u/iloveswimspots

Hey everyone, so as a scuba diver and fishermen i’ve always wondered what it would be like to scuba dive off the Texas or Florida coastlines along the Gulf Of Mexico in about 150ft of water where the red snapper & their habitat are!

If anyone here has ever dove off Florida, Texas or anywhere on the Gulf Of Mexico coasts where the red snapper habitat is in 150ft plus deep water please comment! As i want to dive the red snapper reefs off Destin FL someday or maybe even out of Freeport TX. Destin would be my first choice for diving in 150ft of water where the red snapper habitat is

Thank you in advance

It was either near or very close to the very small town of Oma. It was on a creek surrounded by trees with a long white rope swing that was tied to the tree branch next to the creek. The creek had tea like underwater visibility.

If anyone knows what i’m talking about and doesn’t want to remind me how to get to it out in the open plz feel free to PM me. I tried finding it myself but i keep coming up with slim results. I don’t have facebook as i tried it once years and years ago and i didn’t care for it so i can’t post on any local facebook forums to try and find it. This is the only place i can think of so hopefully someone here remembers how to get to that spot and can remind me 🙏

Warning:
If anyone else tries to make false accusations of me like that redditor called something samurai did you WIlL BE blocked and reported for harassment. I’m just an avid nature guy that really enjoys exploring nature whether it’s swim holes, fishing , hiking, snorkeling, kayaking, scuba diving, etc. It’s that simple.

Thanks in advance

Hey y’all! There was this swim hole that i used to visit as a teen and preteen when visiting family in Mississippi. It was near/ close to Oma and had a long white rope swing where you could swing on that rope which was tied to a tree into the creek which had tea like visibility so clear but not crystal clear if that makes sense.

I would highly appreciate if anyone here could help me find that spot and remind me how to get to it.

Thanks in advance 🙏

Hey everyone, ever since i was a kid when i was first introduced to shark week, i’ve wanted to dive with great white sharks in Hawaiian waters. I know that California, Australia, South Africa, and Mexico before they banned it off Guadalupe Island are/were the places to go but i’d prefer to have my first experience diving with great whites anywhere in Hawaiian waters. If anyone has experience diving with great white sharks in Hawaiian waters, please comment. Which island of Hawaii is best for this and who is the best dive shop / master to hire for this ? I’ve been to the Big Island once and Kauai once but didn’t get to dive either trip unfortunately.

Thanks in advance.

Edited:

NO CAGE. I will never support cage diving companies. I want to dive with them freely with using some common sense like i’ve done with the bull sharks, nurse sharks, blacktip reef sharks, and caribbean reef sharks that i’ve dived with.

TLDR:

Hey y’all , i am currently living in FWB , FL where i grew up and have generations upon generations of family ties to both NW FL and Alabama. I have extended family in the towns of Elberta , Gulf Shores , Orange Beach , Fort Morgan , Birmingham , Huntsville , Madison , Auburn , and many other towns throughout the state. I grew up going to the blue springs state park in Clio , the icebox , humps creek , the underground cave swim hole in Huntsville , mill hole , coldwater creek in oxford , jacuzzi hole , hatchett creek , turkey creek , indian creek , sugar creek , schultz creek , mulberry creek , cypress creek , crystal springs lake , fat lady creek , hurricane creek , terrapin creek , and the styx river , and i grew up going to like 9 different blue holes in different parts of the state. I want to explore around Alabama for about 3 weeks

I grew up going to those above spots with my cousins and friends of ours back in the day and it’s been a long min since i been to any of them and i lost touch with the majority of those people.

Does anyone here swim in the Dog , Tensaw , Perdido , or Fish Rivers ? I only ever swam in the Styx when it comes to rivers in Alabama.

Are there any other clear water or spring fed creeks or swim holes that y’all recommend ? If anyone wants to share a hidden , secret spot but not publicly please feel free to PM me if not , no worries i don’t blame ya. I promise to pick up after myself & leave no trace. I don’t even smoke , vape , do drugs , or drink alcohol. I’m just an avid nature guy. I only drink tea , gatorade , and water. The springs in neighboring Florida used to be the best way to escape all the overcrowding of tourists at the beaches but now they flock to the springs too.

Thanks in advance y’all

Hey everyone , i’m going to Maine tomorrow and i’m a wildlife photographer. I hope to see some bald eagles , ospreys , owls , and puffins while exploring your beautiful state. Are there any other majestic huge species of birds to see while in Maine ? The wiki list of birds in Maine is very long

Thanks in advance

Hey y’all! as a born & raised texan, i’m wondering if there’s any other creeks that are spring fed or good for swimming creeks & spots in eastern Texas like Village Creek Menard Creek , and that creek with the falls off Lake Livingston. I also been to Camp Tonkawa Springs , Boykin Springs , The springs in Newton , the cliffs , blue hole in Jasper before they closed it , the creek in Huntsville , blue lagoon in huntsville , red cliffs lake , daingerfield state park lake , tyler state park lake , and lake tejas. It can also be refreshing to swim in the sabine below Toledo Bend Lake. Any other spots of eastern Texas that y’all recommend ?

