Paluxy River
Possum Kingdom
Squaw Creek
Texohma
Toledo Bend
Travis
Valhalla
Whitney
Texas Lake Conditions
Texas Lake Maps
Date: 1-22-00
Location : Paluxy River
Max depth: 12'
Water temp: 51
Visibility: 4'
Rating: * *
Dive shop: None
Phone :
Comments:
This site is in Dinosaur Valley near Glen Rose and it is referred to it as The Blue Hole. It is on the
Paluxy River and is around 75 yards long and 50 yards wide. The depth ranges is from 12 to 21 feet
depending on the time of the year you are there. When we were there in Jan and found it to be 12 feet deep and
a very cold 51 degrees. It was just bearable with a six mil wet suit and gloves, I dove it with out a hood
but would not recommend it. What you will see here are Catfish, Turtles, perch and one large
Dinosaur track close to the middle of the pool. There are lots of Dinosaur tracks near the shore
where you enter the water as well as all along the river, they are marked to make them easy to find. I
might point out that this is a popular swimming hole in the summer and it may be very crowded. It is also a little tuff to get down to the water for us fat boys but we need the exercise anyway. The
park is open till 10:00 pm and a night dive may be a better choice then. All in all this was a fair dive and a little different than the norm.
Date : 11-29-98
Location : Possum Kingdom
Max depth : 80'
Water temp : 62-74
Ratting : * * * *
Dive Shop : Scuba Point
Phone : 817-779-2482
Comments :
This is my favorite dive because it's not too far from home and you can be in fairly deep water right off the shore line. We dive at Scuba Point which is a popularly training site. You will see a white jug floating just off the shore, swim out to it and descend to the platform, it sets at about 20' on the edge of the first wall. This wall goes for quite a ways in both directions if you drop over the ledge the second wall goes to the bottom which is around 62' the last time I was there. The lake has been 20' or so down for some time now. Ask in the dive shop what the current level is before you dive just in case the level comes up before I can update this report. When the lake is full you can get past your 60' open water limit quick so keep an eye on that depth gauge. The second wall is almost always a great dive as the open water classes seldom go this deep. "Oh" by the way I hide a twenty five dollar gift certificate on the first wall sometimes. It's redeemable at Scuba Diving School Of Fort Worth on the Ben Brook circle (817-732-5761) ask for Don Rease. Have fun looking for it but don't forget to watch that pressure gauge. Don't bother looking on the deep wall I never put one there. If you find the pink pig your real close. If your ready for your own gear give Don a call and tell him his Granbury connection sent you. This is where I buy all of my gear. One more thing if you need air and the shop at Scuba Point appears to be closed look next to the door and you will see a door bell button, just push it a couple of times and the owner (Tom) will stick his head out the window upstairs to see what you need. Tell him air and he will come down and fill your tank for you.
Date : 2-7-99
Location : Squaw Creek
Max depth : 80'
Water temp : 100 summer 70 winter
Visibility : 1' to 5'
Rating : *
Comment :
I wish I could give a better report on this site as I live just a few miles from it. I have heard that
before the power plant started up that this lake was a fun dive with visibility up to 25'. I cannot report
this because the best I have seen was 3' after diving there on three different occasions. I talked with a
fisherman that had been coming there since it opened and he said that water from lake Granbury is let
into Squaw Creek at times to keep it full due to it being used to cool the reactors at the power plant.
I can tell you that the water from Granbury looks like pee soup because I live on lake Granbury. I
have seen open water class being held at Squaw Creek and for new divers about to do there open
water there, I can tell you most anywhere that you dive after this will you see conditions this poor
again. If you have a different opinion than this send me a report and I will post it. If you are still reading you must be as desperate to dive as the FAT BOY is so click on more reports and read on.
Date:
Location :Texohma
Max depth:
Water temp:
Visibility:
Rating :
Dive shop:
Phone:
Comment
Thanks to Terry Moore for this report. I have not been yet but I will soon. As soon as I do I will post a full report with photos.
Take Hwy 75 North from Dallas. Turn left before you cross the dam.
At lake texohma near sherman denison tx ESinhower state park. there
is a swim beach. drop your gear at the start of the trail and park.
wear bc and tank and weights for the trip down the hill.
the cove is protected from boats but I still work with a flag.
the viz in the summer can be 10 feet. the depth is about 25 in the flats
and quickly drops more than 70. Its cold and dark down there. Things to
see
catfish and other fish. Lots of old stumps and huge rocks.
Rest before you walk back up the hill, its a killer.
I like this spot it is the closest to North Dallas and you can make two
dives
and still make it back to dallas before dark..
