Digging Razor Clams in Washington State

Razor clams are one of the PNW’s most accessible tasty bites to forage. It’s a great family activity, requires very little gear, is relatively easy, and provides a high return on your effort. It’s a definite must experience for those of us in Washington and Oregon.

How To Dig Razor Clams

The main factors that dictate how you’ll be finding and digging your razor clams are the your tools, whether it’s a night dig or a day dig, and tidal height.

Razor clams only occur on coastal beaches in the PNW. This is a different species than the east coast razor clam. Ours are meatier and look less like a switchblade and more like a wallet.

Clam Digging Gear

First, let’s talk gear. There are a few schools of thought here, and no wrong answers:

• Hand Dig: Some people (my partner) like to dig with their hands, so no tools required. This will result in cuts from tiny rocks and clam shells though and it’s tough to dig quick enough with your hands to get to the clam before it digs down deeper. Not impossible though, so if you’re looking for a challenge, by all means hand dig to your heart’s content.
• Clam Shovel: I’d say the next most difficult method is the clam shovel. It says your hands a bit but requires a bit less effort than hand digging. This is a narrow, angled blade that helps you dig straight down into the sand, not your typical garden shovel. You could use a transplanting spade in a pinch though.
• Clam Gun: This is the easiest (and my preferred) method for harvesting razor clams. It’s just a metal tube with a handle and a suction hole that you cover when you pull your core of sand up. They’re simple, effective, and quick. The cheapest ones are made of painted steel, while the aluminum ones are bit more durable and not terribly expensive, but the nicest ones are stainless steel and quite pricey but they’ll last you a lifetime. You can find clam guns on Amazon, SportCo, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Cabela’s, Walmart (sometimes), or Costco (sometimes). No matter which one you get, just make sure it’s one with a triangle vent running along the entire length on the outside of the tube. This makes a HUGE difference when you’re pulling the tube up as it helps loosen the suction of the sand and saves your back more than the ones without the vent. This is different than the hole under the handle bar that you cover with your finger to create suction to pull up your sand/clam.

• Bag: Each person clamming must have their own container. We use mesh clam nets, but a bucket or bag of any variety will work just fine. I just like the mesh bags because they can attach to my wader belt.
• Boots/Waders: Again, this is personal preference. Your options here are 1) go barefoot, 2) wear muck boots/xtratuffs and keep out of the surf, 3) hip waders, or 4) chest waders. I already have chest waders so I typically wear those as they keep me dry even when waves sneak up on me.
• Short sleeve top: You will be shoving your whole arm down some of these clam holes. Either wear short sleeves or make sure your long sleeves can roll way up your arm unless you want soggy, sandy arm sleeves.
• Lamp or headlamp: For night digs, more explained below. We’ve always just used the Coleman propane lamps but I’m sure you could use a battery powered lamp as well. Just make sure not to let the waves get to it. We’ve ruined many a lamp over the years this way. The glass will break when the cold water hits the hot glass.

Finding clams during day digs vs night digs

Next is time of day. Winter night-time digs make up the bulk of the razor clam season (October, December, January, February). In the early fall (September) and spring (March, April), the digs occur during daytime hours. If you’re out for a night-time dig, you’ll need a light to see the “shows,” the tiny holes made in the sand by the razor clam’s siphon when they feed as the tide moves water and nutrients across the sand.

In both day and night digs, you’ll need to walk down the beach and ignore all of the sand shrimp holes that are higher up. These are not clam holes. Resist the urge to dig these. Just look around to see how far down the beach the rest of the people are and start around there. There will NEVER be a clam dig where you are alone on the beach. Expect to share the beach with thousands of your closest friends.

What you’re looking for are “shows,” or a little dimple where the razor clam’s neck stuck out of the sand before the low tide to feed in the surf. Sometimes the clams are showing on their own and you just look for little dime-sized round holes or dimples in the sand. Other times, they’re shy and you need to stomp on the sand with your feet or shovel handle to expose a dimple (don’t expect a hole in this situation, a dimple is all you’ll get) as the clam retracts its siphon/neck as it feels your presence. Sometimes you’ll have clam holes that have that raised donut look like the shrimp holes, but if it’s a clam it will be down closer to the surf. The shrimp holes are further upland on the beach.

For night digs, lamps held close to the sand cast better shadows than headlamps due to the angle of the light. But the concept will be the same, you’ll look for clam shows in the form of holes or dimples.

