Wayne Kruse’s Pick of the Week: Razor clams

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, November 29, 2017

By Wayne Kruse

For The Herald

Trying to decide whether or not it’s worth it to drive all the way to the coast for a batch of razor clams? It might help to remember that clam populations are down this year and that there will be fewer digging days. So dig them soon or risk not digging them at all.

State coastal shellfish manager Dan Ayres in Montesano said the largest clams are likely to be found at Copalis and Long Beach, with Twin Harbors a short step behind. Mocrocks will show the highest percentage of small clams, Ayres said, but also will have pockets of very nice clams. The law requires the harvest of the first 15 clams dug, regardless of size or condition.

The next dig begins Friday and runs through Monday, with the following tides and beaches: Friday, low at 4:42 p.m., minus 0.3 feet, Copalis beach only; Saturday, low at 5:29 p.m., minus 1.1 feet, Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks; Sunday, low at 6:15 p.m., minus 1.6 feet, Long Beach, Twin Harbors, and Copalis; Monday, low at 7:02 p.m., minus 1.8 feet, at Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks.

Next up, tentatively, is the traditional “New Year’s Dig” on the evening of Dec. 31.