of this is the life in the lake is never as good as it is now. One of our intrepid divers mentioned its like swiming in a fish bowl. The highlight for me was last night at the Museum where kristie and myself ran into a catfish attempting to dine on a poor lake shad. I managed to get a couple of shots of it and you can see where the bite marks were on it. It wasn't swiming too well and I figure he didnt make it far but than that's life in the wild! I wont deny the visibility is not the greatest but with a keen eye you can see walleye, sheepshead, and more if your carefull. Water temps have fluctuated between 75-65F down to 20 feet, however at 100 feet its 55F. Visibility in all areas has been grim but feasible with approximately 15 feet at the 20 foot depth and between 20 to 40 at 60 or more depth. Did I mention weeds? This afternoon Mike Jack and myself treated ourselves to a bit of old school bushwhacking navigation for a 78 minute dive to see but the Regent and the Charlotte in one swim on an alluminum 80 no less.
One last thing the Dolphins are now on Facebook, look for CFB Kingston Dolphin Scuba club and if you like, hit 'Like Us'! Less talk more pics I say:
1. Gaétan at the Wharf in the Haze, 2. The AAA guns of Mortons Wharf, 3. Marc-Etienne looking to snap a rather large bass.

4. Mike Bushwhacking at deadmans bay, 5 and 6. The shad that Escapes death by the hands of a catfish. You can see the bite marks on the shad.

Yours in Fun Safe diving
Matt C

Triple Treat Thursday...

Three dives today. Great result for this time of year. The first two immersions rectified a failure in communication last week, when Bill (a Flying Frogman keen to learn the layout at Brewer's) and I waited for one another at different locks. This week we planned more efficiently, met at Timmy's on Highway 15 and then made our way in convoy to first Upper Brewer's and then to Lower Brewer's, diving in each location. It has to be admitted that we might have spared ourselves the trip if we'd known that the viz would be limited to about 5' in both locations. Another unforeseen element was a water temperature of just 45℉ (7℃). That's just a few degrees less than the Lake in recent days, but it sure makes a difference. The rewarding aspect of the afternoon's activities (fostering friendships is taken for granted) was the small pile of 'treasure' recovered by the docks at Lower Brewer's. It included several items of cutlery, a dive tool, pair of sunglasses and other odds and ends.

This evening, Todd and I made our Thursday night pilgrimage to the Lake, opting to check out Morton's Wharf again. Tonight's sightings were exceptional. We spent about 10 minutes in very close proximity to a large Northern Pike (estimated at about 30"). It appeared to be every bit as interested in us as we were in it. Nearby, a pair of very large Carp were equally unconcerned and allowed close examination. These key sightings were supported by the usual Bass, Mudpuppies, Perch and Catfish. All in all, with nearly 45 minutes in very clear water, which remains at about 50℉ (10℃), this was one of those, 'you should have been with us' dives.

Oh what a night..!

On Marc-Etienne's suggestion, several of us made a night dive this evening from the ramp by the Marine Museum. Six divers had fun venturing out to the barge in rather limited visibility and then returning to tour the logs. The predominant fish species seen, if you ignore the overwhelming number of Gobies always present, was Catfish. Many of them were swimming around in the rather murky water. A couple of decent Walleye were also spotted under the ramp supports during the final minutes, and many pretty large Perch were around too.

It's been a while since I've been out to the barge and it was good to see that the line is intact and the wreck itself makes an interesting tour. Somehow, by night it seems larger.

Todd had a chance to try out his new light, which is an LED model with three 'bulbs'; very bright and effective - no missing him in the water. Total dive time about 40 minutes.

Another Diver Advances...

Todd celebrated Canada Day today with his final adventure to complete his Advanced Open Water certification. We went to Morton's Wharf and enjoyed many encounters with marine wildlife. Several Carp visited us, a large Catfish, at least one magnificent Walleye and, of course, lots of Bass and Gobies. Visibility was not too good and there's a huge, shifting mass of bright green algae on the top of the Wharf. Otherwise, the dive was a lot of fun and allowed both of us to exhibit good buoyancy control as we moved up and over the wall several times.

