Freshwater recommendations in central FLA

Hi. I'm looking to do some freshwater diving in central Florida and I
was hoping to get some testimonials from those who've dove there. I'm
looking for spots with lots of life. I'm not too enthused by these
sterile grottos with 200' viz but no fish. In particular, I was
thinking about Alexander Springs near Ocala. Anyone dove there? Thanks

\"Magilla\"...

Wakulla Spring is in Wakulla County, a bit east of Walton County.

CB - aka Unfrozen Caveman Politician Algore...

According to this page, we're both wrong...
Several of the early Tarzan movies starring Johnny Weissmuller, as well as
the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Airport 77 and Joe Panther were filmed
on location at Wakulla Springs.

\"Magilla\"...

How so? It is located in Wakulla County, and that page has some very
old information on it.

Lee Bell...

SpringDiver...

I was responding to CB.

JRE...

Does it have an overhead environment?

Lee Bell...

No, but neither does Lake Travis.

John Eells

SpringDiver...

The Den is a fun place. Some divers don't experience the site as it
should be seen. They spend their dive in the open water portion of the
sink. As you know, half of this dive is behind rock, at the edge of
the debris cone.

The Grotto came under fire from a local neighbor not caring for Ed's
(owner Ed Paradisio) compressor business. It seems that the neighbor
mustered some clout with local politicians that worsened matters. He
tried to sell the place last year; but didn't get what he was asking.
The buyers (several of them) were interested in the site for water. Ed
has a water bottling license also. That could have put an end to a fun
dive site.

Lee Bell...

That would be a damned shame. There are very few places where an open water
diver can get a feel for cave and cavern diving without at least a cavern
diving card. We'd hate to lose een one of them.

Some folks like the Grotto for its depth. Others like the "Den" for
the ambiance provided by the dome on the sink. I might add that a lot
of training goes on at both sites. Best time to visit: Tuesday through
Friday. Monday would be good, but the visibility may be off as a
result of heavy weekend diving.

Lee Bell...

I used to meet friends from a Northern Kentucky dive shop there once or
twice a year. Jayna and I would drive up from Ft. Lauderdale and they'd
brink a bus load down from Kentucky. The first time we met up with them,
the Kentucky group was amused that Jayna was having trouble getting into her
3mm wetsuit, but they were amazed when she told them it was the first time
she'd ever worn a wetsuit. 8^)) The group leader/instructor was a good
friend we had met years before on our first Blackbeards trip out of Miami.
That's about the only way we got to see him and his wife. He lives down
here now and we never get to see them any more. Go figure. We usually dove
Devil's Den on the weekday they arrived and Blue Grotto on the day they
departed. Because we usually got to Devils Den first, most of the times we
dove there, we were the only ones in the water.

We spent the weekend diving King Springs and the surrounding area with the
manatees.

Lee Bell...

My father lives in Homosassa. I visit him occasionally, but don't normally
plan on diving when I do. One of these days, however, I'm going to get back
up there for scallop season. The bay scallops are more work than they're
worth, but catching a limit of them is a real hoot. The last time we did
that was before they closed the area to scallop hunting. I understand the
season opens once again, but the timing has not been right since it did.

Lee Bell...

Send him south for an Andrew, Charlie or Wilma and he'll understand better.

Either way, I always enjoyed myself at both sites. In addition, the
management have always been kind to me.

CB - aka Unfrozen Caveman Politician Algore...

How can this be inviting?
It looks spooky

Lee Bell...

It is spooky. Some of us find spooky inviting. What can I say? If you
want a taste of what cave diving is like, without getting the cave or cavern
certification first, this is one of the places you can do it.

chilly...

Looks like a big gray mouth that's gonna gobble you up.

Last I heard, it is located all over the place. Your entrance is in
Wakulla, but I'm not sure anyone yet knows where all the exits will prove to

\"Magilla\"...

In thinking about his response, maybe he meant the site as well as he
was wrong with the name. At any rate, think Walton County is in a different
karst plain, so I doubt there's any connection unless there's as many
Wakulla Springs as there are Blue Springs. :-)

be.

Another spring of distinction in Wakulla County is Spring Creek...

for any info.

SpringDiver...

Hi Vin;

Try a little further west. In Marion County (Ocala), in a town called
Williston, you'll find two unusual dive sites. The first is call the
"Blue Grotto". This is a 100' cavern diver. Very nice and interesting
from a geological aspect. The "Blue Grotto" is an example of non-karst
sink. It's fed by laminar flow where the water enters the sink via
rock seepage. The other, the "Devil's Den" is a 45-50 feet deep
depending on the water table. The surprise is that "Devil's Den" is a
true karst (upstream/downstream cave) sink that hasn't completely
collapsed, It's covered by a dome of rock and dirt. They've built a
stairway leading down into the sink. The bottom of the stairway
provides a nice platform that leads off of the rocky debris cone.

Lee Bell...

He specifially mentioned a desire to see more fish and other life. Both of
the sites you mention are worth a visit or two, but neither is particularly
well known for their aquatic life.

I guided both of these sites for over two years. Always found
something new.

SpringDiver...

Sorry. I should have the post in its entirety. You don't care for
geological formations. Such as those found in caverns and caves?

Well then, You've got to drift the Rainbow River, near Dunnellon, FL.
There you see a varitey of terrapins. Some bite. Large Mouth Bass at
vaious stages of development. Gar alley is on the way. Big alligtor
gar. Some 5 feet long. It's a mild 1-2knt drift), depth 4-21 feet, All
types of grasses can be observed. Some nice geological formations.
Sand, crushed rock, and rock bottm. Check out the boils. The Rainbow
is consisdered a pristene river in Florida and you'll see why. It's a
fun dive. Give it a try. I have whatever infor you require, including
dive shops providing daily tours from Crystal River (town nearby).

SpringDiver...

And the water temperature is 72 degrees F.

Contacts:

These are all located on Crystal River.

Lee Bell...

I can't imagine needing a guide at either of these sites.

Blue Grotto: http://www.divebluegrotto.com/

Lee Bell...

SpringDiver...

It's not that folks need a guide, but rather want one. Some folks have
never done a cavern dive. They have no idea what a cavern is but would
like the experience. They hire a guide to feel comfortable with
someone who has. Others want to cover as much ground as possible
during their vacation. A guide can get you through both sites in as
little as four hours. There are lots of reasons folks hire a guide.

Lee Bell...

Point made.

Try a trip down the Rainbow River

Lee Bell...

I'm not a big fan of freshwater diving, but that one I really enjoyed. I'd
do it again in a heartbeat. When are you planning on being down here next?

range from 15 to about 45 feet. Water is crystal clear and there's plenty
of fish, turtles, etc. as well as small springs bubbling up through the sand

Lee Bell...

I'm not sure how much local drought conditions have on spring fed rivers,
but it's still a good point.

all over the place.