What do I need to know about clamming

[bobcat]

I saw a razor clam dig was opened for Sunday the 15th would I be better off driving south on Sunday for that. And by the way thank you very much for all the input.

Yes, you should. It will be a good experience. You'll just need to find some youtube videos on how to clean and take care of the clams.

[Sportfury]

Chuckster we are heading to Grayland on Sunday. Maybe we will see you out there.

[fishnfur]

In muddier sandy areas, dig down to about a foot or so for steamers - they and horse clams are better for chowder IMHO.  I stay up high in the loose gravels on Hood Canal and use a dead/dull oyster shell to just push gravel aside for Manilla clams which tend to be smaller and more tender for pasta or just general eating .  Once I find a good spot, I can usually get a limit within about 15 minutes and never get wet at all.  I look for areas where the wave action  caused the gravels to pile up in ridges during the last big blow.  Many times live clams are right on, or just under the surface.

WDFW webpage has a marine biotoxin webpage link with the latest beach closures.  Somewhere in those pages there are also maps of public beaches good for clamming/oysters.

Have fun!

[Carp Commander]

What about prepping them for the table or for the freezer?

With all of the hard shell varieties I like to change the water out on them in a 5 gallon bucket for a day to clean them out not sure which types need to be gutted and which types like steamers can just be thrown in a pot.

Can anyone advise on how to prep them for the freezer or the table?

[chuckster]

Thank you for all the input we did great this weekend and have clam chowder cooking right now. My boy had a great time out there cant wait to do it again.

[lokidog]

What about prepping them for the table or for the freezer?

With all of the hard shell varieties I like to change the water out on them in a 5 gallon bucket for a day to clean them out not sure which types need to be gutted and which types like steamers can just be thrown in a pot.

Can anyone advise on how to prep them for the freezer or the table?

You can get some grit out by keeping in salt water for a day or so.  One way I used to do it was to put cornmeal in with them, they would intake the cornmeal which would help move other stuff out of their stomachs.  I'm not a big steamer off the shell fan, so I steam them then remove from shell and squeeze the stomach out.  Then I toss them in a bowl with some butter and garlic and microwave, yummy.

Be sure to keep the water aerated so they don't suffocate.

[Revwrangler]

What about prepping them for the table or for the freezer?

With all of the hard shell varieties I like to change the water out on them in a 5 gallon bucket for a day to clean them out not sure which types need to be gutted and which types like steamers can just be thrown in a pot.

Can anyone advise on how to prep them for the freezer or the table?

You do want to hit razor clams. But it is a quick simple project. My wife and I just cleaned, vacuumed sealed, and got 67 in the freezer in about 30 minutes.

  We learned from YouTube.