Date: 9-5-99
Location : Toledo Bend
Max depth: 90'
Water temp: 80
Visibility: 2'
Rating : * *
Dive shop: Dive Toledo
Phone: 318-286-9363
Comment :
Most of the diving takes place at the dam. On the Louisiana side of the dam you will find easy
access to the water with good parking. This is a shallow dive 30' or less with a little of every thing to
see (boats, a motor bike a paper machine and dive platforms and more. All are connected by ropes
so they are easy to find and some have floats attached so you can decend to them. When we were
there the vis was poor due to rain and the lake was low. The dive shop is well equipped and they are
open Sunday, nice folks. On the Texas side you will find the old coffer dam which was out of the
water and I am told is a good dive when the lake is full. It is a long swim to the dive site (500
yds) but I am told it is a nice wall dive when the lake is full and there is 90' of water near shore for
you advanced divers. We did not get to make this dive as a storm was blowing in as we finished the
first dive on the Louisiana side. We spent to much time at the casino in Bossier, I could have bought
a lot of dive gear with the money left there. There are some other dive sites but you will need a boat
to get to them and they can be rented, ask at the dive shop and they will tell you where.
Date : 10-17-98
Location :Travis
Max depth : 100'+
Visibility : 8-20'
Rating : * * *
Dive shop : Aquatic Adventures
Phone : 512-219-1220
Comment :
I took the first part of my advanced training here (Windy Point)The weather was bad and there was
flooding in the area. There were boats and cars to look at lots of fish and deep water (100'+) The
visibility was not that good due to the flooding and lack of sun. We did a night dive and it was a lot
better then. The parking area is a problem when it rains (mud) and it is a long walk to the entry point.
They do have buggies to transport your gear to the water and camping is allowed.
We went back to Lake Travis June 6, 1999 and dove at Mansfield Dam. We got there early and were one of the first divers in the water. The visilibity was very good at twenty feet plus, lots of fish, boats, a training platform, a barge and a nice wall. The therocline was a little cool as I only wore a shorty which we found to be at 38'. We dove to eighty feet just to see what was there (not much) most every thing was in less that fifty feet. A lot of divers showed up at nine and were all frindly and eager to tell you about there dive site. This is one of the better dive sites in Texas in my opinion and we will go back. The dive shop listed above is open seven days a week and has lots of goodies and a indoor pool for training on site.More photos coming soon. Photo 2 is from the top of the dam looking over the back side. We DID NOT dive there.
Date: 02-19-2000
Location : Valhalla
Max depth: 130'
Water temp: 60
Visibility: 40'
Rating : * * *
Dive shop: Family Dive Center
Phone: 915-686-7333
Comment:
This was once a Atlas Missile Silo that has filled with ground water over the past thirty years. The
water is cool and clear and makes for a neat dive. You should be an advanced diver with over 100
dives before you do this dive. True, it is a controlled environment but you can get your self into real
trouble at this depth not to mention the lack of sunlight and the altitude. This is not the place to test
new gear as you need to dive with gear that is tried and true and you are very familiar with. We went
with Southern Scuba out of Fort Worth. If you would like to
go send them an e-mail and ask when there next trip is or you may contact Family Scuba and they
put you in touch with a shop that is putting a trip together. The cost is $35.00 per diver which I might
add that it's worth that just to see the place. How many people have ever been in a Missile Silo
much less dove in one. There is a little work involved like carrying your gear down several flights of
stairs but if this forty seven year old fat boy can do it so can you. Leave the kids at home as this
place is not safe for kids. Watch your step as there is one set of stairs that does not have hand rails
that can get slick after a dive. You must climb down a thirty foot ladder to get to the dive platform
and they will hook you up to a climbing harness if you would like. They will then lower your gear by
wench and also retrieve it after the dive. Once in the water drop down to thirty five to forty feet and
check out the control room and just get used to the surrounding before you desend to the bottom at
around 120' stay of the metal debris on the bottom as there are some jagged edges that you can get
cut on. Watch your time and your air and be sure to stay with your buddy and be familiar with
his/her equipment and them with yours. Also have a plan that your buddy is familiar with in case of
equipment failure as I did. This depth and water temp is no place for cheep gear as I was using a
bottom of the line U. S. Diver regulator that failed.. Go back to my main page and read
REGULATOR FAILURE AT 110' for the whole story. Over all this was a neat dive site that is a
must do. I will have underwater photos soon so check back latter.
SURFACE PHOTOS______UNDERWATER PHOTOS COMING
SOON
Date: 10-25-98
Location : Whitney
Max depth: 71'
Water temp: 69
Visibility: 3'
Rating : * *
Dive shop: Scuba Park
Phone: 817-622-3738
Comment
This is where I took the second part of my advanced training. We dove to a platform at a depth of 71' It was dark and cold visibility was 2' at best, not fun. We demonstrated some skills to fulfill our deep dive and came up for a surface interval and planned our multilevel dive. This part of the training was a bit more enjoyable once we got up to around 30'. The visibility got a lot better maybe 10' or so as we dove along a wall. There is a car or two and a graveyard which I did not get the chance to see due to this being a advanced training dive and we were a little to deep to see any of this. We went back to scuba Park 10-31-99 and found the shop closed till spring. The water temp was 62 and the visibility was two feet at best.
I dove the overhangs at Soldiers Bluff June 6, 1999. The visibility was poor (three feet)
and you must contend with the fisherman. Be sure to use a dive flag and stay close to it. My dive buddy
became tangled in fishing line and got the hook stuck in her fin. I think you will be safe if you venture
from your flag as long as you stay under the overhang. It was a fair dive but there are a lot better
places to dive in my opinion. If you have a better report on this lake send it to me and I will post it.