snorkeling spots great twin cities area

[popolarbear]

ok ive got my act in gear. going to share some pics ive taken from varrious spots we have been freediving/snorkling in the greater twin cities area

[popolarbear]

these are some interesting spots that stand out in particular. what you are looking at:
1)upper missisiippi river north of monticello boat access. interesting spot in late summer as main channel has low 1-2ft vis and fast fast somewhat dangerous current even though its only 2ft deep. sides of the river will have some spring fed areas were vis will be 4ft+ and if you find the deeper holes(4-7ft) then you find the fish!!! very differnt spot than many that are around.

2)tame bluegills crowding around one of my boys at a private lake/beach that is somewhat difficult and questionable to access at best. vis was roughly 4ft in the swimming beach due to a party going on at the time. out farther the vis increases to close to 10.

3)vermillion river at hastings, just downstream from the 200ft waterfall. this is a trout stream and has clear water! and baby trout even on the misssippi river side! vis is roughly 4ft.(early august, before the rains). depth is shallow between inches and perhaps 2-4ft. i havent fully explored this spot and it is a sleeper of a spot. mainly it has golden suckers,carp, afew sheepheads, afew small smallies and some limmited odd ball stuff(not as much as we would like). supposedly there is a large deep pool just close to the confluence were the missisippi and vermillion conect, only problem is tons of fishermen are using this spot non-stop.

[popolarbear]

here is the waterfall at verrimion. a view from top park, cant tell in this pic but there was 2-3 medium sized 10lb carp that were clearly visible from above. water vis is in the 4ft range, and bottom is visable.

next three frames are from famous square lake.
1)sunnfish under a floating dock.
2)view of one of my group in the water shows the water is indeed very clear!
4)(i have some better pics somewere still searching) a view from the beach, there was litteraly like 200people here on this day, but the pic doesnt show that. i avoided the public beach and launched into this lake. vis was in the 10ft+ range mid july. this lake has the best assortment of native plants of any lake ive visisted yet in the greater twin cities metro area. ..

[popolarbear]

ok some more interesting shots that id share with the forum members.
1) st.croix river at a feeder creek. water clarity was in the 3ft range. smallies/sunnies/ and odd small minnows. not allot of fish, but with the water grasses and the clarity and bolders it was interesting. i suspect there are tons of interesting feeder spots and even their are small isolated bays that clear up with spring water intrusion.
2) boat launch at wayzatta bay. this is a small protected launch that is not publized much,and is very difficult to launch by novices as its small and steep. its also protected by a  rocky wall, but swimming isnt allowed im sure, but a quick photo off the side of the boat is. this shows how clear some spots in tonka can be, i might have some better pics of the back bays to share if i didnt lose the cd. oh vis at this spot was probably about 5ft range.
3)just for comparision this is a picture from a spring i like in the orlando area. it is fresh water and is currently 10ft deep(you can see the bottom!) vis is roughly in the 15-20ft range.(this is the first time a manatee came up the river to the spring area)