2019-06-06: Today was a short notice pickup dive to see who would show up.  We had it at big Paw Paw Lake on the Watervliet side at Forrest Beach.  Its a nice place to get checked out in if its been awhile since you have gotten wet or want to try new gear.  The site has ample parking and in the summer it has a porta-john which is always a nice addition. It seems you only even REALLY need one when there is none around.   And, besides, if you need to, you can change into your suit inside.

The beach has a pier which makes staging gear nice and keeps you and the gear out of the sand (and bugs). The area around the pier is firm hard pack sand and stays shallow (less than 6 feet) until you get out maybe 100 feet or so from the shore.

Today we found the weeds thriving and in some places clustered in a very dense pattern, the visibility was maybe 10 feet at best due to the cloudy skies (and light rain) and to the divers in front stirring up the bottom silt with their flippers.

The drop off is gradual and the first slope goes down gradually to about 15 feet deep. The zebra mussels (fresh water invasive species) that have enveloped the great lakes has spread to many of the inland lakes also. It will be interesting to see if the quagga  mussels over take the zebra like they have done in the Great Lakes.  Todays surface water temperature was in the mid 60’s and only 52 ̊F at 35 feet. Almost did not need gloves if you stayed on the drop off.

If your ever in the area come on out and dive with us, somebody is diving every weekend!