Fish Lake

Fish Lake is a high-altitude lake right in the middle of Utah. Click here for map. Altitude is 8,700 feet. Snow and ice prevents diving until June. The water stays nice until late October -- which isn't a bad time to dive Fish Lake, because the big fish come up to the shallows. Lodging, restaurants, and camping are available at the lake, but there are no nearby dive services. Picture: Bruce Argyle, August 27, 1998, Canon Rebel G

Fish Lake is an absolutely beautiful dive. The moss is pretty. Fish are everywhere. Our divers voted it their favorite dive in all of Utah (so far). Your best bet is to go as a tag-along when a dive store is sponsoring a trip with a portable compressor. Camping out is chilly at night -- take cold-weather camping gear.

The water: Water temperature in the shallows is a surprisingly balmy 68 degrees in late summer. Past the moss, the temperature drops to 65. There's a breathtaking thermocline at around 34 feet, with the temperature below at 54 degrees. (Dry suits and cold-water regulators are a good idea for deep diving.) Visibility is quite good for Utah at 20 to 30 feet. Dominic Bria (left) and Mike Engberson at 20 feet. Picture by Bruce Argyle, Nikonos V 20 mm lens.

Visibility is best in shallower water. In the nutrient-laden deeper waters, algae turns the aqua-blue into green. At around 30 feet, the light no longer supports plant growth, and the bottom turns sandy and uninteresting. That is, unless you like finding a hundred years' worth of fish traps, lures, bottles, golf balls, and sunglasses. Mid-day darkness occurs at around 60 feet. (In the picture above, the divers are just entering the algae zone from the clearer blue waters on the top.)

Regulations: Spearfishing is allowed in Fish Lake. Your limit is two per day. The best time for trout and salmon is very early in the season (early June), or as late in September as the season permits. For perch, you'll run into them anytime. For season dates, click here.

Be sure to post your dive buoy or flag. Fishermen like to troll along the edge of the moss (right where you'll be coming up from your dive). If you dive at night, you must illuminate the flag! Click to read the law. Picture: Dominic Bria secures the dive buoy on the north shore. Note the flashlight to illuminate the buoy as night falls.

What to see: Per its name, Fish Lake has a lot of animal and plant life. The stable shoreline has allowed an ecosystem to develop that's quite different from reservoir "plant 'em 'n pluck 'em" fish ecology. You'll see many smaller fish like Perch, Redhorse, Dance, and Chub. In late fall (after the spearfishing season is over), you'll see the big edible guys like salmon and lake trout.

The moss is beautiful against the blue water. In some areas, the moss reaches heights of eight feet. Try cruising along the edge of the moss "reef" at 5-10 feet depth while the sunlight sparkles on the branches and small fish dart out of your way. Picture: Perch cruise past a "reef" of moss. Bruce Argyle, Nikonos V 20 mm w 2 YS-50 strobes.

Air fills: Richfield. On the north, the nearest dive shop is Water World in Orem's University Mall (180 miles). To the south, there's Treasure Island Divers in Cedar City (160 miles).

Picking a site: The entire north shore has great dive sites near the road. The road follows the shoreline, with a short walk down to the water. At all northern sites, the bottom slopes gradually, with a "barrier reef" of moss extending out 60-80 feet. Just past the "reef" the water drops rapidly to 25-30 feet. A boat is required to visit the interesting southeastern shore. The south shore is a rockpile of lava bolders with a more steep underwater slope. Picture: Perch. Bruce Argyle Nikonos V w closeup lens.

Our recommendation: If you're going privately (not as part of a store-sponsored trip), make your dive part of a larger visit such as camping, fishing, or mountain biking. (There's a well-maintained mountain bike trail that circles the lake. On the north side it's an easy "ride with the kiddies" level; on the south side it climbs to the top of the mountain.) Unless you're taking a boat to fish, we'd recommend a shore dive from the north side, somewhere about the middle of the lake. And if you're into underwater photography, this is a great lake to take pictures of fish. See our altitude camera precautions and the altitude-adjusted dive depths.

Sample dive #1: North shore moss cruise. Find a turnout on the road along the north shore and carry your gear 50-100 feet to the water. Surface swim about 60 feet to the edge of the moss, then drop down to 15-20 feet as the moss goes deep.

Sample dive #2: South shore rock'n roll. Take an inflatable or small motorboat over to the southern shore. (The lake is narrow enough to row if you've got time.) The water is clear, so you can scout dive areas just by looking down. Find a promising lava-rock pile with lots of moss and fish. Drop down to about 20-30 feet just above the thermocline. Roll a few rocks to see the invertebrates under them. You'll soon attract small fish that will dart in to get the bugs.

Sample dive #3: Spearfishing for big'uns. As soon as the lake thaws, take your dry suit and speargun to Fish Lake. The water will still be clear from wintering under the ice, so visibility will be in the 30-40 foot range, and the daytime darkness border will be lower down (around 80-90 feet at mid-day). Cruise out from the shore, as deep as you can go and still see.

Move along parallel to the slope, slowly, with minimal bubbling. The fish will still be lethargic from the winter, so you can sneak up on them. (This approach doesn't work in later summer, because the fish are deeper -- below the daytime darkness border -- and more active. You can't use artificial light to hunt them. So early June is the only decent time to hunt lake trout.) Photo by Bruce Argyle, Sea & Sea Seamaster Pro 20 mm lens, YS-60 strobe.

Getting there: Take I-15 south to Scipio, then exit eastbound on US-50 and continue to Salina. (Alternate: exit in Nephi southbound on U-28 to Salina.) From there, go southwest on U-24, or take I-70 westbound a few miles to Sigurd and exit south onto U-24. About 30 miles later, U-25 goes left (east) to Fish Lake. Distance from Provo is 175 miles; from Salt Lake 210. Click here for map.

This dive review was completed by Bruce Argyle, Dominic Bria, and Mike Engberson on August 27, 1998. Your additions to the information above are welcome.