Oregon Divers

[OE2X]

Hi folks. I just moved from Seattle to the Hood River area. In Seattle I was getting in at least 3 - 5 dives per week, now none. I have a truck full of E8-130's all filled with 32% and am looking to go diving. After my Port Hardy trip in Jan. I'll have my 24' Zodiac down here as well.

I don't know anything about diving the OR coast, but I figure where there is a dive boat there has to be a dive site or three...

PM me if any of you want to go diving.

 

[wylerbear]

Most of us Portland/Vancouver divers head to Seattle or Hood River to dive. There are a few spots on the Oregon coast to dive but conditions can be dicey. I've been diving for almost 4 years and the only dives I've done in Oregon were at Clear Lake. I'm sure you can find some other lakes that are diveable. I think around the Salem area there are some good spots but like I said, most of us head towards Puget Sound. Let us know if YOU find somewhere great to dive that doesn't take 3 hours to get to.

 

[dherbman]

Man, that's rough. It could get depressing in a hurry. How far are you willing to drive?

I'll be in Portland in a couple weeks and would love to get a dive in if you can find a place. I'll PM you with dates and contact info.

 

[jwobbe]

Oregon's shore diving isn't nealy as good as Washington's. Some popular spots include Newport (Yaquina Bay), Netarts Bay, and Barview Jetty. The only one I've dove out of those three was Newport and we had < 3 feet of visibilty that day. I've also read about some pinnacles that are a couple miles out of Newport that are supposed to be great to dive.

 

[bertschb]

I dive the Barview Jetty all the time but you have to watch the tides closely and you really need a boat (which I have). You can climb over the rocks into the water but it's not fun. Getting out is worse - especially with a stringer of fish and a speargun. With a Zodiac it's a piece of cake. Vis at Barview is usually around 10-15'. I've seen 50' a couple times. But, I've also seen 1' a couple times.

The Pinnacles off Newport is an awesome dive. Plus, it's a great spot for spearfishing. But again, conditions offshore have to be just right. This is one of those rare times when conditions are pretty good (1' wind waves, 5' swells) but fishing is now closed until the end of the year

Netarts is a shallow dive (30' max) but I know a couple people who love that spot. They say there is lots of small stuff to look at. Very easy access. I won't dive it. Too stinking shallow and no fish to shoot. Plus, vis is rarely better than 10'.

When I want to look at stuff I head to Hood Canal (which I'm doing tomorrow). When I want to shoot stuff I go to Barview or offshore (Pinnacles).

 

[jumbo]

oe2x

Getting closer to white water huh? The best diving I have done in Oregon is in Port Orford, there are some great boat dives off the coast there, tons of sea life, good vis if your lucky. Probably about four hours from your new home though.

Good luck

JUMBO

 

[diveborg]

Hood River is awfully close to Mt. Hood, so you are in luck if you ski or snowboard.

 

[cyklon_300]

since I've dived OR, but we used to hit the Florence jetty for crabs, spearfish at The Cribs (Coos Bay), and freeze nads in Clear Lake. There was a state park (Bedrocks?) that was good for shallow, freshwater check-out dives.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

if you get a hold of kim, he owns usia he is in oregon ,and if you have a 24' inflatable
he could tell you where all the good diving is. kim makes dive boats for the coast go dive with him and you will see how simple it is.

 

[puckvirus]

Oh bummer man, not like I've been diving a great deal in the past few months but I must say I'm going to miss the fact that I could usually count on seeing you at Cove2 when I'm blowing bubbles.