I know this is a long shot but,

If any of y’all fellow locals PM me a hidden spot that y’all don’t want to share publicly, i swear to gatekeep, leave no trace, and i’ll share with you the spring fed hidden pond in one of the national forests i always have to myself. I’d love to find more blue holes / cold springs , and creeks of eastern Texas to swim in

Thanks in advance

Hey everyone , i’m traveling to Maine for 10 days from August 8th to the 18th. I’ll be staying a few days in the countryside outside of Portland at my grandpa’s place, then i’ll go up to Bar Harbor for Acadia after staying with him for a few days , then after staying a few days in Bar Harbor , i’ll go to this small town outside of Baxter State Park for hiking in that state park and fishing. On my first visit to Maine 6 years ago , i ate lobster , clam chowder , steamed clams , fired clams , and various foods with blueberries like pies , pancakes , etc. According to my research , i’m getting the vibe that i should try red snapper hot dogs while in Maine ? I want to hear what the locals of Maine recommend for an authentic Maine food experience or if i got it all covered ?

Also , is there anything else i should know about the ticks other than that they cause lyme disease ? I hear that repellents like DEET or picaridin are the way to go to prevent lyme disease along with some common sense clothing wise ?

Thanks in advance you guys

Long story short , i have aspergers , depression , social anxiety disorder , and a non cancerous brain tumor removed with the left hippocampus side of the brain when i was 6 which causes problematic memory lapses. I hate this shit. What a shitty combo to be born with. Was it my mom’s diabetes type 1 or was it one of my grandpas being exposed to agent orange in Vietnam after he got forcibly drafted on why i have these unwanted burdensome problems ? I don’t see myself making it to 30. I’m in my mid twenties and just can’t take it anymore. I wanted to be born neurotypical that could easily fit in with the cool near perfect kids clique not an unwanted outsider. What’s the point of living if i’m never going to accomplish what i want to ? Have the money to Travel anywhere i want to with no limits just like my uncle who’s one of the top 100 lawyers in the whole country , perfect 1 story house , and my soulmate but every time i think i find the right one it never freaking works in my favor even tho they tell me things like “ i’m cool , fun , interesting , and even occasionally funny “ FML man. I also want kids but at the same time don’t want kids as i never asked to be born myself , and i don’t want my future kids if i were to have any to inherit my epilepsy , aspergers , social anxiety disorder , or my mom’s type 1 diabetes since it skips a generation. I don’t want to deal with any of this anymore. My interests are traveling , snorkeling , exploring nature , kayaking , looking for new cool natural places to swim , and wildlife photography. I DON’T care at all about the stuff most well off people seem to care about ( watches , mansions or owning multiple homes , expensive street race cars , arts / antiques , etc ) literally my interests above are all i care about so in a way i don’t think i’m asking for very much.

If i go down the Robin Williams route will i end up in hell with satan ? I’m taught being born into a christian family that i’ll go to hell if i take my own life EVEN tho i tried for years and years to see the positives of life. I’ve wanted to take my life since i was 13 entering hostile middle school.

I don’t see the point in trying to continue to live life anymore. I think this game called life is very stupid. I didn’t eat the apple off the tree of life. That was Adam & Eve. F them for that. They chose satan not me. I want heaven where only harmony , perfection , peace , and paradise exist. Take me out of this shitty damn world that i never asked to be in. I accept defeat

Hey y’all , i recently learned that there’s crystal clear water lakes clear enough for scuba diving in Florida which shocked me as i thought clear water in Florida was restricted to cold springs which are usually to the side of rivers and creeks with the ocean being the other clear water. There’s way too many lakes in Florida for me to research them all. According to google there’s an estimated 7,800 lakes in Florida.

Here’s the lakes so far that i’ve read about fellow locals getting open water check dives in:

Lake Defuniak Springs , Lake Orange near Keystone Heights , Lake Denton , Lake Hall , Lake Kingsley , Lake Aurora near the town of Lake Wales , Lake Gertrude in Lake County , Lake Conway in Orlando , Sheeler Lake in the state park , and Pebble Lake ? I heard about someone diving in Lake Weir but said that the visibility was shit

I figured nearly all lakes in Florida were undesirable , undiveable visibility because of the tannis causing murky and turbidness and not to mention , the over abundance of alligators , crocodiles , bull sharks , snapping turtles , softshell turtles , and venomous snakes in those lakes

Can someone please educate me on the few clear water lakes of Florida ? How many are there really ? You would think with it being Florida that they’d all be affected by tannis but that’s clearly not the case

Thanks in advance , y’all

Hey y’all , i recently learned that there’s crystal clear water lakes clear enough for scuba diving in Florida which shocked me as i thought clear water in Florida was restricted to cold springs which are usually to the side of rivers and creeks with the ocean being the other clear water. There’s way too many lakes in Florida for me to research them all. According to google there’s an estimated 7,800 lakes in Florida.

