Yaquina Bay fingers

A place for Oregonians to plan a car-pooling road trip, find a nearby diveable mudhole, and meet new local dive buddies.
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JohnE
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Yaquina Bay fingers

Post by JohnE »

Dove the 3rd finger once again, abundant fishermen steered me away from my plans on the 4th finger. The dredge Yaquina is in town and doing its magic. Everything is covered with a fine tan silt that needs no excuse for billowing into a wonderful cloud. Best advice is to dive so that your face is into the current (so head west on an incoming tide). That is generally best anyways since there is always some silt around, now it is just a requirement.

My buddy and I have taken to doing one long dive rather than messing around with a tank change. My 119 and his 130 allow us between 90 and 120 minutes in the shallow bay. So, start an hour before high slack and go for it. This dive was 1 hr 41 minutes.

A lot of life on the 3rd finger. The fish have returned, not like the ghost town that March/April brings. Schools of Pile Perch and Striped Perch, many Black Rockfish, a few Ling Cod, many Scaleyhead Sculpin, a few Buffalo Sculpin, countless Speckled Sanddab. Many Kelp Greenling and a few Whitespotted Greenling. They are very skittish and with the silt in the water I couldn't get close enough before they ran for cover. A month ago I took pics of Tubesnouts just east of the 3rd finger. Photography was tough this dive due to the silt in the water and flying up with any move.

East of the 3rd finger there are small and large patches of eel grass. I ran out to check out a few patches. Not much happening out there today. The 2nd finger was quite buzzing with perch.

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Speckled Sanddab burrowing in. (1 inch long)

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A Dungeness Crab hiding out

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A Leaf Crust bryozoan

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Closer detail on the bryozoan.

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Tubesnouts just east of the 3rd finger. Autofocus and Tubesnouts are not compatible, well, almost.
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LCF
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Re: Yaquina Bay fingers

Post by LCF »

Oh, VERY impressed with the tubesnout picture -- not only did you nail him, but it's a male in breeding colors, I think!
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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LittleGoat
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Re: Yaquina Bay fingers

Post by LittleGoat »

I have dove the fingers on several occasions and I am never really certain which finger is which. Do you normally count them from the bay out to sea or the other way around? The third finger is obvious since it is the same either way but when people mention the fourth or first, I am never really sure which one they meant.
I am not a capricorn... I am a Seagoat.
JohnE
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Re: Yaquina Bay fingers

Post by JohnE »

Hey, thanks. Here is my other decent pic of the Tubesnouts...
Image

The fingers off the Yaquina Bay south jetty are a bit of a head scratcher because they can be submerged completely at high tide when you show up to dive. Here is a pic to start off this topic...
The Fingers.jpg
First, looking at this pic just now I think the 4th and 5th finger may be one over to the west. Or maybe we'll just call the farthest west one the "Bonus Finger". :)

The first finger is just past the gate entrance on the south jetty road. It has a big tower at the end of it that holds the range marker for boats following the dredged channel into the bay (it is a vertical orange/black/orange sign).

The second finger is just a nubbin. On either side of it are shallow sand flats around 12-15 ft depth at high tide. The finger itself gets down to 25-ish feet depth. Swim north of the 2nd finger to find eel grass patches. Well, pretty much anywhere north up to the 3rd finger you'll find eel grass patches.

The third finger is at the east end of a big gravel parking lot off the road. It is the second longest finger (the first finger is the longest). Most of it is submerged except at low tide. A good way to dive it is to start on the east side while the tide is still coming in. Take your time, this is the best side often for critter watching. The tip of the 3rd finger is around 33 ft depth at high tide. Keep the rocks on your left and you'll be fine. If you aren't watching your compass you may round the tip without realizing it. I like to range vertically up to the kelp and down to the flats while I run out, bad profile but good for spotting stuff.

The fourth finger is west of the 3rd finger. When I dive the 4th finger I often start at the 3rd finger and go west. It is little so it is to be combined with the 3rd or 5th or both.

The fifth finger is fun to dive. I always combine it with either a dive to the west or with a dive on the 4th and even the 3rd. A good way to get to the 5th finger is to start at the end of the road (the wire cable blocking access to the jetty), climb down some very steep jetty rocks to the water, and drift dive your way east on an incoming tide. Just know that getting out will involve work and a hike back unless you work the air so that you come back.
JohnE
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Re: Yaquina Bay fingers

Post by JohnE »

I forgot to add that if you want a buddy call ahead or stop by South Beach Scuba a couple hours before high tide on a weekend. There is almost always someone from the shop, dive club or just visiting who will be heading out to the fingers or another local spot. They are south of the bridge, south of Newport Marine & RV, on the east side of 101 in the business park behind the Post Office. I dive with their club.
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Beefcake
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Re: Yaquina Bay fingers

Post by Beefcake »

Wow, very nice summary!
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LittleGoat
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Re: Yaquina Bay fingers

Post by LittleGoat »

Thanks for the summary! I've dove the 3rd finger a lot because it is the easiest to get at with a generous staging area.

I've heard that the 1st finger is crawling with life (mostly fish, so maybe swimming with life? :) ) at high tide. I guess the only way to find out for sure is to get out there and give it a go!
I am not a capricorn... I am a Seagoat.
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