Diver captures unique underwater view of Adams River salmon run as it passes through Shuswap Lake

You're familiar with swimming with the dolphins ... but how about swimming with the salmon?

Ajay Weintz of Lake Country's Mind Over Matter Diving and friends witnessed the spring salmon run up close from the waters of Shuswap Lake last weekend.

His crew of four took the splash at the mouth of the Adams River, near the salmon's spawning grounds in the Shuswap, near Squilax.

"We jumped in the river and floated into the lake near the river mouth," says Weintz.

They say swimming with dolphins can be a transcendent experience, but what about salmon?

Weintz says the dive was "probably one of the most enjoyable I've ever done ... super relaxing, super peaceful."

Weintz says Mind Over Matter's driving mission is to clean up waterways and bring the issue of marine pollution to the public's attention.

He's documented several videos on his YouTube channel of previous cleanup efforts around the B.C. Interior.

"Our main goal is to keep waterways clean," he says.

"People think when they toss something in the water 'out of sight, out of mind.' We just want to bring this to people's attention that it can harm wildlife, harm fish, and harm people if they step on broken glass or metal in the water."

Weintz says he was pleasantly surprised to find "not too much" garbage at the salmon run site.

"We pulled out a fishing rod, a few lures, some fishing line, and few pop and beer bottles."

He says thousands of fish were passing by on their journey to spawn, having travelled all the way from the Pacific Ocean.

"We see fish all the time on dives, but not like this," he said.

"It was pretty cool. It felt like nothing else, really matters. Really peaceful as the salmon were focused on going where they were going."