Fortune Pond

[LKunze]

Doug, where is this located?

[pink_fins]

Wonder who put the skull and thermometer in the Pond ??? LOL
Great place to dive and has a few more things to see.

It is located over by Iron River Michigan.
Just off New Bristol Road.

Water is usually very clear. Great place to picnic and has a pit toilet for use.

gail

[dfreeman]

Take New Bristol Road north from US Highway 2 about 2 miles west of Crystal Falls, Michigan. The parking lot with toilet facilities and dock are located on the west side of the road. You can not miss it.

Does not show up very well on the Michigan Gazeteer.

Doug

[pink_fins]

Doug, forgot to mention. Next summer lets plan a
get together over at the pond.

Did you see the zebra mussels? There population has grown through the years.

Glad to see you guys can make it up-north .... Long trip for you.

and how many dives have you done this summer season so far.?
gail

[dfreeman]

Definitly saw the zebra mussels. We expected more after reading the warning posted at this site, but did not see a huge amount in the pond. It will be interesting to see how fast they grow.

It is a 3 hour drive from Stevens Point. That is not too bad for us.

I do not tend to keep track of the summer diving season. I believe that I have had 70 dives since June 1. I know the total is 110 for year to date. This will be an average diving year for me.

Would really enjoy getting together next summer. We have already discussed going up to Fortune Pond next year. Is there a particular month that you would recommend?

Doug

[Omicron]

Fortune Pond was pretty unbelievable - it blew Wazee clear out of the water in terms of visibility. It truly was like diving in tropical saltwater - except for the 20mph winds and snow. Other than that though... ;D

Saw some crayfish and trout, and the zebra's. If you turn the rocks over you'll find a lot more - the zebra's seem to like hiding or something.

Made it down to 131' - at that point we hit a really, really silty cloudy hazy layer and didn't bother trying to punch through it - wonder if anyone has???

When I first stuck my face under the water while getting ready I couldn't believe the viz. It was shocking how amazing it was - and beautiful blue...that blue you usually only see in warmer climates. As we were heading down, I looked at my gauge and it said 67' - I looked up and could still clearly see waves on the surface. Now THAT is some viz

Cool structure in the lake too - some fun cliffs. It was a great day of diving. Looking forward to doing more there.

[FreediveWI]

I dove there once about 8 years ago. Happened to have a reel with me and measured out 65 foot of, horizontal, vis. There were no mussels in there back then.

I know that the dive shop in Vilas county uses it fo most of their tec classes. They have hyper-filtered air and can mix nitrox mixes, but no helium mixes as of yet.

Jon

[pink_fins]

Doug and anyone else next year any month would be a great time to hook up.
We go there often. It's only 2 hrs from me.

Have stayed at the local cheap motel but there is camping in area if anyone is interested.

Did you see the toy helicopter and flower garden ? I have a few other goodies to put in there the next time we dive it.
Might do it one more time this "season"

There is a great LDS over in Woodruff.They have both air and nitrox. TimberBay is run by Linda and Bill Nichols

We'll definately set up a get together next summer when it seems like we will have a great summer weekend. I hate diving in the rain. I might get wet LOL

gail

[FreediveWI]

That's the dive shop I was thinking of. They have an awesome shop for being in the middle of the north woods. 8)


Jon

[dfreeman]

Looking forward to the next run to Fortune Pond. It is about 3 hours away, does not take long to get there. Will look for our chance to go next summer.

Doug