Ben & Stacey Pelster's Dive Log

I would not recommend this dive spot to anyone unless they're planning on going out on the entry spot past the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Entered near research science boats, easy entry, but stays shallow forever! You could practically walk out to 20 feet until the boats; we walked out all the way to the jutting piers! Never got deeper than 21 feet, nothing on the bottom to see. Current was also drawing out too fast so we exited quickly.

Went with my husband diving at the dock two different occasions. The main point of our dive was to have fun and recover lost crab pots. Best to go in just before slack tide because the current can get very strong after slack, which pretty much ends the dive. Strong winds made for choppy surf on our third dive. Dove to about 30-35 feet at the deepest. Not too much to see down there, lots of little crabs. This was a fun dive to find crab pots, though! We came up with four rings the first dive, which I later sold. Came back with a couple box traps and a couple more rings the second dive, as well as some bait boxes. Sold one to a guy walking on the shore. It was a lot of fun and the people on the dock/shore had fun watching and talking with us. One downside to this dive. There's a looong walk with your gear to get to a good entry point. We staged our gear up above in the picnicking area next to the Rogue brewery (grab a beer and a bite afterward!), then hiked down the rocks and across the little beach front east of the dock, took a break and then entered the water. Snorkeled a ways out before submerging. For that reason, give your self plenty of time before slack to enter.

Visited Netarts twice. First dive would have to be one of the best my husband and I have been on. Second visit would be one of the worst dives!!! First dive at Netarts August 18, 2012: Dove to right of boat ramp first, it stayed shallow and current was very fast, so we exited quickly to dive to the left of the boat ramp. This was the BEST decision! Dove to depth of 26 ft. at slack to outgoing tide. Visibility was 10ft. Entered past the dock by the bathrooms. There were TONS of spiky prickleback sea cucumbers, red with spikes, saw a Rockfish, and picked up 8 crabs (though we had to throw back all but 3). It was warm water with a temp on the bottom of 61 degrees. The aquatic life was beautiful! Second dive to Netarts was September 30, 2012 awful. Visibility less than 5 feet. Dove to 32ft depth. It was a good thing we had flashlights, but even then not much to see. This time it was cold, 48 degrees on bottom. I would still recommend this dive.

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.

This was my husband and my first solo dive out of cert. We were going to go to the lumber dock, but instead dove off the Crab dock nearby, which was easy entry with stairs down to the water, and good conditions. Very nice August day, Visibility was 15 ft. Depth of water under the Crab dock building was only about 15ft max. Picked up 10 cockles, hubbie got 12, could have gotten more but spent a lot of time figuring out where to go to get depth when diving. The beds of clams are right under the crab dock, and you can practically scoop up the sand and come up with a clam, they're that thick! They're as big as your fist too. We entered at slack, but coming back was difficult. It was a long swim out to the end of the dock, which we did at slack, but upon return we were in the strong current which kept pushing us toward the dock. Took a while to get back, but in retrospect, if caught in that current again, I'd just go under the dock to get out on the south beach, and make a few crabbers angry than fight the current to exit at the same point of entry.

Dove this spot twice with my husband. Fun dive along the fingers. Both dives we dove the fourth finger. We ran into a local who dives the fingers a lot. He said the fifth finger (closest to ocean) is great for spear fishing. He came back from the 4th with a few crabs. We saw a couple crabs, but only one worth taking, saw an 18' Lingcod, plus a few giant starfish. Saw tons of clam necks, but too far down to dig out. Also saw small jellyfish size of a quarter. Beautiful day but the wind made it a chilly dive.