Clam diggers mill about in advance of sunset on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, at Long Beach.
The first razor clam dig of the season at Long Beach Sept. 27-29 drew 18,900 digger trips with just under a limit recorded per trip, according to Department of Fish and Wildlife Coastal Shellfish Manager Dan Ayres.
“It was a big crowd of diggers,” he said. “Success was high for most everyone.”
Clams were on the small side, as expected, averaging about 3.8 inches.
“These clams will continue to grow and that will be noticeable in the months ahead,” said Ayres.
Ayres was with his crew collecting catch and effort data Sept. 28 and was “impressed with how many people thanked us for the chance to get out and dig, and surprisingly there were actually very few complaints about the small size of the clams.”
The total recorded harvest was 281,800 clams, said Ayres. That included 19,700 clams in wastage.
“In our checks on Saturday we did find areas with significant numbers of wastage clams,” said Ayres. Wastage clams are those dug up but not kept by diggers. “We will keep an eye on that and hope folks will remember to keep the first 15 clams they dig, regardless of their size or condition.”
Upcoming Digs
Oct. 26, Saturday, 5:59 p.m., 0.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Oct. 27, Sunday, 6:47 p.m., -0.8 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Oct. 28, Monday, 7:33 p.m., -1.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Oct. 29, Tuesday, 8:18 p.m., -1.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Oct. 30, Wednesday, 9:03 p.m., -1.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Oct. 31, Thursday, 9:50 p.m., -0.8 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Nov. 1, Friday, 10:38 p.m., -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Note these are all evening tides. No digging is allowed on beaches open for evenings tides before noon.