Here’s the lakes so far that i’ve read about fellow locals getting open water check dives in:

Lake Defuniak Springs , Lake Orange near Keystone Heights , Lake Denton , Lake Hall , Lake Kingsley , Lake Aurora near the town of Lake Wales , Lake Gertrude in Lake County , Lake Conway in Orlando , Sheeler Lake in the state park , and Pebble Lake ? I heard about someone diving in Lake Weir but said that the visibility was shit

I figured nearly all lakes in Florida were undesirable , undiveable visibility because of the tannis causing murky and turbidness and not to mention , the over abundance of alligators , crocodiles , bull sharks , snapping turtles , softshell turtles , and venomous snakes in those lakes

Can someone please educate me on the few clear water lakes of Florida ? How many are there really ?

Hey y’all, i’m a born & raised Floridian that lives in Fort Walton Beach and i’m always looking for new places to swim locally and across the state. The cold springs are the gem of the state for sure , but i want to find more swimmable creeks in my home state as i get tired of going to the same spots. I usually go to Turkey Creek outside of Niceville , Big Coldwater Creek outside of Milton , Holmes Creek , Ecofina Creek , and Sugar Creek. I swam in Gardners Bayou too. I saw this video on TikTok of a Californian exploring our state and she was free diving this spring covered in duck weed at top, the only place in the state i ever swam at like that was gator springs , but the spot in the video didn’t look like gator springs at all as it had a boardwalk going down to it and there wasn’t no boardwalk at gator springs when i was a teen but it’s been a min tbh since i visited gator springs. I need to check it out as it’s been too long since i been to gator springs.

Vortex Springs , and Ponce De Leon Springs are the headwaters of Blue , and Sandy creeks but i never found any good spots on those 2 creeks suitable for swimming or floating except for at the actual spring holes that are very well known. If any fellow locals want to talk about hidden freshwater spots plz feel free to pm me as i won’t disclose any of the hidden spots i’ve found so far in all my years of life exploring our wonderful state as the vast majority of cold springs have became way too popular with out of state tourists in recent years unfortunately. I tried looking for spots in the Apalachicola , and Osceola national forests but no luck so far. It really depressed me to see last summer how much more crowded morrison springs has become in recent years compared to when i was a kid and teen. It was a pain in the ass to find parking with out of state license plates. Trade for a trade about hidden freshwater swim spots thru PM ?

Who ever wrote on the side walk at my local park that i take walks in “ a life outdoors is a life well lived “ i’m stealing that quote as it’s so true. Thank you to whoever put that on the side walk. Well said.

Thank you in advance y’all

Hey everyone! I just got back from a trip visiting with a friend in South Carolina , he took me to these 4 different crystal clear cold springs and i couldn’t believe it. I thought i was in a dream. They reminded me of the zillions of spring swim holes that you find in Florida further south. I don’t think of South Carolina when i think of clear water. It was mind blowing. We also visited kings creek falls while there which was super impressive and fun too.

Are there any clear water creeks clear enough to see underwater , or blue holes like carrigan farms quarry of NC in South Carolina that i should visit next time ? I did some googling around the internet and this is all i was able to find

Long shoals wayside park , cedar shoals creek , horsepasture river , toxaway river , and carrick creek at table rock state park.

What creeks or blue holes would y’all recommend for seeing underwater ? Since i live in the south too i’m no stranger to alligators. I have a few funny stories regarding alligators while kayaking and even swimming. Thank you South Carolina for a good first visit.

Thanks in advance

Hey everyone! I’ll be traveling to the scenic state of Georgia in a couple months for about 3 weeks. I’ve wanted to visit for years after my friend showed me what Rock City looked like and i finally get to. Are there any cold springs in Georgia like what you’d find in Florida ( morrison springs , madison blue springs ) Or creeks like big coldwater creek in Milton FL , or Blue Hole in Elizabethton , TN ? Cold water is always a blast. I swear to leave no trace. I always end up taking trash bags with me to pick up litter left behind by slobs. ( i’m not trying to be annoying or pedantic ) just respectful is all.

I’ll mainly be in the mountainous / hilly parts of the state which to my understanding are restricted to the northern and western parts of the state. I’ll travel to the low country part of the state tho if there’s a cold spring , or blue hole to swim at i know that there’s a couple in the low country of neighboring South Carolina. I also promise that i won’t go blasting the spots all over social media. I don’t even use social media aside from reddit

Thanks in advance