Crosby conditions

[Qix]

Four of us camped/dove up there last weekend. The weather wasn't very kind to us Saturday. We got in a 60 minute dive Friday afternoon in Louise. Temperature above the thermo was about 70F and I'd put viz in the 20' range (at best).  The thermocline was somewhere around 25' mark and I don't have that temp. Probably mid-high 50's. Viz down there didn't seem much better. I'll try get some pictures posted. The smallmouth bass are getting big. I have on over/under shot with the fish in it (didn't turn out good). Fun, standing at the access in chest deep water with big fish right below.

We did another dive on Louise Saturday morning. It was really overcast so viz just seemed worse. There were two other divers that had drove in and a couple camping right at Louise. (Hi Eric, thanks for the info on the backplate, wing and harness!)

Saturday afternoon/evening was a bust. Beer was drank and the fire was stoked. We stayed at Portsmouth, and there was one small group there diving including a night dive on Saturday! The campground host informed us that Portsmouth Campground will be open thru the end of the month (wraps up with the big MSD event being held there).

Sunday we did a 52 minute dive in Hopkins. No one else in the group had been there and everyone enjoyed swimming thru the trees and watching all the fish by that big pile of trees or old beaver damn?? (if you go right from the access). Viz in hopkins was down a bit from Louise (say about 15') - just mirkier. We stayed up shallow to see more stuff, however the thermo was about the same as Louise. And there was a group of 3 or 4 that were just getting out as we geared up.

There were people camping right beside the pits (we noticed them at Louise and Mangan). The Louise site didn't look to bad trash-wise. The predictable broken glass near fire sites, etc.  And one small pile of garbage. Otherwise, I've seen it much worse.

If you get good weather, I'm sure you'll still enjoy it for another couple weeks and then it will be drysuit time. My buddy spotted a snapping turtle swimming but I was off somewhere else with the video camera so I missed - again! One day I'm gonna catch that bugger on tape. Louise is a great place to dabble with the camera, friendly bigger lake fish. Occassional loons. Turtles, etc. Oh yeah, and being our first time this year we spotted that newer white boat in shallow water just off the Louise access.