Silver Lake (2)
This was our second time diving Silver Lake, so we knew what to expect this time. We arrived around 8:45 AM and had no issues finding a parking spot at the public boat landing. Earlier in the week we had discussed possibly diving in wetsuits instead of dry suits, since it would be a hot day and we didn't want to overheat. In the end, we decided to dive dry. In order to stay cool, we set up our gear in the shade. I don both my thermal and my drysuit before Eric even gets started with his. (He sweats a lot more than I do.) Since we've been lake diving numerous times this year already, we finally have our system down and can get ready relatively quickly. The first thing Eric does when he gets in the water is a faceplant. Although he looks silly, it's a great way to cool off!
Our first dive we followed the weed line to the left (south). We saw multiple fish cribs and quite a few northern! It was cool to see the northern hide in the weeds and dart away when we got close. I decided to tow the dive buoy this time instead of tying it to a fish crib. This way we wouldn't have to try to locate it at the end of the dive, which I anticipated to be more difficult this time due to the less than ideal visibility. The vis was only about 15 feet max. Eric had a successful firing of his DSMB at the end of the dive. Practice makes perfect!
During our surface interval we stripped down our dry suits and thermals to our waists in order to keep cool. After about an hour and a snack of apples and peanut butter on tortillas, we headed back in for a second dive. This time there were even more boats out on the lake than the morning; another reason to tow the dive buoy with us.
We didn't see quite as many fish on dive two. We decided to follow the weed line north and check out that area of the lake, only running into a couple of fish cribs and not much else. We still enjoyed being in the water and continuing to refine our skills with both the dry suits and Eric's rebreather. There was a significant thermocline at about 15 feet depth, with our computers reading 82 ℉ (28 ℃) near the surface of the lake and 64 ℉ (18 ℃) at the bottom.
Our post-dive tradition lately has been to visit whatever town is nearby for a bite to eat and ice cream. 😊 Downtown Oconomowoc has lots of cute shops and restaurants! Today I was in the mood for a deli so we grabbed sandwiches at the Violet Table, followed by a visit to Golosi Gelato Cafe. What can we say... we love our gelato!
