C
clamslayer
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Hello, this is a repost from the iFish forums. I posted it to start a dialogue about digging clams, and 12 hours later my account does not work. I'm not sure what that's about but this seems like a much friendlier forum so here we go!
Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum but it seems like a great place for folks to get together and talk about clams and clamming. The subject of this post is my experience digging softshell clams.
When I first decided to dig softshell clams, I got a free map of where to clam in Coos Bay from ODFW. It's sort of like a clam-by-numbers type arrangement, with different areas shaded and identified through a key as certain species.
Seeing the huge areas with only softshell clams up in east Coos Bay / North Bend, I took my boat up there at low tide... went right to the shore where the map said to go, saw the muddy bottom, jumped out of my boat, and... sunk up to my belly button! It was terrible. It took an hour for me to manage getting back on to the boat because there was some submerged timber in the mud that I was able to push myself out of the mud with. So... there may be clams there (I sure didn't get any during that adventure) but it was not a safe area for clamming.
For my next softshell adventure, I tried Bolon Island (it's a rec. area in between Reedsport and Gardiner) which is in between two bridges with a parking area on the east side of highway 101. I managed to successfully dig a few clams but the tide came in a lot faster than it was supposed to, according to my corrected tide chart for that area. They were delicious!! I highly recommend them as table fare, and the limit is generous (36).
Nowadays, I dig softshell clams often, but I keep a few things in mind.. 1) know the ground before you set foot on it, because softshell clams often associate with really loose substrate; 2) know the area you're going to be clamming and how the tide behaves (do not trust correction charts), especially if you are going to be boating; and 3) be really, really careful handling the clams. "Papershell" is a better description than softshell. They are softer than any other clam and you have to take extra care, but it's well worth it.
My friend Bill Lackner & I recorded this video of digging softshell clams up on the Umpqua a few months ago, check it out. We're part of the Clam Diggers Association, a free/no dues 501(c)(3) non profit organization promoting recreational clamming.
Cheers,
Clamslayer
Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum but it seems like a great place for folks to get together and talk about clams and clamming. The subject of this post is my experience digging softshell clams.
When I first decided to dig softshell clams, I got a free map of where to clam in Coos Bay from ODFW. It's sort of like a clam-by-numbers type arrangement, with different areas shaded and identified through a key as certain species.
Seeing the huge areas with only softshell clams up in east Coos Bay / North Bend, I took my boat up there at low tide... went right to the shore where the map said to go, saw the muddy bottom, jumped out of my boat, and... sunk up to my belly button! It was terrible. It took an hour for me to manage getting back on to the boat because there was some submerged timber in the mud that I was able to push myself out of the mud with. So... there may be clams there (I sure didn't get any during that adventure) but it was not a safe area for clamming.
For my next softshell adventure, I tried Bolon Island (it's a rec. area in between Reedsport and Gardiner) which is in between two bridges with a parking area on the east side of highway 101. I managed to successfully dig a few clams but the tide came in a lot faster than it was supposed to, according to my corrected tide chart for that area. They were delicious!! I highly recommend them as table fare, and the limit is generous (36).
Nowadays, I dig softshell clams often, but I keep a few things in mind.. 1) know the ground before you set foot on it, because softshell clams often associate with really loose substrate; 2) know the area you're going to be clamming and how the tide behaves (do not trust correction charts), especially if you are going to be boating; and 3) be really, really careful handling the clams. "Papershell" is a better description than softshell. They are softer than any other clam and you have to take extra care, but it's well worth it.
My friend Bill Lackner & I recorded this video of digging softshell clams up on the Umpqua a few months ago, check it out. We're part of the Clam Diggers Association, a free/no dues 501(c)(3) non profit organization promoting recreational clamming.
Cheers,
Clamslayer
