Barview Park

No fish 5 ft viz

Another view of the jetty during high tide. The rocks can be slippery, so be careful. Just North of town, turn toward the water on Cedar St. With the jetty in the background, this is the condition at low tide.

Went in August 2012 to the Barview Corner (part of the Barview Park) where the water coming in from the jetty hits the curve. Good parking, not so good entry. You have to scramble over the large boulder jetty rocks, but that's almost typical for an Oregon dive. Did this dive with my husband and uncle. I would recommend this with only one partner, because visibility was only about 5 feet and it made it harder for partners to keep track of each other. Right off the bat my fin lost it's brand new spring strap, and we spent a good ten minutes searching the shallows for that. Found it and went on with the dive. Dove to 25-30ft depth. Got a couple clams, saw lots of small crabs. Current is good here, but navigable. Could be a good drift spot up to the Three Graces if someone wanted to go that far.

Dove this site 3 times during the week of May 1 2012, surf was high, tidal exchange about 9ft, and weather was windy and raining. Vis about 8', current stiff 1 hr before high slack. Lots of life but no ling, quite a few boats to be cautious of.

We took a little walk to the end of the North Jetty, walked our tanks, then our BC's/other gear, and made one final walk with our suits on. This was a very very good dive, the waves were rolling in green and clear. We had 20 ft viz and shot a 20lb lingcod. There were many more lings to be had but after catching one that size why do you need anything else. We got in the water right at the end, under the protection of that small hook. We ended up staying out there for the entire dive and swimming half way back before getting out and walking the rest of the way. Entry wasn't too bad but getting out was very difficult due to 5 ft swells coming into the Jetty. This would be a better dive during low tide with less waves.

I dive Barview with 2 friends on a regular basis throughout the year. Usually a 2 tank dive at the Tower at high slack. The current can be pretty bad if you don't hit the slack, and vis really drops then too. Vis is usually ~10 feet but can get as good as 25. Entry and Exit can be very hard, and I got a nasty gash on the back of my head from a swell tossing me back against the rocks once. If the ocean is calm, and the exchange small, enter at the tower and head west. If the bottom comes up to 35', head back, you're getting out too far, but we almost always see nice Lingcod out there, and usually limit out in 1 dive. Usually a good spear fishing dive. Mainly for experienced and athletic divers who don't mind climbing over big rocks quickly after a dive to get out of sometimes heavy swells. Hard, but rewarding.

The vis here is really hit and miss, I always hit the miss. Been here 5 or 6 times now and the fish seem fairly consistent at small to keeper size no BIG ones though. I dive the parking lot side of the jetty and am told the coast guard tower side has bigger game. Got 3 keeper Dungeness last dive and missed about a 30" ling. The dive is good after you hit the water. Hitting the water is the hard part the rocks are big and small unstable ones, at high tide not too much slippery ones though. I love the "in the water" part of this dive just hate getting in and out. Bottom is about 35 to 40 ft here and there is decent life. Good one to hit early on just watch the tides they can be a bit tricky.

Dove at the Tower on 8/10/2002. The surge was minimal so entry and exit were easy. Vis was fantastic!! Three of us dove and I would say vis was close to 20'. I was hunting in around 40-45' of water and my two buddies were crabbing on the bottom at 50-55' and I could see them no problem. I've only seen vis like this one other time here, very special. Tons of Black Rockfish (Sea Bass) but they were all so small, I got 3 nice ones I found hiding in the caverns between boulders. One of my buddies shot a Ling Cod ~26" and the other buddy picked up a limit of female Dungeness......boy was she mad when I made her throw them all back!! It was her first time crabbing we had to give her the old "shrimp and jellyfish" talk!?!? ; ) The dive is much more interesting than Newport jetty, the life covering the rocks was increadible and my max depth was like 52', you'll be lucky to hit 30' in Newport even off the end of the jetty and on the ocean side. Water temp was 47F, and even with the calm ocean the current was alway there making it hard to hunt so be careful here. Great Dive!!

Dove here again 8/17/2002. Water was even colder 46F! Vis was gone and ocean swell was up! The vis was about 3-5' maybe. Dove from the park entrance since I had a new diver with me and the swell out at the tower was really big! We dove on slack, current was managable did some hunting and crabbing. Didn't get any fish and the crab my buddy picked up were all too small. I can't believe how small all the fish are on the north jetty compared to Newport. The small fish in Newport between the fingers are bigger than what I've been seeing in Barview. My buddy and I also found a large piece of an antanna tower or outrigger from a boat on the bottom. Anyway a pretty boring, cold dive, but at least I was diving!!

This was the second place I dove when I was certified 11 years ago. I have made 10-20 dives there every year since. It's hard getting in and out and I have had bloody noses and bruised ribs. With patience and experience the entry and exit can be survivable. I go there in January for the Lingcod, and all year for the crab. The diversity of life makes every dive enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

I've dove the site two times. By the coast guard tower, it drops off to 50 ft at high tide. There are sea bass, greenling, a few lingcod, perch, cabezon, etc. I've never seen the vis more than 8'. Definitely better to dive at slack, or you could end up a half mile from where you entered. Exiting water is hardest part. The rocks are slippery and steep, especially with your gear on.