Massachusetts: Lake Onota
Lake Onota
Lakeway Dr, Pittsfield, MA 01201
October 23rd, 2021
Dive Buddy: Kody C.
36’ for 33 minutes & 20’ for 24 minutes
53°
It was a cold, and over cast morning, filled with equipment issues, complaints of the cold and grumblings of “this is dumb, we are dumb, diving is dumb.” However, as the adventure continued, people who were fishing looked on, laughed at us and asked about finding the lost treasure in the bottom of the lake. The idea of treasure fueled us, as did the promise of “an interesting rock to the left of the pier”.
Entry into the lake is easy at the boat ramp, though it is slick and has a drop off into a small trench before getting shallow enough to walk down. The lake is stocked with trout, crappie, bass, and plenty of sunfish that swim by curiously checking out divers while stealing bait from and disappointing fishermen standing out in the cold. The lake quickly drops off, has plenty of fish and algae, plus large rocks along the bottom.
Visibility was decent, much like you would expect from a freshwater lake in late October, with a thermocline at about 35’. Below 35’ there appeared to be a sulfur layer that we did not venture through due to lack of lights, cold and general caution to not anger the dive gods further.
To further appease the dive gods, a rescue mission soon deployed. A large crayfish escaped from a fisherman, but go tied up and trapped in between a couple of rocks and fishing line. After some creative scissoring, George the crayfish, was freed and scampered off into the depths to live another day, but was probably eaten by a big bass.
There were some interesting rocks but the “cave that’s not a cave” is still a mystery in the depths. Other than lots of beer cans, a skateboard, rusted 55 gallon bins and other garbage, no actual treasure was discovered. One could say that the true treasure was the chance to dive in a new place, seeing friends and family and exploring new areas; but that person is dumb.
