Newport, OR dive report Dec. 1-2, 2006

[gismonkey]

Hi all,

Just got done with two night (12/1) and one morning (12/2) dives at Newport, Oregon at the OSU ship dock, and wanted to drop a quick report. We got in about 8:45 pm (just after high tide, I think) and explored the pilings just east of the dock. Water was 46 degrees F, current was moderate, and vis was about 5-8 feet. There were lots of fun rockfish, some bay pipefish, and tons of crabs. We got about 45 minutes, max depth 35 feet. The current pushed us around quite a bit. Our second dive, the current picked up, but we stuck to the bottom and worked our way west along the bottom under the dock. We saw many kelp greenling and lots of black rockfish. By the time we got out (about 45 minutes again) water temp dropped to 44 degrees and vis was pretty much gone (2-4 feet). Between the two dives, my buddy and I got about 20 crabs, and the other pair of divers got a few more.

In the morning, we dove the high tide and just after, with pretty strong current from the start of a 10-foot tidal exchange. Air temp about 42 degrees, water temp around 46 again. Vis started quite good, around 10 feet. We worked our way west under the dock again, and found quite a few crabs. At the end of the dock, we let the current push us east. Along the way, the water from the mudflats hit, and vis suddenly disappeared (again, 2-4 feet). We ended the dive around 25 minutes down, max depth 25 feet.

All I can say is that I really, really like drysuit diving.

 

[coachrenz]

What is the daily limit for crabs in Oregon? Up here, in Washington, the limit is 5 dungeness and 6 red rocks.

 

[gismonkey]

What is the daily limit for crabs in Oregon? Up here, in Washington, the limit is 5 dungeness and 6 red rocks.

We can take 12 dungeness (males over 5 3/4 inches) and 24 red rocks (any sex/size). It's kind of funny, but after a while we'll just stopped picking up crabs because the bag gets too big to drag around. They are pretty darn yummy.

 

[diveborg]

Thanks for taking the time to post about Oregon coastal diving. Not much is written about diving there.

So, I take it that the vis for both days was better on the first dive because it was at or just before high slack tide, correct?

I've always wanted to dive Newport for crab, but I've not been able to hook up with someone else who was interested.

 

[gismonkey]

Thanks for taking the time to post about Oregon coastal diving. Not much is written about diving there.

I'm happy to! I'm new to diving and haven't seen a lot of reports from out here so I figured I'd give it a shot.

So, I take it that the vis for both days was better on the first dive because it was at or just before high slack tide, correct?

Exactly. With high tide, the bay is full of water from the ocean where the amount of algae and stuff has dropped as winter moves in (less sunlight). Once the tide starts going out, the muddy river water and runoff from the mud flats starts moving in and clouds things up. It would probably be better to have started our dives earlier and worked the incoming tide.

I've always wanted to dive Newport for crab, but I've not been able to hook up with someone else who was interested.

We've got a bunch (okay, about 5-6) folks here in Corvallis that enjoy diving for crabs out there, when we can. I'll see if I can't post a note up here next time we put together a trip (probably January?).

 

[diveborg]

We've got a bunch (okay, about 5-6) folks here in Corvallis that enjoy diving for crabs out there, when we can. I'll see if I can't post a note up here next time we put together a trip (probably January?).

That would be great, or if you don't mind, you could just send me a PM. Thanks