Spearing/clarity report 2011

[Jon]

I just got back from my first dive of the year!:friday

After two straight days of 50F degrees temperatures and rain the weather took a dramatic turn overnight and I was greeted with sunny skies, but the temperature dropped to -5F (with the windchill) and the water was a balmy 34F (1C).

I ended up diving in the Yahara river because its the only openwater around right now and i didn't feel liking dragging out the ropes and chainsaw. The rain and warm temperatures opened up quite a nice sized opening in the northern part of Lake Monona. The wind was blowing so hard this morning that it even had white caps on it!

I saw one dead fish and more junk than I can remember. There is a nice little wooden boat sunk in that part of the lake that you can only dive this time of year due to the high level of boat traffic that goes through the area the rest of the year.

Biggest downfall of the dive was the huge tear I put into my wetsuit as I was taking it off. :head You'd think that after diving in smooth-skin suits for the past 10 years I'd be more careful, but the cold air must have dulled my senses even more than they normally are. rofl

Happy New Year's!:friday

Jon

 

[Jon]

Here's a couple more pictures from today.

Jon

 

[FishHunter]

Is there going to be a Freeze-A-Palooza this year?
I want to do some under ice dives

 

[Whopperhead]

Looking into it. May be the Weekend of the 5th or 6th. Have to look at the Rental of the beach house. Will post something, when I find out more.

 

[unirdna]

Cool photos, as always, Jon. Sorry I've been such a dick about communication lately. Holidays got a lot busier due to the kiddo - at least for me. Prior to the kid, no one cared if I showed up. Now, they call....often.

I'm up for Freezabajeebus this year. It'd be fun to do that craziness again. We'll need Peter to show up, of course - as he is the master of wacky videos. Oh yeah - and don't schedule it for the first two weeks of February, as I will be in Cozumel. SUCK IT!

ted

 

[Jon]

Scott, do you still have that changing tent?

I was thinking that ice diving out on the Madison lakes would be fantastic right now. The rain we had last week took care of all the snow cover and the sunlight is pouring through to light up the place. By February everything might be covered in snow again.

Ted, looks like I may be going to Cozumel in April. Lisa is looking into a trip there, since it's so cheap, but would also like to try over in the Riviera Maya area since we've never stayed over there. It all depends upon how crazy her project is come spring.

Jon

 

[FishHunter]

I was re-watching some of the Freeze-a-palooza videos the other day, haha, and I don't think there's any way I could dive bare or 1/2 bare! How do you hold your breath in that freezing water? I did several ice baths when I was doing track at UW-LaCrosse and that initial shock took my breath away every time. I might do a cannon ball, but otherwise, I'm keeping my wetsuit on!

But anyway, here's one of my favorite youtube videos that would be appropriate for this situation and crowd. Enjoy

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x768VAsOQSw]YouTube - Canadian Ice Fishing Crazy Canucks Insane Fisherman[/ame]

 

[Whopperhead]

I don't have my Ice Shanty anymore. But I think My Bro Randy (Madison) has a couple of them. We could do Madison Lakes.

Could do Jan 29th? Saturday. Otherwise Feb 26/27th works for me.

Or Beach House and Nagawica ?

 

[xrispearo]

jon, what gloves/boots do you wear? my suit is plently warm but cannot find gloves able to handle below 39 degrees

 

[Jon]

XL Elios 3-finger mitts that are 5mm thick. I like to have a bit of extra room to move my fingers around in. Basically, any 3-finger mitt will do. 5-finger gloves are for summer temps- especially after you've frozen your hands a few times over the years while skiing.

For socks I wear either my 5mm Spetton gold lined or my 5mm Elios open-cell socks. I find that using C4 Mustang footpockets makes more of a difference in keeping my toes warm than which socks I have on.

Jon

 

[FishHunter]

It would be nice to do it earlier (like Sat Jan 29) if that worked out for everybody else too.

Where do you order most of your stuff from? I should probably get a different/warmer pair of dive boots/socks.

 

[Schnibbz]

Just pulled the trigger on an open cell 5mm suit, so let me know if anyone has any urges to dive anytime. Work is slow as it's the off season, so I can get away most days. Lake Geneva still has a nice hole out in the middle; my buddy, a hovercraft manufacturer (hovercraft.com), is bringing some machines up on Saturday. If my suit arrives, I'm going to play the part of a person needing rescuing for a promo video and get some underwater time in while they drink beer on the craft. Anyone interested in coming with?

 

[Jon]

I got out again today. Not much new, but I wanted to get in and play with my camera for a bit. Outside temps were much nicer than the last time I dove and I did find a nice boat propeller and a half bottle of red wine. I kept the prop, but left the wine.

Here's a few pics from the day:

Jon

 

[foxfish]

Great pictures as usual, love the red wine one LOL

 

[Jon]

There were more than a few birds out there as well.

 

[Whopperhead]

I love the pics from that camera! Very nice.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[kalin]

Any news about the outlet??Or it is off all of the time?

 

[Jon]

It's been off all winter. There's a couple of feet of snow covering it right now. I might have read something on the MGE website that it will reopen the end of March.

Jon

 

[kalin]

Thank you Jon..Keep us posted...What is the website? It would be nice if we can go out the end of March

 

[Whopperhead]

Tass and I went and checked out a New Lake in our neck of the woods. We shall refer to this lake as "W" Lake until further notice.

Water Temp: 42
Water Vis: 10'
Water Time: 1 hour +
Fish spotted: Northern, Bass, Bluegill, Crappie

This wasn't a huge lake, and still half cover with ice. BUT!!! I saw probably the BIGGEST Crappie I have ever seen! I wasn't able to get a shot at one of the big ones, but they're not going anywhere and I'll be back when the conditions are better. We saw LOTS of fish, and barely covered a Fraction of the lake.

I ended up shooting a "ok" size Bluegill and Tass got this Crappie. We will be back and share more.