Photo Courtesy Julie Balliet

Ask any dive shop and they will tell you October and November are the slowest months of the year for them. This is unfortunate because it is the best time of year to dive the inland lakes in the Midwest. Most boaters have long since put the boats away and found their way to the easy-chair to watch football. This time of year, the algae has all but died opening up the visibility and the water has not yet fell out of the 60’s.  It is also a great time to see fish. Fish are trying their best to put on the pounds before the big chill hits.

There have been many times when dragging a dive flag, boaters and jet skiers use the buoy as something to race around. I have had flags ripped out of my hand by boats just running them over at full speed.  I have seen boaters pull up divers because they wanted to see what is at the other end of the rope. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate boaters, I hate stupid boaters.

When talking to people about diving in Michigan, people usually talk about how they cannot see anything when they look down into the water. The fall is usually the exception. Algae has died and sunk to the bottom opening up the vis. I have had days in certain lakes where there was less than 5’ vis all summer, and all of the sudden its 40 or 50’.

Inland lakes typically warm up into the mid 70’s above the thermocline and they typically stay in the mid to low 60’s until late October. The other concern people express is about the water temp. If you prepare properly and have the right suit, it is no big deal. Water can only get so cold; if it isn’t frozen you can still dive it!

To me the best reason to dive in the fall is the fish really come to life and they

photo courtesy Bob Shoemaker

are everywhere.  Sunfish are schooling up getting ready for the winter and the bass, pike and walleye are out chasing them to put on their winter weight. This is a great time to see fish out hunting and maybe catch a glance of a fish dinner! Also, fall is the time of year the freshwater jelly fish come out. Although not truly jelly fish, they are still really neat to see.  If you have not seen them before, it is worth doing some investigation to find a lake that might have them.

If you have not seen the fall dive video that we made last year you have to check it out! It is one of my favorite episodes and I am very proud of it. There is a multitude of fish from paddle fish to perch. There are also huge schools of a fish we rarely see outside of the fall, the mighty salmon.  This fish is so impressive to see up close and especially in huge schools congregated in a small area.

Diving in the fall is an extremely rewarding and a great way to beat the crowds. I suggest hitting up your local dive shop and see what they have planned for their fall dive adventures. They will have ideas of places you might not have thought of or had passed over because the summer time was covered in boaters or had poor viz. Keep an eye out for those freshwater jellies!

See you underwater! Cheers!

Bob