For those who did not get outside today, it was actually quite pleasant. At Forrest beach (Paw Paw Lake, Watervliet side) it was in the mid 40’s, no wind and not even drizzling. The water was just a bit cool to the touch, still soft and with good clarity.

The lake bottom appears to have a thick silty sand build up everywhere with no patterns to indicate where it’s coming from. Did not notice any weeds but did come across very nice patches of green vegetation. The most notable finding and change from last year, other than the sand, was the number and quantity of zebra mussels.

On the bottom, if it’s not sand or vegetation it has a significant buildup of mussels. Everything from tires, boulders, tree parts, and even very small exposed parts of small rocks are all covered with a thick covering of mussels. Did not see any cray fish and the few clams I did locate were barely alive and all covered in mussels.

After hearing some motor noise nearby, I surfaced to see a fast moving speed boat whizzing by a dive flag. No chance to get numbers or name. So obviously boaters / fishermen are out and about.  Interesting how many inland boaters do not know the requirement to keep away from a divers flag. 

The nice thing about belonging to a dive club is you can more often than not find a buddy to go diving with you.  Other opportunities to dive include the weekly  “Thirsty Thursday”  dive after 5:00.

During the last month of summer and early fall, the Saint Joseph river, as it wanders thru and around Niles, Michigan,  begins to clear up. That means the visibility increases , the river current moderates and the water temperature is suitable for wet suits.

One of the draws to diving the river  is looking for bottles, some of which can be of significant value to some collectors. Divers that do this sort of diving are called “grubbers” as they dig around in the muck looking for treasures made of glass.

Here are some of the finds: