Larger cockles can even be found feeding on the sand's surface. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays.About:Cockles are "hard shelled" clams and because of their stout shells, they do not have to bury as deeply as other common bay clams. Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. Most of the beach is very hard and rocky, but there are pockets of sand and gravel where littleneck clams can be found. ■ Shellfish: When crab are in season, this is a great place to wade for Dungies and dig up a few clams as well. ■ Season: Open all year for clams and oysters. ■ Location: East of Clallam Bay/Sekiu off Highway 112 near the mouth of Pysht River. This is also a launching point to boat-access beaches like Old Town and parts of Dungeness Spit. #CLAM TO HORSE CLAM TO GEO DUCK PATCH#Often closed for health reasons, the small 80-yard patch of public beach has notable cohorts of native littleneck clams, manila clams and butter clams. ■ Location: North of Sequim off Marine Drive. Right now, for example, the Clallam County beach is closed to butter clam harvest. ■ Shellfish: This is one of the better beaches in Clallam County for oysters, with several areas home to Fish and Wildlife plants.īutter clams and native littleneck clams are also abundant but often unharvestable because of health issues. ■ Season: Open May 1 through June 30 for clams and year-round for oysters. ■ Location: Four miles east of Sequim off U.S. The majority of the clams are located on the spit that runs west from the park.īutter clams are plentiful, and there are also spots for native littleneck clams and horse clams.Īgain, geoducks are said to be available in tidelands below the minus 2.0-foot level. ■ Shellfish: Clams are the focus of this beach, which is often susceptible to closures and health warnings. ■ Season: Open April 15 through July 31 for clams and oysters. ■ Location: Northern tip of Marrowstone Island. ■ Shellfish: This beach is all about clams, with native littleneck and manila clams present in the mid-high tidal zone.īutter clams and cockles can also be found, which I have done in the past.ĭiggers can also score geoducks at the Jefferson County beach on extreme low tides (minus 2.5 feet or lower). ■ Season: May 1 through July 31 for clams and oysters. ■ Location: Southeast of Port Hadlock/Irondale off Oak Bay Road. ■ Shellfish: The beach has a sizeable population of manila clams and small clams (minimum size is 1¼ inches at tidelands).Ī decent population of oysters also have been planted at this beach. 31 from official sunrise to sunset for clams and oysters. ■ Location: East of Quilcene off Linger Longer Road. Much like its Hood Canal counterpart to the north, one can also dig up the elusive geoduck on low tides below minus 2.0 feet. As a former commercial oyster beach, it’s also loaded with oysters. ■ Shellfish: Duckabush has good populations of clams, most notably manila clams. ■ Season: Open year-round for clams and oysters. ■ Location: A few miles south of Brinnon off U.S. It’s also been said that one can score geoducks in low tides below minus 2.0 feet. ■ Shellfish: Dosewallips is known to have great populations of manila littleneck clams and oysters. ■ Season: March 1 through July 31 for clams and year-round for oysters. ■ Location: Just south of Brinnon off U.S. Additional information is available on the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website (Dosewallips State Park Now, here’s a list of beaches that should produce clams and/or oysters in the summer. Just make sure to check in before each trip. You can always call the state Department of Heath at 36, or visit and click on “shellfish” under the heading “beach closures.” Plus, it’s pretty easy to stay on the ball concerning shellfish closures and health warnings as long as you have a telephone and/or internet connection. The tides can be quite favorable this time of year - next week’s low tides will dip below minus 3.0 feet in some areas - and it’s always more pleasant wading through cold water when it’s warmer than 50 degrees outside. That being said, I’ve had some good experiences digging clams during summer months. As far as the ‘R’ month crowd is concerned, shellfish season ends the day the calendar flips to May.Ĭlams and oysters are more likely to be harmful to consume and less likely to taste good even if they are safe to eat in the spring and summer, it’s said.
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