If the clams aren’t showing and we’re having to make them show by stomping, we typically walk backwards stomping as we go. You really only have a few seconds for the show to disappear when you’re forcing it. If they’re showing on their own without stomping, take your time.

Digging the clams

Once you’ve found a show, you need to work quickly. Razor clams are very fast diggers and they will start digging deeper into the sand the moment they feel your shovel/gun/stomping. They repeatedly shoot water out of one of their two siphons to cause a muscle contraction and expansion in their foot, allowing them to dig down very quickly. Don’t dig carelessly though. Razor clam shells are easily crushed and quite sharp when broken, plus you’ll kill your clam quicker than if you leave them intact.

I’ll just describe the clam gun method, since this is what most people use and my preferred method.

1. Place your clam gun over the show slightly off-center so there is more room on the ocean side. Razor clams are often angled very slightly towards the ocean to best take advantage of waves as they move out and pass food over the clams.

2. Push the clam gun straight down.
3. Cover the air hole under the handle with one of your fingers. Pull the core of sand up by lifting the clam gun by the handle, still covering the air hole. Go slow and try rocking it from side to side a little as you pull to help loosen the suction. Lift with your legs to save your back.

2. Take a moment to make sure there aren’t any waves coming your way.
3. Lift your finger away from the air hole to release the core of sand from the gun. Make sure you do this angled away from the nice hole you just dug.
4. Kick the sand gently to see if your clam is in there. They usually are in the upper 1 to 1.5 feet of sand, but occasionally they’ll be deeper down in that 2′ area.
5. If it’s not, shove your hand down that hole and feel around for a clam and see if you can gently but firmly pull it up. Sometimes they’re even deeper and you might need to do a second dig with the gun in your hole, but that needs to happen very quickly before they dig away.

HOW TO DIG RAZOR CLAMS

The Best Beaches to Find Razor Clams

Razor clams in the PNW are only found on the sandy beaches of the coast. You won’t find them in the rocky beaches of inland Puget Sound with the likes of manila clams and butter clams.

WDFW has 5 beaches (4 that are regularly used) that are approved for harvest during the razor clam season. Not every beach is open during each approved dig. Typically, 3 beaches are open each approved dig day. YOU MUST CHECK THE WDFW WEBSITE FOR CURRENT DIG SCHEDULES. This changes each year and is dependent on tidal charts, size and abundance surveys of the clams, and biotoxin testing to ensure the clams are safe to eat.

• Long Beach
• Twin Harbors
• Mocrocks
• Copalis
• Kalaloch (not open most years)

Each beach offers excellent digging. Some beaches, like Twin Harbors, are more popular due to being a shorter drive. Others, like Mocrocks, are popular because of the high density of clams. The average size (length) of the clams does not differ greatly between the beaches, so that’s not a huge factor in selecting beach, but if you’re curious I’ve compiled that information below as well.

Beach	Ave.	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Long Beach	1.79	3.03	3.47	1.82	0.29	0.43	1.71
Twin Harbors	2.60	4.70	2.87	2.54	1.98	0.92	2.60
Copalis	2.67	4.90	3.61	3.12	1.55	1.20	1.69
Mocrocks	3.54	4.51	5.34	3.78	3.46	1.95	2.24
Kalaloch	2.03	0.06	2.10	1.30	4.50	0.02	4.19

Beach	Ave.	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Long Beach	4.22	4.35	4.30	3.68	4.20	4.50	4.30
Twin Harbors	4.12	4.17	4.20	4.30	3.90	3.90	4.40
Copalis	4.23	4.47	4.10	4.20	3.90	4.30	4.40
Mocrocks	4.23	4.40	4.07	4.30	3.70	4.20	4.70
Kalaloch	3.59	3.66	3.22	3.98	3.50

When to Find Razor Clams

Dates

The Washington Razor Clam season typically offers an average of 61 days of digs per year from late September until April, sometimes into the first week of May. The dates are posted on the WDFW razor clam season webpage, but check back because they add dates as the season progresses.

Here is an example of what a dig schedule looks like on the WDFW website:

• Sept. 27, Tuesday, 8:24 p.m.; minus-0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
• Sept. 28, Wednesday, 9:06 p.m.; -0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
• Sept. 29, Thursday, 9:51 p.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
• Sept. 30, Friday, 10:43 p.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis

Looking at this set of options, I’d note that the lowest low tide in this set is -0.4 feet on Thursday. The lower the tidal height at low tide, the more beach will be exposed for digging. However, anything below a +0.5 low tide will give you plenty of access to razor clams. You don’t need to wait for the extreme lows, it just might give you access to clams that may or may not be larger since they aren’t harvested during every dig. Small swell days are typically better because the clams tend to stick closer to the surface to feed which makes them easier to dig when the tide goes out and exposes the beach.

