Post by: ac_156 on December 28, 2013, 12:49:07 PM
Post by: trophyhunt on December 28, 2013, 01:01:21 PM
Post by: TheFewTheProud on December 28, 2013, 01:01:37 PM
Post by: trophyhunt on December 28, 2013, 01:04:10 PM
Like this:yeah:
Post by: trophyhunt on December 28, 2013, 01:05:25 PM
Post by: ICEMAN on December 28, 2013, 01:14:12 PM
Gun or shovel, both work. We seldom damage a clam with a clamgun anymore, you just have to learn where to aim...
A long handled stick for whacking the sand is good.
Enjoy! Take a camera!
Post by: WSU on December 28, 2013, 01:17:22 PM
Face up the beach away from the ocean, put the gun around the show, and insert it as far as you can (preferably to the handle). You'll break a few until you get the hang of it, but I rarely break them now that I know what I'm doing.
Post by: Smossy on December 28, 2013, 01:18:29 PM
Just make sure you shave down the flat edge's along the bottom of the tube so it penetrates the sand with less resistance.
Also, PVC doesn't rust. We've bought 5 or so of the metal guns and even after being washed off with the hose when we get home, They still rust out, welds fail, and you loose your air tight seal.
Post by: Westside88 on December 28, 2013, 01:23:21 PM
Post by: pilebuck on December 28, 2013, 02:10:17 PM
Post by: Smossy on December 28, 2013, 02:13:14 PM
I use a pvc and a metal gun I like the pvc way better the shovel sucks in my opinion,And yes all ur digs coming up and will be dark make sure u put a strobe or a bright light to find your vehicle when its pitch black a bright strobe will let you see your vehicle if u don't mark it you could be roaming around for awhile ask me how I know good luck and make sure u have bright headlamps of good quality have fun :tup:We use strobe lights also :tup:
Post by: Gobble Doc on December 28, 2013, 07:55:46 PM
Agreed with the go early. The times posted are the low tide. You can start diging usually about 2-2.5 hours prior to that.
:yeah:
Post by: ac_156 on December 28, 2013, 08:06:06 PM
Post by: lokidog on December 28, 2013, 08:08:18 PM
Post by: ICEMAN on December 28, 2013, 08:09:26 PM
Only drawback of the nice stainless steel guns is their cost.
You will end up with stainless.
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on December 28, 2013, 08:21:40 PM
Post by: mainer78 on December 28, 2013, 09:20:57 PM
Post by: Sportfury on December 28, 2013, 11:23:45 PM
Post by: lokidog on December 29, 2013, 09:56:43 AM
Post by: Igottanewknee on December 29, 2013, 11:21:30 AM
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on December 29, 2013, 12:06:33 PM
I like the gun because you can dig closer to the surf line w/o worrying about getting as wet or a wave filling your hole.
LOL I like digging out in the surf. That's where the big clams live. No worries!
Post by: pilebuck on December 29, 2013, 12:16:47 PM
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on December 29, 2013, 08:33:19 PM
Post by: ac_156 on December 29, 2013, 09:22:48 PM
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on December 29, 2013, 09:24:39 PM
Post by: dreamunelk on December 29, 2013, 09:37:58 PM
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/howto_dig.html (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/howto_dig.html)
Or just google it. Or just go to youtube and search razor clam digging.
Post by: Sitka_Blacktail on December 29, 2013, 11:18:59 PM
First there is necking which can be divided into at least three categories. The first you will actually see the neck sticking out of the sand. It's rare, but I've seen beaches where multiple clam necks are sticking out of the sand and sometimes they are laying over on their sides like giant white worms. This seems to happen mostly in very sunny warm weather. The second version of necking is when just the tip of the clam neck is visible right at the surface of the sand. That was happening a lot today. The third version of necking is when you are digging in the surf. Sometimes the tip of the neck is visible and sometimes it's not, but there is enough of a disturbance in the surface of the sand that it creates a v shape in the water as the water runs back out after a wave comes in. At times you can see 10s of Vs as a wave rushes out.
Then there is the eruption, when a clam starts digging down is wet sand and they literally squirt water and sand into the air, sometimes quite high.
Sometimes, you won't be able to see a trace of a clam hole, but there will be little brown circles on top of the sand madeof the brown foam or diatoms that the clams feed on. Not a hole or dimple to be seen, but the clams are right there. We got a lot of those today too. One time I was digging commercially in Alaska with an old Mexican friend. The first couple days on one beach I was beating him by two or three 5 gallon buckets full each day. Then we moved to another beach and he was seeing something that I wasn't and he beat me by about 5 buckets. Turned out the clams were leaving a weird discharge that was whitish in color on the sand and looked a little like bird poo. He'd dug there before and knew what to look for and had his best day digging. That was the day we shared the beach with six brown bears who were busy digging for who knows what, worms, clams, crab?????? They were within 200 yards of us for 5 hours until our skiff floated again which was kind of unnerving. But they ignored us like we weren't even there even when we yelled at them. lol Maybe that was why I didn't do as good that day, busy watching my back side. That was on Switshak beach just north of where Tim Treadwell met his end at the hands of a brownie.
When you are surf digging, besides the necking, Vs, and the holes that appear when you pound, there are what I call ghost holes. When a wave comes in, it stirs up the sand making it impossible to see the bottom until the water slows down enough that the roiled sand sinks to the bottom again. This is an opportunity to pound a bit with the wood end of your shovel. (the wood end kicks up way less sand to block your view than the blade end in the water.) I've dug many clams in water as deep as a foot. You just have to be ready when things clear up and it doesn't last long until the water runs back out, roiling things up again. Now while you can't see the bottom very good through the stirred up sand, you get glimpses. And if you're pounding a clam hole will appear and disappear in a split second. It takes a knack to mentally mark where the hole is and then start digging it, even when you can't see it any more, but with practice, you can get pretty good at it. I was lucky enough to grow up when you could commercially dig at Iron Springs so I got lots of practice when I was a teenager. I also learned how to "mark" holes in my mind when they got covered up by a wave. Some you can mark with your shovel, then I might mark another with a foot, then I'd note if one is a few inches in a certain direction from one I'd already marked. You don't get them all, but you get enough of them to make a difference in how many you can get in a tide which is important to a commercial digger. And it's a skill that helps when the crowds of sport diggers hit the beaches and most of the easy clams are dug up. You can do good in the surf when people aren't getting their limits in the dry sand.
Post by: bigelk1030 on December 29, 2013, 11:24:13 PM
It was sunny and nice down there today, rare for December. Had to listen to the hawks on the radio, but worth it.
Gonna be some great eating. :)