New to MidwestDive

[skunkriv]

Hey all, Just back from a trip diving in the tailrace at Oahe Dam--Pierre, SD. Great dives. This was my 5th Labor Day trip up there and the 1st for my girlfriend. Surfing the computer and stumbled on this site. Look forward to visiting often.

Steve White

[steve2281]

Welcome to the board, Steve. Glad to have you. Check back often. steve

[nauifins73]

Hi and welcome to our little corner of the net. Sounds like a great tradition you have started.

[theskull]

Hey all, Just back from a trip diving in the tailrace at Oahe Dam--Pierre, SD. Great dives. This was my 5th Labor Day trip up there and the 1st for my girlfriend. Surfing the computer and stumbled on this site. Look forward to visiting often.

Steve White

Where do you live, Steve? Is Oahe Dam worth a 10-hour drive from St. Louis to experience, in your opinion?

theskull

[scubajoe]

Welcome to the board!

Joe

[skunkriv]

Thanks for the welcome. The tradition of going up to Oahe on Labor Day weekend was started by the owner of an LDS in Des Moines 30 some years ago (he turned 78 up there this yr). The same shop goes to Bull Shoals in AR over memorial day.

I live in Killduff, IA about an hour east of Des Moines. Takes about 8.5 hours for me to get there so if theskull can get to Pierre from StL in 10 I ain't riding with him :eek:. The dives in the river there are like nothing else I have ever done but you definitely want a boat to pick you up and ferry you back upstream. Tom from the LDS in Pierre knows where to put you in to keep you from ending up on the face of the dam and makes the weekend fun. Not doing a commercial for him but he's the only game in town so if you are going to get air you are going to meet him anyway. You could always take your own boat.

The vis varies from yr to yr and throughout the day as they open more gates in the dam. More gates open=faster drifts. Vis is from 8-30 or so. Was on the low end of that this year. When you are moving fast 8' vis is actually pretty good because about as soon as your mind processes what is in front of you it has already changed. I think you see more fish when the vis is down. Walleye, smallmouths, catfish, burbot, sturgeon, and big schools of shad and more.

Steve

[Atlaua]

Welcome to the board, Steve.

James

[theskull]

Thanks for the welcome. The tradition of going up to Oahe on Labor Day weekend was started by the owner of an LDS in Des Moines 30 some years ago (he turned 78 up there this yr). The same shop goes to Bull Shoals in AR over memorial day.

I live in Killduff, IA about an hour east of Des Moines. Takes about 8.5 hours for me to get there so if theskull can get to Pierre from StL in 10 I ain't riding with him :eek:. The dives in the river there are like nothing else I have ever done but you definitely want a boat to pick you up and ferry you back upstream. Tom from the LDS in Pierre knows where to put you in to keep you from ending up on the face of the dam and makes the weekend fun. Not doing a commercial for him but he's the only game in town so if you are going to get air you are going to meet him anyway. You could always take your own boat.

The vis varies from yr to yr and throughout the day as they open more gates in the dam. More gates open=faster drifts. Vis is from 8-30 or so. Was on the low end of that this year. When you are moving fast 8' vis is actually pretty good because about as soon as your mind processes what is in front of you it has already changed. I think you see more fish when the vis is down. Walleye, smallmouths, catfish, burbot, sturgeon, and big schools of shad and more.

Steve

Thanks for the description. Sounds like a fun dive weekend. Obviously more travel time involved than I put in my question (I didn't calculate, just knew that it would be a l-o-n-g drive). I do some business travel to a couple places in SD, though, so I might be able to do both some time in the future.

theskull