Clam Dig Weekend in Westport/Grayland (Shelton, Ocean Park: cost, store, garden)

[bmsea]

Hi everyone,

We went out with the clam diggers last night, and I wanted to share what I think is one of those very unique Washington Coast experiences - The Evening Razor Clam Dig! It's the first dig of the season, and last night the clams were so plentiful they were "necking".

If you want to come out, the beaches are open through Sunday night for digging, and the weather is beautiful. Also a great time to stargaze, as there wasn't a cloud to block the view last night and its supposed to be clear again tonight.

More info at:
WDFW - Razor Clamming in Washington State (Rules)
Moderator cut: link deleted

Here's some pictures!

Diggers at sunset:


Moon over Westport by the Sea (notice the clear skies!):


More diggers:


Lots of people out earlier:

[missyM]

Wow, nice pics!
You DID have nice weather.
Looks like you didn't have a crowd to fight with over the clams, either.

[bmsea]

It never gets too crowded in the Twin Harbors. Everyone is really friendly. We went out last night and we had several kids with us (friends from out of town) and people were helping them find the clam show spots and showing us how to dig properly. It's a lot of fun. My husband is cleaning clams right now and we're debating whether to pan fry them or make chowder.

[bmsea]

WDFW has opened the beaches this weekend for a clam dig...

WDFW - Fishing & Shellfishing

All the rules and times are on there. Accuweather is calling for sunshine and low 50's (if you can believe that) Grab the kids and come down for one of Washington's unique coastal experiences.

All you need are some rubber boots, a bucket and a shovel or clam gun (available at the local markets). Don't forget to stop and pick up your shellfish license - it doesn't cost much and kids 15 don't need one.

Twin Harbors (WEstport/Grayland) is open Friday through Monday.
Copalis and Long Beach are open Saturday/Sunday

[Fat Freddy]

Originally Posted by bmsea

All you need are some rubber boots, a bucket and a shovel or clam gun (available at the local markets).

Here's some Razor Clam trivia, bmsea.

The shovel is the clam gun, the suction tool is a clam tube, originally called a Sandpiper after the bird.

The razor clam shovel was invented by a guy from Copalis Beach around 1940. He ground down and reworked a garden spade into a shape more suited to the special way you dig for razors without breaking the shell. It's really more of a scoop than a shovel. Everybody called it a clam gun.

In the late 50's, a guy from Shelton invented the clam suction tube which he called a Sandpiper which lets you suck up a column of sand with the clam inside. It's really a miniature hand operated version of a large suction device that was used on commercial Geoduck dredges.

The the city folk from the East Sound who came over to dig clams couldn't keep them straight and always called the tube a gun. The locals gave up trying to tell them what was correct, and pretty soon the tube became a clam gun, and the clam gun became a shovel again.

By the way, Jacks Country Store in Ocean Park has the best variety of Clam Tubes, (which they call Clam Guns) in the world.

[bmsea]

Freddy,

that is really interesting background. I think everyone here calls them "guns". Whatever they are, I have to say its a little more physically difficult than I would have thought. The first time I went clam digging I was 6 months pregnant, and when I tried to push the tube into the sand, I thought I was going to put myself into early labor I'm sure there must be a trick to it, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.

Thanks for the history lesson!

[Fat Freddy]

Originally Posted by bmsea

...when I tried to push the tube into the sand, I thought I was going to put myself into early labor I'm sure there must be a trick to it...

The bending over and kneeling down are too much for me anymore, but when I used to do it, I found that a tube made out of thick metal with a long handle worked easiest.

With the long handle, I could lean on it and use my weight to push it down instead of my shoulder muscles. It helped to give it little twists back and forth as it went down.

The heavy metal made it possible to sharpen the lower edge of the tube opening so that there was less resistance to the sand.

[ortcindy]

is ventura a good place to go clam digging? should we be looking under rocks? how do you know where there is alot of clams?

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by ortcindy

is ventura a good place to go clam digging?

There is no Ventura in the state of Washington.