lake elmer thomas

[Tom A]

any one ever dive it

[RoadRacer1978]

Not yet. It is fairly close to me and on my plans. I have heard from some that the lake is getting worse for diving over time, but can't say for sure. Some of the swampers on this board may be able to answer this for you, I'm sure some of them have dove this lake pretty recently.

[texdiveguy]

Never been...I have read some less than glowing trip reports. Hmmm

[snagel]

Where is this located?

[fire diver]

Lake Elmer Thomas is located just north of the Ft. Sill military post. You have to travel into the wildlife refuge and take a dirt road up to the parking area at the dam.

The diving area of the lake fairly small and mostly in the 25-35 foot range. You can get down into the 90 foot range along the dam.

The vis can vary greatly depending on the time of year. I dove there last summer. Vis was in the 15-20 foot range, with LOTS of fish. Dove it again this April. Vis was in the 40 foot range, but not very many fish.

It's kinda like the Blue Hole in NM. It's a nice dive to do once in a while, but you wouldn't want to dive it every weekend.

Lake Diver - Bringing light to another way of diving. has a good write up on it, with some surface pics from a forum member you might know.

FD

[chace_nicole]

Originally Posted by snagel

Where is this located?

It is located down by Lawton, OK. Here is some info copied from a LDS website.
This is a spectacular dive for an evening getaway or a late afternoon. Its a very small lake that can get crowed early on the weekends. Surrounded by mountains, the 20 ft. average visibility and abundant aquatic life has made this a favorite for many divers coming from OKC. Make sure you bring some bread to feed the eager school of Perch that will be following you the entire dive! If you forget bread there is an ample supply of muscles buried in the silt you can crack open. The Perch will know what to do from there. Most of the diving is shallow and summer temperatures are in the 80's. If you want to dive a bit deeper the dam is the place to be. There is a heck of a Thermocline if you go deep. Maximum depth in-between the new and old dam is less than 100 ft. NO AIR FILLS AVAILABLE! Make sure you bring plenty of air with you! Due to the limited number of dive sites at the dam area you may want to consider paying a nominal fee to dive the LETRA area. You will have to enter a Military check point Use common sense on what items you posses in your vehicle before attempting to enter the check point!
Map of Medicine Park, OK by MapQuest++

[Lake Diver]

Here's our info on it: Lake Diver - Lake Elmer Thomas

I have personally dove it a few times and it was VERY clear above 30 ft, under 30 ft read FireDiver's report on it here :: View topic - Lake Elmer Thomas !!

Oklahoma Scuba shop in Norman, OK dives there pretty much every weekend, don't know if anyone from there is on the board...also the Dive Pros shop there in Lawton can give air fills and they're a full service shop...I am definitely going back as it's only an hour from OKC, it's worth a drive from TX if you want something different!! You can dive the dam the WHOLE way down to 85 ft if you want, no gates or turbines under there!! you can actually see the other side of the dam where no water goes thru!

[Electric Diver]

Thanks for the info. I am going to try it out tommorow.

[fire diver]

Originally Posted by Electric Diver

Thanks for the info. I am going to try it out tommorow.

I sure hope you have a drysuit to dive it in February!

Let us know how the vis is. Did you look it up on "Lake Diver" first?

[soonerborn&bred]

Has anyone been to this lake recently? I'm going this weekend to do my first 2 ow dives w/ instructor. Hoping it's not too cold.