clamming report

[OldRedSled]

hit seaside today for some razors. i have made 5 previous trips looking for clams with NO LUCK (zero clams), but today I did find two!?!

So did anyone elese hit seaside today and did you have any luck? I dont know if im just a miserable clam digger or seaside has been picked clean? Any help here would be appreciated.

FYI, i have been stomping, pounding sand with a stick. I've looked for dimples (after that excellent post) and saw none, i did find a nice hole after stomping, the 2nd one i got lucky.

I was wondering if the rain was making the dimples "wash away" All the sand had about 1/16" sheet of water

ORS
and i thought pea brained salmon were tough to get, these brainless clams are impossible to get..

[steelhead22]

I tried pounding the sand like everyone else for a few trips and had basically the same results as you. Then, a commercial clammer came by and showed me the technique I use now.

I usually hang out near the water's edge, on a "steeper" bank (you'll almost surely be relatively alone), any shore will do though. In these areas, more sand is washed away after a wave comes in. I'll just stand there, waitin' for a wave to push up the shore (personally, i do better on an INCOMING tide, but that's just me). Then when one (a wave) makes a decent push up the shoreline, you wait for the water to start washing back out to sea. Along with it goes the sand, exposing the necks of the clams. The "show" that I'm looking for is a small "V" shape in the water (like a stone or a broken shell....but different) as it's going back out. You'll see it for just a second, then it's gone (clam pulls it's neck down) and you'll only see it when the depth of the water is just right(1/8-1/16" deep). Keep and eye on that spot (where you saw the "V"), hurry up and get over there there and STOMP, a hole usually appears. If it's larger than the finger hole on my gun, I dig it.

I know, it's confusing, but once you figure out what you're looking for it's really easy and productive (and you're not wasting your time stomping and pounding up and down the beach). It's easier if I could show you (PM me!) I've also never gone a single trip without the clams showing this way at least once long enough for me to get my limit. I can't count how many times I've been clamming, and since I started using this technique, I've limited every time.

I just showed this technique to my 15 year old cousin last weekend. To illustrate the learning curve with this. In about 1/2 hour my dad, my brother and I were limited and my cousin hadn't got a single clam yet. We explained the show and then pointed a few out, then asked him to show us one. Finally, he had figured it out and realized what he was looking for. 15 min. later we were all walking back to the car with limits. He went 15 for 15 after he figured out the "show". Once you get it, you got it and it'll be easy limits the rest of your life.

[Fred N]

I usually hang out near the water's edge, on a "steeper" bank (you'll almost surely be relatively alone), any shore will do though. In these areas, more sand is washed away after a wave comes in. I'll just stand there, waitin' for a wave to push up the shore (personally, i do better on an INCOMING tide, but that's just me). Then when one (a wave) makes a decent push up the shoreline, you wait for the water to start washing back out to sea. Along with it goes the sand, exposing the necks of the clams. The "show" that I'm looking for is a small "V" shape in the water (like a stone or a broken shell....but different) as it's going back out. You'll see it for just a second, then it's gone (clam pulls it's neck down) and you'll only see it when the depth of the water is just right(1/8-1/16" deep). Keep and eye on that spot (where you saw the "V"), hurry up and get over there there and STOMP, a hole usually appears. If it's larger than the finger hole on my gun, I dig it.



Thanks for sharing, steelhead22. I learned this method the last time I went clamming and definitely is much more productive than digging in the dry sand. It is helpful to at least wear hip boots though as I found out that sneaker waves like to hit you when you are most vulnerable pulling out the clams. This technique is definitely a tech tip for clamming. I am suprised no one posted it before. :cheers:

[MacFish]

We went to Seaside on Saturday and didn't do very well at first, as there were very few that were showing, and pounding wasn't working either. After watching a commercial digger, I slowed down and found that the clams would show when they were pounded, but instead of showing right away there would be a lapse of a second or 2. Once we figured that out we left with limits 45 minutes later. :food: