Diving The Oregon Coast Florence Fish ladder

When you are diving the Oregon Coast Florence Fish Ladder at the Florence north jetty you are in for a treat, there are a lot of very interesting sites and many ways to get your bounty of some very tasty Cockle clams, a Very tasty morsel if you like clams.

As you see on the map there is plenty of parking at the site, You can back you vehicle up to the fish ladder opening and prepare for the dive, very handy parking area, there are a few picnic tables that are there for you lunch plans after the dive.

I always recommend taking a buddy with you for safety’s sake when diving this area because there are strong currents and surges to deal with and it is always a good practice to have a dive buddy with you in any situation and always check your dive gear with a mandatory dive gear checklist prior to heading out.

After you have put you gear on you can work your way down the fish ladder steps to the opening of the structure. Once at the opening get into the water and put your fins on and mask. float your way to the mouth and take a compass bearing of the Green buoy that is visible looking east from the opening of the rocks.

After you have your compass set and re-checked your dive gear you can descend slowly to the rocks below, you will see a Large Pipe you can follow down to the bottom, once at the bottom check and adjust your position to head towards your compass heading you set on the surface.

As you follow your compass heading towards the green buoy you will see a lot of clams and crabs along the way so be sure and take your collection bag to gather clams and crabs for dinner and some wonderful clam chowder.

After following you heading for awhile you will come to a rock ledge that falls off to about 65 feet (depending on tides and current) and this is called the crab hole where you can find some crab and clams also for your troubles, you can follow the rock ledge along the bottom which takes you farther into the center of the bay and you will find some larger boulders there that I have speared some large Lingcod, a local favorite.

When you start to run low on air you can head back up the rock ledge and follow your compass back to the fish ladder, you can head back using your compass and trying to work your way to the right and follow the rock jetty rocks back to the fish ladder opening, once you feel close to the opening you can come up and see exactly where you are and surface swim back to the opening.

This a favorite spot of mine because it is very easy to dive also very easy on the dive gear, and there are clams and crab to harvest, visibility can be an issue but if you trust in your compass and take your bearings correctly you will have a blast, have fun and keep Diving, see you there.  Thanks Greg @ scubahappy.com.