Lake Mendota

[schultz]

Thursday at Monona Terrace was the best I've seen in over five years. Calm winds made vis almost 40 feet and THOUSANDS of fish including several northern and musky. I decided to go back Friday with my camera (and unfortunately an uncharged flash) to take a few shots. Winds were blowing towards the Terrace that day, so visability and fish populations were reduced a little.

I now know where the Musky hangs out under there. Thursday it scared the crap out of me when it came up from behind and then nudged my light. I returned Friday and found the thing lurking in the western back corner.

[jmohns]

maybe I am a little slow but how deep is it at the terrice
does it require any special training?

[schultz]

If you go to the deepest part of the Terrace, directly under the main bow of the building, it's no more than 30 feet deep. From that point going north, the bottom is sloped and will decrease in depth to zero feet.

Many regard the Terrace as an overhead environment, and therefore some would recommend additional training, especially since it's easy to silt out in areas. Overhead environment is relative in this case however, since there are many large openings with roughly three feet of open airspace in which you can surface under the Terrace. They average about 30 by 10 foot in size and tend to run parallel to the shore. Whether you'd want to surface and breath the fowl lake air is another matter, although it does appear to exchange quite readily with the outside air.

The area has other hazards that I consider more dangerous - namely it is a popular fishing spot, and as such there are many fishing lines, poles, and hooks from live anglers in which you can become easily entangled. So I would bring a knife, since more often than not, you can't see the lines until it is too late. These are all located along the outside wall, so I tend to swim about five feet inside the Terrace to avoid these. This is well within PADI's defined "light zone" for overhead environments and you'll still see thousands of fish. There are also some old cave lines run through the west side of the Terrace, so do be wary of those as well.

Always remember that you should dive within your comfort and skill level and seek additional training when warranted.

[jmohns]

OK thanks, I might have to try it out. When does the vis go to nothing?