Nagawicka Lake
Eric has caught the diving bug. One week after our dive at Devil's Lake, and we're back in the water again! This was our first time diving in Nagawicka Lake in Naga-Waukee Park. Eric was eager to get back in the water and practice with the dry suits. I was not... especially after the cold water and low visibility of last weekend. However, I wasn't going to let him dive alone, so I found myself back in the car heading to the dive site Saturday morning. Fortunately for me, by the time I woke up that morning Eric already had the gear all packed in the car. All I had to do was roll out of bed and change clothes, and we were ready to go. I'm spoiled that way. 😊
When we first arrived at the lake, we scoped out our entry point. We decided to kit up at a picnic table and then walk to the water and enter at the public beach. Not a terribly far walk, but definitely feels farther when you're carrying 30 or so pounds of gear and weight on your back. The weather was cloudy and teased us with rain. No matter - we would be getting wet anyway.
Since this lake had boat traffic, we used a dive flag / float to indicate our presence underwater. I was nervous when we first entered the water, as I was unfamiliar with this lake. Descending into relatively dark water when you can't see the bottom is unsettling, at least for me. Eric was probably exhilarated. Once we descended and I gained sight of the bottom, I felt much better. We also stayed relatively shallow on this dive, much to Eric's disappointment. I wanted to become more comfortable with managing the dry suit before diving deeper.
We definitely saw more things underwater this time. The visibility was better than last weekend in Devil's Lake; we could see about 10-15 feet. Our flashlights were helpful as well. We saw one smallmouth bass, several crayfish, a statue of what looked to be Saint Mary, and a very creepy discarded fisherman's boot. My hands stayed a bit warmer this dive with thicker gloves, but they still froze by the end. The limiting factor to our dive was not our amount of air or no-decompression-time, but how much we could stand losing feeling in our fingers. Eric used dry gloves for the first time on this dive, so his hands stayed warmer than mine. They still got cold, though. Can't really help it when you're diving in 40° water!
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Site Overview
Location: Delafield, WisconsinFish Observed: BassMax Lake Depth: 90 feet (27 meters)Average Lake Depth: 36 feet (11 meters)Fee: [Daily $8 per vehicle]
Dive Log