Razor clams 101
Published 12:01 am Sunday, April 17, 2011
It’s very, very difficult to ignore the siren call of a sunny spring day on one of Washington’s coastal beaches. Add a razor clam dig to the mix, and it becomes well-nigh impossible.
Sun, sand, and ocean. Kids splashing, dogs running, bucket-toting clam hunters — wet, sandy, grinning fro
m ear to ear. And all the while the boom of the surf, rolling in from the mysterious far reaches of the Pacific.
It’s great theater. It’s also one of the more compelling of our state’s outdoor attractions, family-friendly, relatively easy to learn and set in an area with a lot of other fun things to do.
UPCOMING DIGS: Another round of razor-clam digs on ocean beaches are scheduled for Tuesday through Saturday.
Two beaches – Long Beach and Twin Harbors – will open for digging April 19 through April 22 until noon each day, plus April 23 until 1 p.m. Copalis and Mocrocks will be open for digging April 21-22 until noon and April 23 until 1 p.m. under that plan.
For more information, check out here or phone the agency’s coast-region office for information, at 360-249-6522.
WHEN DOES IT HAPPEN: Spring razor clam digs take place on an irregular basis from a couple of hours before a minus low tide, to about an hour after, generally in the morning.
YOU’LL NEED lots of casual clothing, because you WILL get wet and sandy. Count on it. Also a bucket and either a clam shovel or tube, your choice. Beginners seem to be particularly enamored of the tube, the infamous clam “gun,” although experts prefer the shovel. Garden shovels and assorted spades will NOT work for razor clams, and clam shovels are relatively inexpensive. They can sometimes also be rented; check with any coastal town’s chamber of commerce for rental sources.
You’ll also need a
LICENSE: Spring for an annual shellfish license, $12; or an annual razor clam license for $11; or a three-day razor clam license for $7.40. Buy your license at any tackle shop or outdoor equipment store before going to the coast. The coastal outlets are sometimes overwhelmed on a good minus-tide dig.
Youngsters 14 years and under don’t need a license but, if they’re going to dig, they need their own container.
REGS AND OTHER STUFF: The limit is the first 15 clams dug, regardless of size or condition. No putting small or broken clams back in the hole. If you’re looking for slightly larger clams, the beaches north of Grays Harbor (when open) have been the place to go this season.
FIND A MOTEL: The coast boasts a wide array of accommodation, from upscale hotels to very inexpensive motels, and everything in between. Click here for beaches south of Grays Harbor, and here for beaches north.
SOMETHING ELSE: If you have a spare hour or two, run down to Grayland and check out the unique, historic, cranberry bogs lying just east of the coast highway. One of the very few places in the entire country you can see this kind of thing.
