Geoduck

[WAcoueshunter]

I got out today too…couldn’t remember a -4.5, so had to go see for myself! 

[Alchase]

You guys a making me  here in Oklahoma 

[dc]

Many yrs ago, when I was 8 ish my dad told me his friend had a few geoducks for us.  I asked whats a geoduck?  He told me it was a duck that lived in the mud.  Made sense to me.  He said I better bring my short handled smelt net to catch a couple.  I was all in.  When we arrived at his friends house he told me to wait in the car and he would go talk to his buddy.  A few minutes went by (long enough for him to tell his buddy I was waiting with my net)  They come out of the house and get me.  They position me in front of the garage door and explained that when the door opened i was to hustle inside and net as many as i could before they flew out of the garage.  I was primed and ready.  Door opens I run in with eyes wide.  I imagine that I looked like John Belushi in animal house as he is going up the stairs to take the horse into Dean Fabers office.  As I scanned around for several seconds I notice a box of big clams sitting at my feet.  It was then I knew I had been duped.  LOL!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Cool looking critters.

[Alchase]

When I was young at our cabin on Hood Canal, we use to sneak up on them, and one person would stick their finger in the hole just after the squirted, and try to trap the neck against the hole.
Then the other would did like crazy around the hole until it was big enough to find the Geoduck.
We actually got pretty good at it.

But that was 40 years ago 

[253shotgunner]

Dang I want some geoduck chowder!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Actually, 2 ducks and a gaper on Wednesday.
One Geoduck today.

[LongBomb]

Call me imature or not civilized or whatever but nope not eating that.

[Jpmiller]

I've never been after them but I do dig in the ground for a living. What's an average sized one yield for meat? One enough for a meal?

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I've never been after them but I do dig in the ground for a living. What's an average sized one yield for meat? One enough for a meal?

They are the largest  clam,. One is enough for a meal for 2+

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Honestly, the measure of satisfaction from accomplishment is why I dig one a year.
.
I could dig 3 a day.
.
But I don't.
.
It's almost work.
Feels like work.
I hurt afterwards like it was work.
.
I feel satisfaction from completing it like work.
.
And am just lazy enough to not really want to do more (because it is work)
.
I just cannot help myself.
.
Would rather take manilla clams, shuck oysters, and catch crab.
.
Digging a Geoduck (to me) is like the difference between killing a deer, or an elk.
.
I feel a sense of accomplishment just being able to dig one.
.

[253shotgunner]

@Jpmiller
As a professional, what would you use to dig a hole three to four feet deep in various sandy and rocky conditions? I've seen people use shovels, post hole diggers, manual augurs, razor clam guns along with specialized geoduck tubes. What would you use? Thanks, 253sg

I've never been after them but I do dig in the ground for a living. What's an average sized one yield for meat? One enough for a meal?

[WAcoueshunter]

I've never been after them but I do dig in the ground for a living. What's an average sized one yield for meat? One enough for a meal?

The three I dug yielded 5.8 lbs of cleaned meat.  The yield is very high, mostly muscle and not a lot of guts. 

[storyteller]

Times have  really changed, 40 years ago on Dosewallips , you would never see even 100 people, the heirloom barrels were the  way to go, sit on it to shuffle in the  sand, then  stand on it  to finish  it to about 4 inches above the  mud.   You could even dig in the water with the barrel  as  it kept the water out of the hole.  Never a problem with limits, lots of ducks, the sheer population of Washington has impacted what we used to do like everything else.  Glad I did it back then

And yes, the thrill of the chase was the best part of the adventure.

[Jpmiller]

@Jpmiller
As a professional, what would you use to dig a hole three to four feet deep in various sandy and rocky conditions? I've seen people use shovels, post hole diggers, manual augurs, razor clam guns along with specialized geoduck tubes. What would you use? Thanks, 253sg

I've never been after them but I do dig in the ground for a living. What's an average sized one yield for meat? One enough for a meal?

Well my first choice would be an excavator 

Without having any experience my first choice would be a shovel. With any hole over a foot deep post hole diggers are a pain to do anything in, I like a bigger hole. I've never had to try to fish something out of a hole or find something in the ground and wished my hole was smaller but I've had lots of small holes I really wish I'd dug bigger. I assume the same is probably true for geoducks.