Fair but freezing...

Bright skies and freezing temperatures aren't the ideal accompaniment to a dive, but today that's just the way it was at the Gananoque Marina. The plan had been to visit the waters of the Canoe Club, but cursory inspection revealed the opaque results of waters recently in spate. Plan B took us to the Marina for the first time in many months. The result was a journey of exploration lasting some 50 minutes and resulting in just one interesting discovery; a relatively new aluminum ladder about 15' long. Its weight and the distance back to shore overcame the immediate temptation to recover it.

Besides the ladder, the viz of about 15-20' permitted sightings of some shoals of small fry, occasional Catfish and a couple of startled Pike. The minimum temperature recorded in the water was 39℉ (4℃). Topsides, a brisk wind and an air temperature of -2℃ (28℉) created the conditions for my drysuit to show the first post-dive ice formation this end of the year. Ah, don't you just love Winter diving! I should perhaps mention the other unusual sighting - our own Adam, who doesn't get wet often enough these days.

Drysuit Day...

Now that the weather's turning colder and the water with it, it's time to turn to drysuits, if you haven't already. Mario selected the Drysuit Adventure as one of his AOW dives and today presented the opportunity to complete it. He was joined by Steve Liu, who enjoyed the experience just as much in his superb, previously-owned DUI suit. We went out of Navy Bay off the boat launch ramp by St Lawrence Pier for just over 30 minutes. The water temp was 57℉ (14℃) and the visibility about 40 feet. An oddity on this dive - although it was conducted about an hour before sunset- was the large number of Catfish seen.

Night visit to the KGH wreck...

Despite light drizzle and an overcast sky, Kevin, Jim and I ventured into the water this evening for a gentle tour of the wreck off Murney Tower. This was Jim's first visit and a night dive was the only one he was going to fit into a busy schedule this weekend. There was a light current flowing downstream, which made the transit slightly longer than usual. There wasn't a great deal of fish life either. A large Drum was seen in the weeds on our return and a couple of catfish were lurking in the dark. Jim seized the opportunity to try out a new reel from Whatworks. It performed flawlessly - even with drygloves in use. Water temperature, with a thermocline at 55 feet again, was just 64℉ (18℃). Curiously enough, this was the air temperature too.

Fresh Fry tonight...

Kim mentioned disappointment at a lack of fish sightings during last night's charter dive. Well, tonight at the quarry we literally swam through shoals of small Bass fry. Numbering in the hundreds and present in two or more locations, these tiny fish were teeming around the cruiser and in the corner of the bowl beyond it to the South. Also seen during a night dive with Theresa and Neil were the large Carp often spotted in the same bowl and a nocturnally hunting Catfish, which was totally undisturbed by examination under our lights.

The night dive was the second training dive of the evening. The first had seen a couple of students complete their Open Water Dive 2. They too had seen the clouds of small fry and been impressed. For anyone who remains at all reticent about the water temperature, the quarry is the place to dive. The minimum temperature recorded was 73F (the same as the air temperature). The many swimmers and bathers visiting the site these days have knocked visibility back to less than 30 feet, but that's pretty good in most books..

Enjoying the Barge

This morning 5 of us made it out to the marine museum for a quick 30 min swim. We entered by the boat ramp right behind the apartment buildings and followed the line out to the barge. Various fish were seen on our travel back and forth. The highlights were the giant sized pike and cat fish that was spotted on the way back. Visibility was not real great ranging in the area of 15-20ft. The temperature continues its upward climb as we had 63f/17c at 40 feet. Todays dive was a nice way to start of a Sunday morning.

Navy Bay ...

Six of us made it into Navy Bay for a dive this morning. Conditions were good, though what seemed like very promising visibility from the dockside turned out to be just 20' or so in the water. A lot of silt and weed in the water are combining currently to reduce light and range of vision.

