Razor clam diggers are a special breed

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, December 4, 2004

So you’re standing on the Pacific beach, say a half-mile north of Ocean Shores. It’s nighttime, and black as ebony. A very stiff wind is blowing in from Japan, finding all the holes in your clothing, and you can taste a mix of salt spray and beach sand on your lips. Rain and the tops of waves are coming at you in about equal portions and, even though you are encased in waterproof jacket, pants and boots, you know you’re going to get wet. The boom of the surf and the howl of the wind drown out all other sound and leave you standing, pretty much alone, in the middle of a scene of substantial violence.

You can react to this picture in one of two ways. You can turn and start walking toward your vehicle, muttering something about “It’s miserable, stinking wet and cold out here, and you’d have to be an imbecile to think anything about this is attractive.”

Or, “This is exhilarating. It’s exciting. It raises a challenge and blows the cobwebs out of your mind. Bring it on!”

If your reaction is the first, you’re probably an upstanding, no-nonsense, productive member of society.

If your reaction is the second, you’re a razor clam digger.

The upcoming recreational season, Dec. 10, 11 and 12 on four of the state’s major coastal clam beaches, will be a winter-time, night-time dig. It will appeal to tens of thousands of people from both Washington and Oregon, but you have to know what you’re getting into and approach it prepared and with a certain mind set.

The Washington coast in winter can be a thing of beauty, but it also carries a definite edge. If you’re ready to dance to that kind of music, then the heady atmosphere of the beach, at night, with lanterns twinkling like fireflies as far as you can see, north and south, the surf pounding and diggers moving ethereally into and out of your circle of light, will be a memorable experience. And while winter seasons are more apt than spring or fall digs to be stormy, they can also be quiet, calm and reasonably benign. You won’t know which unless you’re out there, shovel in hand.

“I was raised on Grays Harbor,” said Dan Ayres, shellfish biologist and the manager of this resource for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, “and the winter digs were always my favorite. It’s a completely different atmosphere, and a more attractive one, I think.”

Here’s Razor Clam Digging 101:

Season: This dig will run on the dates above, assuming state Health Department tests indicate safe levels of domoic acid and other marine toxins in the clams. The first test, two weeks ago, indicated safe clams on four of the five major beaches. The second, and last, test was scheduled this past week with a go or no go decision to be announced Monday or Tuesday. Ayres said the earliest announcement will be made on the department’s Web site, http://wdfw.wa.gov, and that it usually appears at the top of the site’s first page.

The quarry: Many experienced outdoor aficionados, including yours truly, consider fried razor clams the best table fare wild Washington has to offer. Better than elk; better than halibut; maybe not better than walleye. This dig, Ayres said, will offer smallish clams, probably averaging 41/2 inches or so, with scattered pockets of larger critters. Since the law prohibits “creaming” by discarding smaller clams, the way to do it is to look for the larger “shows,” closer to the size of a quarter or nickel than a dime. A show is the round dimple on the surface of the sand marking the tip of a clam siphon (“neck”).

Numbers-wise, Ayres said there are plenty of clams on all beaches, and limits should be the rule rather than the exception. Clams are probably slightly larger on the beaches north of Grays harbor, he said, than they are on Long Beach or at Twin Harbors.

Beaches: Kalaloch Beach, north of the Quinault Reservation in Olympic National Park, will not open for digging. The four which will are: Long Beach, from Ilwaco north to Willapa Bay; Twin Harbors beaches, from Willapa Bay north to Westport; Copalis Beach, from Ocean Shores north to the mouth of the Copalis River; and “Mocrocks” beach, from the Copalis River north to the Moclips River. Copalis Beach is a favorite with diggers from this area, since the Ocean Shores area is a little closer than Westport, and a little farther for Oregonians to drive.

Tides: Razor clams are dug most often on minus low tides, the lower the better. The tides for this dig are as follows: Friday, minus 0.7 feet at 5:12 p.m.; Saturday, minus 1.2 feet at 6:01 p.m.; and Sunday, minus 1.5 feet at 6:49 p.m. Regulations specify afternoon minus tides only, for this dig, Ayres said. Most diggers are on the beach, ready to go, an hour and a half before low tide, with the prime digging from about an hour before the low to a half-hour after. Time is limited, so it behooves one to be prepared to move right along.

