Troy Springs Dive

[JES]

Today Jim Moore (Capn_Tucker on VDH) and I dove Troy Springs.

Here are some photos from the dive:

The first photo is an aerial shot of Troy Springs (State Park photo). Troy is a nice dive with crystal clear 72 degree water. ;D -




Here's a picture of Jim before our first dive -




Here's a photo of my daughter who snorkeled the spring -




Finally, here's a photo of Jim at 55 feet -

[Dale]

Very nice! I think most people would kill to be diving in 72 deg. water about now. Closest water to me is 50. Great pics.

[Broxton Carol]

Seahunt Jerry and I hit bottom here in october. Others made bubbles too. There were a couple dozen students trying to get their gear on..... some couldnt! Thats the usual greenish TROY water thats so great to get into! Water there is likely 10 feet LOW due to lack of rain there.

[JES]

It is really low. I have dove Troy Springs when it was 84 feet deep and on Saturday it was only 67 feet deep.

Looking at the aerial photo I posted above, amost all of the rocks visable underwater in the middle of the spring are now exposed. There is probably only about 1 1/2 feet of water covering the Civil War wreck "Madison" right now.

[duckbill]

Winter is always Florida's dry season. Is this year unusually dry?

[JES]

duckbill said:

Winter is always Florida's dry season. Is this year unusually dry?

The Southeast has been experiencing a drought the last several years but it has been really bad this year. I believe that Lake Lanier in Georgia only has 2 docks out of 154 working due to extremely low water levels. In Keystone Heights Florida several of their lakes have dried-up.

[Broxton Carol]

Joe you got that right, but I heard that crystal river is all clouded up.. and saw blue springs also is cloudy. Could be from an underground collapse somewhere up north in the aquafier? This happened back in 74 or so, and blue spring had "blue mud" coming up out of it. There were nothing but swimmers there for a long time after that. At TROY in october, I pulled a rivit out of my 55 black navy! Started to freeflow. I went back to the car, opened it up, and saw the rivit had pulled on the horseshoe pad, so squeezed it back in with channellocks, and went for a 2nd dive. Worked fine! Are you still divin that mint voit of yours?

[JES]

broxtonchuck said:

.... Are you still diving that mint voit of yours?

Absolutely! Of course after diving with it so many times it doesn't look quite as mint anymore.

[scubadiverbob]

Water here is lowest it's been sence 1977. No one can launch from Lake Oroville.

That looks as clear, maybe clearer, as the Feather River. Do you get 2000 forty pound fish swimming there every year like we get in the Feather? 72 degree water and wearing wetsuits? You all didn't overheat?

Hey, those were great pictures! Thanks for sharing. What kind of fish are there? I wish water was that warm here. I wouldn't have to wear a shorty, hood, and gloves; no weight belt would be needed!! Hear the water rarely gets above 58 degrees.

Robert

[JES]

I only own/wear a 3MM wetsuit. It's enough to stay warm but not enough to make you overheat.

Regretfully, there aren't too many fish that typically hang out in the springs. Around the edges of the springs (where the vegetation starts) you can see largemouth bass, bluegill, gar, and the non-native sailfin catfish to name a few.

Here's a website about the Florida springs that you'll probably enjoy! Florida Springs ;D

[JES]

Here's a picture of some of the ribs from the Civil War wreck "Madison"