How to Dig Steamer Clams in Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay is a small cove off the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon coast that is about six miles long and includes the town of Tillamook and its 4,400 people. While the town is famous for rich cheeses and ice cream, Tillamook Bay, like many areas around the Oregon coast, is a good area for digging for steamer clams. Steamer clams have a continuous ring of circles and ridges on their shells and are always petite, from 1.5 to 2.5 inches.
Keep in mind that clamming is messy work no matter how carefully you dig!
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Things You'll Need
- Shellfish license
- Rubber boots
- Warm layers of clothing
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Bucket or net
- 11" inch stick
- Clamming shovel
Instructions
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Buy an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shellfish license from an grocery store or fishing supply store anywhere in Tillamook or on the Oregon coast. For residents, an annual license is $6.50, for visitors it's $16.50. Visitors also have the option of buying a three day visitors pass for $9.
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Visit the Saltwatertides website (saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/oregonsites.html.) This is a website that can tell you when and where the tides will be high or low. You should select the Tillamook Bay area from the list of locations for the Oregon coast, and then select the exact location that you intend to dig for clams: Barview, Garibaldi, Miami Cove, Bay City, Tillamook, or Hoquarten Slough. Select the month that you plan on digging and the days. Click on the button "get tides" and you will see a breakdown of the tides, both highs and lows, for the days you selected.
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Put on your boots and a couple layers of warm clothing and your hat. Winds can be strong by the Tillamook Bay regardless of season, and it can be quite chilly in the morning, though if it warms up, you can always remove some of your layers. Apply sunscreen to your face and exposed areas. Taking the bucket or net, walk onto the beach at low tide, looking for mudflats. A mudflat is a small hole in the sand that can range from a half inch to a full inch in diameter.
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Push your stick into the hole. If the stick hits something hard once it's halfway to three-quarters of the way into the hole, it's a steamer clam.
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Shove your clamming shovel directly underneath the mudflat and dig up all the sand beneath the hole. The clam should be visible. Pluck it out from its bed and place it in your bucket or net.
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