Razor Clamming on the Washington Coast
What you’ll find in this post:
Our trip report to the coast including the what, when, where, how, gear, transport & store, make of it all
A fun family story along the way
Now I truly understand why people say they’re “happy as a clam”!
It all started on Christmas Eve at my Grandmother’s house when my Dad put on old home videos of the family vacationing at their cabin on the coast. My dad was like five or so running around the beach while my grandfather and great uncle “smelted” with nets in the ocean.
Since I’m always looking for a new adventure the second I got home I started looking up fishing for smelt. Yes, on Christmas Eve. While I was doing this research I came across the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife recreational razor clamming website and discovered it was razor clamming season and digs had been announced for the coming weekends.
I was eager to get out there so a couple weekends later we set out on our clamming expedition. At that point all I knew we needed was a shellfish license, a clam gun, a bucket or two, and of course fashionable rain boots. Along the way we learned so much and I thought I’d share the what, when, where, how, and all the other info we discovered along the way.
WHAT
So what are razor clams? These oblong shelled mollusk are one of the most coveted shellfish in the PNW. A true Pacific delicacy, well other than the infamous geoduck (which thankfully I got right on my 2nd grade spelling test). They resemble a straight razor edge and can grow up to 6 inches in length and can live for up to 5 years. Pacific razor clams can be found along the coastline from Alaska to Central California. Razor clams live on flat sandy beaches at the intertidal zones of the beach that are covered by water during high tide and exposed during low tide.
WHEN
The clamming season in Washington takes place from November until April, but beaches are only opened after proposed dates are approved. Approval is needed because the Washington State Fish & Wildlife tests the razor clams to ensure they do not possess high levels of the marine toxin, domoic acid. This acid is produced by algae and a build up in the clams can lead to amnesic shellfish poisoning, which is not good for human consumption. You can find the test results before the dig HERE. Once the tests are conducted, and the domoic acid is below 20ppm, the proposed dates are announced about a week or so before the dig. Beaches are typically open for 3 to 7 days, which usually always include Saturday and Sunday. You can find the proposed and upcoming approved dates HERE.
BEFORE you head to the coast, ensure the beaches are open and there are not any restrictions in place. Digging must take place after 12:00pm (noon) on any open day.
WHERE
There are five beaches in Washington State open for clamming, 1. Long Beach 2. Twin Harbor 3. Copalis Beach 4. Mocrocks 5. Kalaloch.
We choose Twin Harbor, specifically Grayland Beach State Park, because it was the closest and it had a beach access road, which is basically a sand road that runs along the beach allowing access via motor vehicles. Driving on the beach allows for more dispersed clamming.
HOW
You need to wait for low tide. Trust me. We tried to dig early and wasted tons of energy digging up shrimp, plus the regulars started laughing at us. They say the best time to start clamming is 2 hours before low tide, but I think we had the best luck about 1 hour before low tide.
This is a fantastic resource from Washington Fish and Wildlife on how to dig for clams. We read this article and watched the YouTube video on the site, which was super helpful. However, there were so many nice people on the beach that taught us and helped us dig our 15 per person clam limit. One of the best parts of the dig was interacting with fellow diggers and helping each other out.
P.S. You can see our car parked on the beach behind me digging.
GEAR
You’ll need a clam gun or a clam shovel, a bucket or net for each person, a clamming license, rubber boots or water proof clothing, flashlights & lanterns if digging in the dark, and a cooler to transport the clams home.
You can get a clam gun on Amazon and we got a 3-day shellfish license at Fred Meyer. To purchase a license online or find a local vendor you can visit HERE.
Each digger must have their own harvesting container or bag to hold their catch, but diggers CAN share digging equipment.
TRANSPORT & STORE
To get the clams home, I placed them in a cooler with ocean water. Once we were home, I placed them in the fridge for the night with a damp cloth draped over the top. Allowing the clams to soak over night in the sea water allows them to rid themselves of some of the extra sand inside their shells.
MAKE
Clean ‘em, cut ‘em, and make them into chowder! I prepared the clams the next day at my Grandma’s by running them under cold fresh water, followed by removing the shells, innards, and cutting away any pieces of white meat engrained with sand. Then I chopped them up and put them in my chowder the last five minutes before serving. And my dad kept them whole and made some amazing fillets!
CLEAN UP
Ok, so since we arrived at the beach at high tide and had ample time before the dig started, we decided to pick up litter along the beach. A study conducted by Wilcox, Hardest, and Sebille (2015) projected that by 2050 99% of the world’s seabirds will have plastic in their stomachs. That’s only 31 years away!! Remember to limit your plastic use so we can keep those beaches clean to protect our animals.
MORE
To get information for recreational razor clamming in Washington visit the Department of Fish & Wildlife.
I know more about razor clams than I ever thought I would. Little did I know how fun this adventure was going to be and I’m looking forward to next year’s dig!
Do you have any fun family outdoor traditions? Also, does anyone want to teach me how to smelt?
