Hi Conan, I was out at Sapphire Bend about 3 weeks ago. You would have needed a snorkel and goggles as most holes were full to the brim with water - and look deceivingly shallow to the untrained idea. I could only get into one quite large hole where the water level was reasonably low, however the clay and mud made it quite difficult as I kept getting stuck. Still had a great day out with the missus though and found a couple of nice clear blues in the 1-2 ct range.
Best of luck. I'm not sure I will get a chance to get out there again for another few weeks.
Pete