SUCCULENT BIVALVE ENTHUSIASTS on the North Olympic Peninsula understand that clamming is a labor of love.
Most tasks in this wild land require an extra thick layer of gumption, owing primarily to the terrain and proximity (or lack thereof) of the task.
Clam digging is no different.
It would seem that the tip of a saltwater surrounded peninsula would provide prime opportunities for prying clams from the sand, but looks can be deceiving, even the geographic variety.
The wind-swept beaches along the Strait of Juan de Fuca are commonly inhospitable to living things like clam diggers, and red tides spewing from Victorian sewage systems often close the beaches to digging during the more pleasant months.
Even along the Pacific Coast, where razor clam digging opportunities are plentiful from Long Beach to Moclips, the North Olympic Peninsula folk are left out of the loop.
Currently, there are no options for coastal digging north of Grays Harbor, although clam digs were formerly held at Kalaloch Beach.
Those Kalaloch Beach digs were a mighty popular destination for Peninsula clam hounds until the beach was closed to clam digging due to an insufficient clam population.
Amateur visual inspection of the beach these days reveals many telltale clam craters and donuts, along with plenty of sizeable washed up razor clam shells in the surf, but the state Department of Fish and Wildlife contends that the clam numbers are still not up to par.
Based on their assessment Kalaloch Beach will likely remain closed for the entirety of 2015, and the state has not yet offered a timetable for its reopening.
At the top of the Peninsula things are not much better.
“Clallam County is not much for bivalves, owing to its wave-battered Strait beaches,” said Alex Bradbury, Puget Sound shellfish manager for the state.
“The only respites from that wave and wind action occur in Sequim Bay and around Cline Spit, the latter sheltered by Dungeness Spit.”
Bradbury added, “Another problem with Clallam County beaches is that they are frequently closed in spring/summer due to PSP (Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning).”
If all of these factors seem to add up to an insurmountable set of inhibiting factors, then you are most assuredly underestimating the engrained tenacity of North Enders.
Here in the land of the tall trees, no drive is too far, no odds are too long, and if they say it can’t be done, well, we’ll just have to see about that.
“The best beach in Clallam is probably Sequim Bay State Park, which will only be open during May in 2015 due to heavy overharvest in 2014,” noted Bradbury.
“We plant the oysters there, otherwise there’d be none.”
Bradbury also noted the increased odds of success as you travel toward the south Sound, saying, “East Jefferson is another story entirely, with loads of good beaches for clams. Those on Hood Canal are also good for oysters.”
Unlike the coastal digs which feature only razor clams, Puget Sound (which offers no razor clams) is home to a wide variety of clam species.
Some of the most popular clam varieties in Puget Sound include butter clams, macoma clams, native littlenecks, cockles and the infamous and ungainly geoduck.
Bradbury’s personal list of preferred Puget Sound clam digging beaches offered quite a few east Jefferson County destinations.
Those beaches include Dosewallips State Park, Wolfe Property State Park/Shine Tidelands State Park, Fort Flagler State Park, Port Townsend Ship Canal/Portage Beach, and South Indian Island County Park.
Twanoh State Park, Potlatch State Park and Potlatch DNR in Mason County also made the short list.
Dosewallips State Park is one area beach slated to open with the New Year.
Located in Jefferson County on Hood Canal, Dosewallips will open today and remain open until state surveys indicate the harvest guidelines have been met.
However, data collected by the state shows a large uptick in the resident manila clam population and they anticipate a year-round season in 2015.
Unfortunately for area diggers, though, the Puget Sound tidal schedule is currently making digging a bit more of a chore than usual.
As Bradbury explained, “The problem right now, of course, is that the low tides are all in the middle of the night, so harvesters must be prepared to go clamming at midnight or so, in cold temps, and with headlamps.
“That will be the case until around early March, when we again have daylight lows suitable for clamming.”
Bradbury did note, though, that Wolfe State Park and Shine Tidelands do have groups of dedicated nighttime harvesters in the winter.
Unlike Washington-coast beaches, which are currently restricted to digging between noon and midnight, there are no time limits on Puget Sound beaches so long as the season is open.
The only outlier to that rule is the Quilcene Tidelands, which is open to digging from sunrise to sunset during digging season.
Diggers should be aware though that some state and county parks may have their gates locked at night.
The respective limits for clams in Washington are three for geoducks (first three dug), seven for horse clams (first seven dug), 15 for razor clams (first 15 dug) and forty for all other clam species (not to exceed 10 pounds total in the shell).
For those who may be looking to make a New Year’s road trip, the state has approved an eight-day razor clam dig that started Wednesday.
“Digging razor clams over the New Year’s holiday is a true Northwest tradition,” said Dan Ayres, state coastal shellfish manager, in a news release.
Most diggers tend to have the best success one or two hours prior to the low tide, but Ayres reminds folks that no digging is allowed on any coastal beach before noon.
“With afternoon low tides in their favor, diggers can hit the beach in the daylight and still have plenty of time to clean and cook their clams for a New Year’s meal,” added Ayres.
Piling on with the good news, Ayres noted that diggers have been getting bigger and faster limits as of late.
“Of course weather always plays a factor, but in recent weeks many diggers have harvested their limits and picked up good-sized clams of 4 to 5 inches,” Ayres said.
Upcoming digs are scheduled on the following dates, beaches and low tides:
■ Today: 4:01 p.m., 0.2 feet — Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis.
■ Friday: 4:49 p.m., -0.2 feet — Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis.
■ Saturday: 5:32 p.m., -0.5 feet — Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis.
■ Sunday: 6:12 p.m., -0.5 feet — Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Mocrocks.
■ Monday: 6:48 p.m., -0.5 feet — Long Beach and Twin Harbors.
■ Tuesday: 7:23 p.m., -0.3 feet — Long Beach and Twin Harbors.
■ Wednesday, Jan. 7: 7:57 p.m., -0.1 feet — Long Beach and Twin Harbors.
Another dig is scheduled for Jan. 17-24, pending marine toxin testing.
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Jordan Nailon is a veteran outdoors writer in western Washington. He is an assistant baseball coach at Forks High School who in his spare time is a hog and vegetable farmer and beekeeper.