However, that didn't prevent most of us seeing a couple of very large Carp and at least one buddy pair spotting (and briefly pursuing) a Muskie. The sunken piers are hosting large numbers of Bluegills and some decent Bass. I also spooked a catfish in the shallows by the exit ramp

Perhaps the most interesting sighting of the day occurred before we got into the water. Spotting a large Snapping Turtle snorting at the surface, I was able to show everyone the beast as it swam back down to the weedy depths. Its shell was probably as big as a dinner plate.

An air temperature of 68F (20C) was almost matched by the bottom temperature of the water, which was recorded as 60F (16C).

Deadman Bay ...

The opportunity was seized today to make another trip to the remarkable wreck that lies just south of the CFB Marina. Four of us (including a dive buddy met through the recent NAS course) spent just over 45 minutes delighting in the sheer strength and presence of the timbers of this old warship. Almost as impressive - and certainly equally delightful - were the hosts of fish around the wreck. Small schools of baby Bass were hanging over the open areas and several Catfish were hugging the muddy bottom or drifting through the wooden walls.

Visibility was very poor for Kingston, just 15-20'. The water is like a thin soup these days. Temperature - 64F (18C).

Night Dive...

Three of us set aside the temptations of Friday night revelry downtown in favour of a night dive from the West St Ramp. Entering the water at almost exactly 9pm, we spent 45 minutes gently cruising the breakwater to and from the logs in the bay beside the Marine Museum. Fish life was abundant, with hordes of Perch, many Catfish and at least one Northern Pike. Only a few Bass were around. Curiously, not a single Mud Puppy was sighted.

Visibility easily reached the end of our light beams (HID) and was judged to be at least 30 feet. The water temperature was 59F (15C) at the deeper end of the dive, showing a distinct thermocline at about 24'.

Deep delight on Howe Island...

Today provided an opportunity to test out some deeper waters off Howe Island. Chris and I ventured forth from the Cora Post to explore the opportunities the channel provides to take divers down to greater depths in a relatively controlled manner. This site is particularly good because the jumping off point from the Cora Post is already at 40 feet. A line has also been laid southwards, which connects with a tether at about 65 feet. We tied off to the tether and went South in search of deeper water. Our turn-around, as agreed in our plan, was at 80 feet. It was evident though that the bottom profile is ideal for a continuation to 100 feet - and probably more.

The lowest temperature recorded was 38F (3C) and visibility was about 35 feet. Marine life - algae aside - was distinctly limited. A couple of lazy Catfish were obliged to depart on our approach, but that was about it. We took the opportunity on the outward journey to clean both lines. They are now in excellent condition.

Gananoque - Open for diving...

Hurrah! A dive venue that isn't Brewer's Mills at last. Chris and I spent some time finding a decent dive site in Gananoque this morning. I guess he'd tired of driving from his home to Brewer's all the time. Long story short, after checking out the River (too dirty, lots of silt, some current) we finally went in by the Beacon on the Eastern side of the Marina. An easterly wind ensured that the breakwater sheltered us from any drifting ice and we had a good 45 minutes or so to explore the area. An undistinguished muddy bottom, with some weeds, led us to a trench that holds a large bore pipe heading directly South. Following this took us (after a gentle 20 minute swim) to the intake / discharge point - a large, cubic, concrete structure. Maximum depth achieved was only 33 feet.

The water is colder than at Brewer's; we both registered just 35F (2C). Visibility though, in sun-dappled water, was a brilliant 40-50 feet. We disturbed a couple of large Catfish en route, spotted a large, lazy Bass resting by a rock and spooked a Pike. But the highlight, encountered on the way back, was spending time with a shoal of 150-200 baby Perch. These fish, measuring about 3-4", swam just ahead of us in the trench for about 10 minutes. A magic few moments - and perhaps quite unusual. For weather freaks, the air temperature was 6C (43F) - in bright sunshine, but with a cool easterly breeze.