Spring like razor clams!

Kerri and I dug razor clams today.....sunny, no wind and limits in 25 minutes! Low minus tide at 4:29, we started digging around 3:40 and on the road at 4:15. Fished for surf perch for about 1/2 hour but the tide was going out too fast. Fresh razors for dinner tomorrow!!

 

[Nick Clayton]

I only recently got into razors the last couple years and seriously regret not doing it sooner. A ton of fun to dig em. Cleaning is a bit of a hassle but those things are soooooo damn good it's totally worth it.

After using several cheap ones I sprung for a top end clam gun and it made life so much easier. People that are experienced with the old school shovels though are a pleasure to watch and man they can load up on clams quickly

 

[Buzzy]

Is this guy using salt? Is this a thing?

I have no idea what creature this headless person is salting out of the beach sand but I can't imagine what he's doing would be considered legal or ethical on this state's tidelands. Unless razor clams shed their shells I dont think we're looking at razors or it's another member of the family unbeknownst to me.

 

[Eastside]

I only recently got into razors the last couple years and seriously regret not doing it sooner. A ton of fun to dig em. Cleaning is a bit of a hassle but those things are soooooo damn good it's totally worth it.

After using several cheap ones I sprung for a top end clam gun and it made life so much easier. People that are experienced with the old school shovels though are a pleasure to watch and man they can load up on clams quickly

I watched my cousin on Long Beach Peninsula dig two clams in 14 seconds with his shovel. He grew up there. I was a lot slower! This was in early January and we were on the beach with 50+ mph wind. They are tasty. I ate the last of mine earlier this week.

 

[SteelHeadDave]

I have no idea what creature this headless person is salting out of the beach sand but I can't imagine what he's doing would be considered legal or ethical on this state's tidelands. Unless razor clams shed their shells I dont think we're looking at razors or it's another member of the family unbeknownst to me.

I’m thinking these are the east coast razor clam. Totally different deal.

Atlantic jackknife clam - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Stonedfish]

I’m thinking these are the east coast razor clam. Totally different deal.

Atlantic jackknife clam - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

We have them here as well, which I was unaware of until I found this one on a MA 9 beach.
SF

 

[SteelHeadDave]

We have them here as well, which I was unaware of until I found this one on a MA 9 beach.
SF

View attachment 101898

Whoa! I did not know that. Paging @Cabezon

 

[Cabezon]

Whoa! I did not know that. Paging @Cabezon

I don't know that much about razor clams, even in WA. It took some internet digging, but there are records (see here, table 1) of the similar jackknife clam (Ensis lees or E. americanus (invalid name) in Washington where it must be invasive. The jackknife clam has become an invasive pest in Europe. In some states, like Massachusetts, it is legal to use a salt solution to drive the clams to the surface (see here) for harvest. I do remember from growing up in the Boston area that we were warned about handling these because the sharp edges of the shell could cut a hand or fingers run along the edge of the shell.
Steve

 

[Smokey Bear]

“we were warned about handling these because the sharp edges of the shell could cut a hand or fingers run along the edge of the shell.”

Hence the name jackknife and razor.

 

[Stonedfish]

I don't know that much about razor clams, even in WA. It took some internet digging, but there are records (see here, table 1) of the similar jackknife clam (Ensis lees or E. americanus (invalid name) in Washington where it must be invasive. The jackknife clam has become an invasive pest in Europe. In some states, like Massachusetts, it is legal to use a salt solution to drive the clams to the surface (see here) for harvest. I do remember from growing up in the Boston area that we were warned about handling these because the sharp edges of the shell could cut a hand or fingers run along the edge of the shell.
Steve

Steve,
Good info. If invasive, I wonder how long they’ve been in our area. I found this reference about coastal tribes in BC harvesting them.
SF

Clams | Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America - Animals - Marine Invertebrates - Bivalves

 

[Cabezon]

Steve,
Good info. If invasive, I wonder how long they’ve been in our area. I found this reference about coastal tribes in BC harvesting them.
SF

Clams | Traditional Animal Foods of Indigenous Peoples of Northern North America - Animals - Marine Invertebrates - Bivalves

Hmmmm, I wonder about the thoroughness / accuracy of that link as there is NO mention of razor clams and I know that coastal tribes harvested razor clams as the shells have been found in clam middens (garbage heaps). One wonders if the authors are lumping both razor clams and jackknife clams together.
Steve

 

[Stonedfish]

Hmmmm, I wonder about the thoroughness / accuracy of that link as there is NO mention of razor clams and I know that coastal tribes harvested razor clams as the shells have been found in clam middens (garbage heaps). One wonders if the authors are lumping both razor clams and jackknife clams together.
Steve

Could be!
SF

 

[SteelHeadDave]

I found these fossilized clams earlier this year. They resemble small razor type clams. I wonder if they are an extinct species? I’ll have to do some internet digging.

 

[Stonedfish]

I found these fossilized clams earlier this year. They resemble small razor type clams. I wonder if they are an extinct species? I’ll have to do some internet digging.

View attachment 101912

Those are really cool. Could they also possibly be mussels?
SF

 

[Smokey Bear]

Those are really cool. Could they also possibly be mussels?
SF

I found these fossilized clams earlier this year. They resemble small razor type clams. I wonder if they are an extinct species? I’ll have to do some internet digging.

View attachment 101912

Those look like freshwater mussels. Very cool find! And nice digging pun! Where did you find them? No specifics, just curious if near the salt or inland?

 

[SteelHeadDave]

Those are really cool. Could they also possibly be mussels?
SF

Those look like freshwater mussels. Very cool find! And nice digging pun! Where did you find them? No specifics, just curious if near the salt or inland?

Hmm, after looking at some freshwater mussels you both might be onto something. They were found near saltwater.

 

[Smokey Bear]

Hmm, after looking at some freshwater mussels you both might be onto something. They were found near saltwater.

We have some property on the Little Klickitat river and it is loaded with them. Live one’s.

 

[Matt B]

Hmm, after looking at some freshwater mussels you both might be onto something. They were found near saltwater.

They look too squared off to be any of the three species of freshwater mussels that we have around here in the PNW nowadays, and given they were found near salt, it seems more likely they’re a saltwater species. But I don’t know. I just happen to be pretty familiar with freshwater mussels of the PNW.

 

[Gyrfalcon22]

Have been cleaning out sheds and nooks and crannies on our farm and have come across all the goods (and junk) of what 100 years of accumulation creates. I need to gather the clam guns up and check the conditions of them.
As a small kid those clam trips were cold and wet. I lost my love of this gray ocean on those very trips. I have to tell myself that fleece and neck gaiters and windproof gloves have come along ways. I am fine being cold anywhere but the thought of going to the coast in Winter to dig clams throws me back into a polar expedition 80 below freezing shiverfest.
Razor clams were treasured fare along with little wild blackberries and honeycomb straight from the hive to my grandparents.

 

[Gyrfalcon22]

These are the local freshwater clams/mussels in my locale

Looking for Freshwater Mussels in the Chehalis River Watershed

We are initiating an exciting new project to learn the distribution of freshwater mussels in the Chehalis River watershed. Western Washingto...

the-fish-files.blogspot.com

Indeed, the inner shells of the pearlshells are beautiful. Discards are nice finds in the stream gravels here.

 

[FinLuver]

I found these fossilized clams earlier this year. They resemble small razor type clams. I wonder if they are an extinct species? I’ll have to do some internet digging.

View attachment 101912

The Willamette River has a freshwater looking version of the coastal razor clam; also mussels too. Illegal to harvest either…the tribes might be able to.