Date of Dive(s): 21-APR-2007
Location: Veterans Memorial Park Pond, Boise, ID
Elevation: 2700 feet ASL
Air Temperature: 64°F
Water Temperature: 52°F
Max Depth: 21 feet
Visibility (max): 3 - 5 Feet
Divers: Dave & Kathy Washburn
Surface support: None
Time in: 2:10 P.M.
Time out: 2:33 P.M.
Dive time: 23 Minutes

We arrived at the parking lot just as Denise, Jim and Carl were getting ready to leave. We chatted for a bit and then hauled our stuff down to the lake. We weren't able to go to the beach we had planned on because of people fishing, so we went to the first one we saw after crossing the bridge over the canal. I had put my gear together back at the parking lot, but for some reason hadn't turned my air on yet. I turned it on and discovered that I only had 1000 psi in my tank. We decided that, since we had made the trek down there, we might as well get in the water and do as much as we could on so little air. The plan had been to take a heading over to where the kids have put a rope swing over the water, then cut straight across the lake. So much for that plan. We just went straight out from the beach a ways and poked around a bit.

The bottom was mostly mud, but there were a few plants and rocks. At one point I saw something odd looking and came up with a perfectly good fishing pole, complete with a reel, line, sinker, and - I discovered when it snagged on my wetsuit - a hook. I figured, why not? and brought it back with me. Coming back in, we discovered a large piece of lumber, almost railroad tie size, just a few feet out from the beach. That wouldn't be so bad, but it has a huge pointed spike sticking up out of it. We tried to move it but couldn't. If anybody is going swimming there or letting your kids play there, watch out for it. That thing could ruin your whole day.

We had to cut the dive short because of my lack of air; I finished with about 300 psi. After we took our tanks back to BWS to fill them up, we discovered that one had a faulty pressure relief valve, which explains why my supposedly full tank was only a third full. We reported it to the shop when we took it back, so it should be fixed by now. This was not the dive I wanted to do in this pond. We had actually talked about doing 2 dives there this particular day, but found that we could only make that walk once. So I'm hoping to go back another day and do the kind of dive I really had in mind.

Hope springs eternal............

Submitted by Dave Washburn

Date of Dive(s): 21-APR-2007
Location: Veterans Memorial Park Pond, Boise, ID
Elevation: 2700 feet ASL
Air Temperature: 64°F
Water Temperature: 52°F
Max Depth: 21 feet
Visibility (max): approximately 2 feet to 12 feet
Divers: Denise Roberts, Jim Hull, Carl Darling
Surface support: None
Dive time: 0:43

Pre-dive: We had some equipment adjustments to make before the dive. We geared up and put our gear into an eclectic convoy of carts and baby buggies. We needed the carts for the 0.25 mile hike to the dive site.

We made our way down to the dive site. The path is a combination of paved and unpaved sections. There are two small bridges to cross.

We got to the entry point and started to gear up when I discovered that I had forgotten to bring my weight belt. Geez. It is a half mile round trip back to the car! I left to go retrieve my weight belt while the others made more adjustments to their gear.

Our dive plan was to descend to the bottom and continue along following the shore in a southerly direction. About 15 minutes into the dive my legs got tangled in some fishing line that must have been floating around the bottom. Carl assisted me in removing most of it. He did not see the line that was around my fins. At this time I saw a sinker with hook and line on it go zinging by me and landing in the mud. That line had also become tangled in my gear. I grabbed it and the fisherman on the other end started to yank on it. So I just snapped the line. I didn't want a fish hook in me or my new BC. I motioned to Carl that I needed to surface.

When Carl and I surfaced I told him of my fine entanglement. He took care of it for me. Thanks Carl. During this time the two fishermen that were trying to hook us (I think on purpose) we yelling at us for cutting their lines. Whatever. If I had been on land I probably would have given them a new use for their fishing poles and tackle. Those guys were not there when we entered the water.

From the time we entered the water to the time I had to surface to untangle, the shores had filled with fishermen. This made our original dive plan obsolete, as we did not want to get hooked again nor have any more confrontations. So we decided to head out to the middle of the pond.

We headed out across the pond until I motioned that I was starting to chill. It was about our agreed upon return time anyway. So we head back toward the entry point. At some point I got separated from the group. I ended up doing a bit of a surface swim back to the exit point.

By this time most of the fishermen were gone. We did not see any fish at all. The bottom was mostly muddy and very little in the way of features.

Post dive: We were back at the cars breaking down our gear when Dave and his wife showed up. They were ready to dive this place. We swapped stories and checked out each other's equipment.

Conclusion: I will most likely not dive this site again. The dive is just not worth the hike or the risk of getting hooked by the high number of fishermen.

Submitted by Jim Hull

Date of Dive: 07-Jul-2003
Maximum Water Depth: 25 feet
Average Water Temp: 78°
Above Water Temp: 95°
Visibility: 15 feet
Dive Access: Hike in - Paved surface to South pier

Date of Dive: 10-Oct-2003
Maximum Water Depth: 30 feet
Average Water Temp: 60°
Above Water Temp: 85°
Visibility: 2 feet
Dive Access: Hike in - Paved surface to shore dive

Is a fun dive for a local pond. Retrieved a BMX bike for a local kid and found numerous souvenirs.

A cart is recommended. Put-in points are shore, and 2 piers (3-5' deep). Lots of vegetation and plants at the East end; crawdads galore! Idaho Fish and Game states:
1. you must have a fishing license to legally catch and keep crawdads
2. They must be harvested from a legal fishing location
3. There is no limit as to how many you can take!

Submitted by Chris