I’d also note, that as previously mentioned, not every beach is open each dig day. So you could go to Mocrocks on Tuesday, but not Wednesday in this example.

Tidal Timing

The times and tidal heights listed above and on the WDFW website are for low tide. You want to arrive 1-2 hours before low tide to start digging. Some days you can limit out in 20 minutes, others it might take an hour. If you’re brand new, you might need 2 hours. Generally, you don’t want to show up right at low tide because then you’ll be fighting the incoming tide and losing beach access instead of gaining it.

NOTE: If high levels of domoic acid are detected in razor clam samples, digs will be cancelled and the fishery will be closed until levels of this biotoxin lower and make the clams safe to eat again. Closures don’t occur every year. Domoic acid causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning and can be fatal to humans when ingested in high enough concentrations. Don’t dig clams if the beaches have been closed due to domoic acid. Just wait. It’s not worth it. There will always be more clam digs.

Regulations

Always check your state’s websites for regulations and health warnings before going out razor clam digging. These sites are where you will find the most up to date information on beach dig schedules, emergency closures, license regulations, and limits. Regulations regularly change, so don’t take what is written here (or anywhere other than your state’s official webpages) as the most up-to-date information. Interpretation of the regulations is up to each angler and relying entirely on what you hear or read is not an excuse if you end up fishing illegally. Just read your pamphlets please.

• Washington
  • Limit is 15 clams per person regardless of size or condition. You dig it, you keep it.
  • Each digger must have their own bag/container and keep their clams separate. We use these mesh clam net bags that loop into wader belts but many people just use buckets too.
  • Fishing license is required for everyone age 15 and over. Razor clams are included in the Combo license ($55) and the Annual Fish Washington license ($70), or you can pick up a 3-day razor clam only license ($10) or an Annual Razor Clam only license ($15). You can get licenses from WDFW online, WDFW headquarters in Olympia, Walmart, or the many other local license dealers.
  • Season: Dates change each year but typically fall between September and May. Find the latest season dates here: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfishing-regulations/razor-clams#current
  • page 136 of WDFW recreational fishing regulations: https://www.eregulations.com/assets/docs/resources/WA/21WAFW-LR.pdf

• Oregon
  • Oregon also has excellent razor clam digging. This article focused on Washington, but here are a few resources for Oregon to get you started.
  • ODFW puts out updates for razor clam season here: https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/crabbing-clamming-report/marine-zone
  • Licenses are required for everyone age 12 and older and are available online, from ODFW license dealers, or from ODFW offices.
  • Limit is 15 and you must keep the first 15 you dig…no putting back small ones.
  • Clams may be harvested by hand, shovel, clam gun or tube with an opening no less than 4″ (cylindrical) or 4″x4″ elliptical.
  • Season: closed July 15-Septemer 30.

How to Clean and Cook Razor Clams

Cleaning razor clams may seem tedious at first, but once you’ve done a few you’ll have no problem getting it down to a minute or two per clam. Check out 3:02 in the video below to watch the full process from blanching to cleaning. Actual cleaning starts at 3:56.

The basics are that razor clams do not need to be purged like you might want to do with a steamer or butter clam. These are meaty clams and you don’t want to eat the guts of these guys anyways. So here are the basic steps, but it’s probably easiest to just watch the video to get a better idea:

1. Keep razor clams cool on drive home (if not eating at beach). If it’s winter, we generally just put them in a bucket in the back of the truck/car. If it’s a warmer spring/fall day, we might add a bit of ice but we’re not looking to freeze them, just keep them cool. They don’t need to be kept in water and in fact I would suggest against transporting in water. It looses oxygen quickly and the clams are perfectly happy transporting without it.
2. Blanche clams for 15 seconds in boiling water to release the shells.
3. Quickly remove them from the hot water and cool under cold running water or ice water. We don’t want to cook them all the way and make them tough.
4. Cut the 1/4″ tip of the siphon off and discard (this is the brown portion).
5. Use scissors to cut the connection between the two wings of the mantle, extending up through the two layers of siphon in the neck.
6. Cut around the innards, leaving the mantle intact.
7. Remove the foot from the innards and butterfly it open.
8. Rinse sand from clam meat.
9. Prepare how ever you like 🙂

Be sure to check out my YouTube channel to watch these Catch and Cook Razor Clam Recipes being made.

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