Surf: Heavy surf, with its attendant long, beach runup, can negate even the best tides or make mediocre tides better. To check in advance, go to www.wrh.noaa.gov/sew/, which should bring up a map. Click on the coast. Ayres said a surf of 10 feet is considered marginal for a successful dig.

Light source: Since a portion, or all, of these tides will be during nighttime hours, you’ll need a light source which leaves both hands free for digging. Still the favorite after all these years, Ayres said, is the ubiquitous Coleman lantern, even though some diggers use headlamps, or combinations.

Clothing: Dress warmly and dry (chest waders are good, if you have them), but expect to get wet and sandy anyway. Don’t wear anything expensive or irreplaceable, and be prepared with a complete change of clothing.

Equipment: You’ll need a clam container for each digger (the law requires it) and, while many people tote a five-gallon bucket, something which ties to your belt and leaves your hands free is better. Net bags are available, cheap, at sporting goods stores; onion sacks work fine; and some cut a four-inch hole in the shoulder of a one-gallon plastic bottle, with twine tied to the handle.

Various garden shovels, spades and trowels are useless. You’ll want a narrow-bladed clam shovel, available for rent at a few outlets on the coast or at a reasonable price at many tackle shops and similar sporting goods stores locally. A minority of diggers uses the clam tube, but the WDFW discourages the device because it tends to break and damage more clams, particularly in the hands of a novice.

Technique: Follow the receding tide down the beach, walking slowly, looking for shows. Stamping the feet or tapping with a shovel handle will often cause the clam to retract its siphon, better revealing its location and relative size. Pick a show, insert the shovel blade vertically about six inches on the seaward side, with the handle tipped away from the water. Pull the handle seaward a short distance, just enough to break the sand suction, but not far enough to break the clam. Lift the shovel full of sand out as closely to vertical as possible. Repeat, then get down to the nitty gritty, insert your hand into the hole, and feel for the clam carefully, because they’re named razor clams for a reason. Take a moment to push the sand you removed back into the hole. If you get slapped on the backside by an unseen wave while you’re down there on your knees and you will consider it part of the evening’s entertainment.

Cleaning: Rinse the clams well before leaving the beach and, hopefully, you checked when booking a motel to see whether or not the place had a clam-cleaning station. Open the clam with an oyster knife or dull pocketknife, remove the critter, and simply scoop out the innards. Snip off the sandy tip of the siphon with a knife or pair of scissors and slit the siphon open. You should end up with a roughly X-shaped piece of siphon and muscle, ready for the pan.

License and regulations: Every digger age 15 or older must have a license. Any 2004 annual shellfish or combination license purchased last spring is still valid, or there is a relatively new “razor clam only” license available in both annual ($8.21) and three-day ($4.93) versions. Buy your license before heading for the beach, to avoid overtaxed coastal outlets. The limit is the first 15 clams dug, regardless of size or condition.

Accommodations: A razor clam safari is best done as an overnighter, with time to find the beach access points and to explore the charms of Westport, Ocean Shores, and other coastal towns (the unique cranberry bogs in Grayland, south of Westport, are eminently worth a visit). For a list of accommodations, contact the Westport-Grayland Chamber of Commerce, 1-800-345-6223; www.westportgrayland-chamber.org; or the Ocean Shores Chamber of Commerce and Visitors’ Bureau at 1-800-76-BEACH; www.oceanshores.org.

More information: A good source of complete razor clam digging information, as well as other clam species, crab, mussels, oysters, shrimp and prawns, is the “Evergreen Pacific Shellfish Guide,” $16.99 plus state sales tax, by J.D. Wade. It’s available via Visa or MasterCard through Evergreen Pacific Publishing Ltd., 18002 15th Ave. N.E., Suite B, Shoreline, WA 98155; 206-368-8157; www.evergreenpacific.com.