B1
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2019
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GONE CLAMMING
Photos by Luke Whittaker
A trio of diggers work the sand in search of clams as the sun sets over the Pacifi c Ocean.
Writer offers digging, cooking advice
By DAVID CAMPICHE
TIDE TABLE — DAILY
LOW
A
razor clam is a wily critter
not as fast as Wile E. Coy-
ote, but still pretty crafty.
Like my cat, a clam avoids
human contact, other than on its
own infrequent terms. A razor
clam is an artist at avoiding the
sauté pan. When the weather is
fair, the stars in place and the
tides correct low and minus,
well, then it ain’t so hard.
A cold hard wind gusts out of
the southwest, swelling the wave
tops. The tide is a moderate low,
say a one-inch holdover. You
leave your toasty car, put on your
cold clamming gear and head
to the edge of the ocean. Wind
and spray are in your face. Your
fi ngers are already numb. You
expect the digging will be like
the last set of wondrous tides —
that is you’ll be able to easily
spot the clams, with their large,
round, indented holes.
Of course, nothing is show-
ing. Folks are stomping literally
across the beach near the surging
surf. Occasionally the tide rushes
in, and the cold water spills into
their rubber boots. Sometimes
the waves are high enough that
they steal a clam digger’s sack.
Old timers dig the surf. They
wear waders, and are skilled at
spotting the smallest and most
imperceptible holes. They will
throw the blunt end of their clam
shovel into the ebbing saltwater
and wait for the clam to make a
hasty retreat.
When the bivalve does run
away straight down and listing to
the west the unisex clam leaves
a trace of a hole, kind of an
inverted dimple. That’s when the
digger strikes. That human being
Dec. 7: 3:26 p.m., 1.6
Dec. 8: 4:12 p.m., 0.9
Dec. 9: 4:54 p.m., 0.4
Dec. 10: 5:35 p.m., -0.1
Dec. 11: 6:15 p.m., -0.4
Dec 12: 6:55 p.m., -0.7
Dec 13: 7:34 p.m., -0.8
Dec 14: 8:15 p.m., -0.7
Data collected from Columbia
River N. Jetty, courtesy of the
National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration.
While it’s open season for razor
clamming in Oregon, clamming
dates in Washington vary, so
check the Washington De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife’s
shellfi sh regulations for more
information.
A digger collects a clam during a foggy evening in Seaview.
gets plenty wet and appears sort
of like a Civil War veteran or
incarnation of a battered soul.
If he or she goes into the gro-
cery store to pick up smokes or a
package of Doritos after the dig,
people avoid them, fastidiously.
Good clam diggers position
their shovels four inches (give
or take an inch) on the west side
of the hole, dig the fi rst shovel
deep (extracting sand) and fol-
low with a delicate second, as
not to break the shells.
They slip their fi ngers into
the hole and hopefully pull the
clam up by its neck. It is gener-
ally advisable to pick the larger
holes: larger clams mark their
territory with a larger showing,
most of the time. Clamming is
like fi shing: Ultimately there are
no universal guidelines.
There does happen to be one
rule that is enforced: You may
only dig 15 clams. Washington
Department of Fish and Wild-
life offi cers love to enforce that
rule. And they should; 15 clams
go a long way. The fi nes are also
hefty.
Once at home, pull up your
sleeves and clean the clams. Be
assured: It’s easy. Watch that you
are not squirted with a brown
oozy mess that resembles spit-
ting tobacco. Don’t press the
digger too hard. A quick bath
in boiling water releases the
See Clamming, Page B2