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7

King of the Clam Gun

As springtime moves into high gear, the best low tides of the season bring a bounty of seafood close at hand. Oregon’s beaches are popular year-round destinations for many reasons, but in Clatsop County there’s a famous sandy stretch at Fort Stevens State Park that turns into “Clam Heaven” for thousands of people who show up to dig their suppers from the sea.

Local resident Steve Fick likes to say, “When the tide goes out, the dinner table is set—with razor clams!” Fick grew up in Astoria and he really digs this recreation: “Oh, Grant, there are clams galore this season—one of the best, most plentiful clam ‘sets’ in recent history. The biologists say the harvest could exceed 1 million clams. Wow, huh?” That much is certain, but if you or the kids have never dug this sport—how do you get started?

Each razor clam digger is allowed a limit of fifteen clams.

Fick handed me a “clam gun,” the tool of choice for beginners learning the ropes of clam digging. It was a hard plastic tube, with a covered top that has a handle built into it, plus there is a small hole on the top so that the tube acts like a siphon.

You press the tube or “gun” down into the soft sand up to 3 feet deep, and then place your thumb over the hole, lift, and pull the tube full of sand—and hopefully, the razor clam—back up to the surface. “Try that clam hole right there, Grant,” advised Fick. He pointed to a small, quarter-sized dimple in the sandy surface. “The clam’s neck is just under that dimple. It’s a giveaway sign that there’s a clam down there. Go for it!”

Clam digging is an Oregon family tradition because it’s so easy, anyone can dig a limit.

And so I did—the tube easily slid down the hole’s length, then I covered it and lifted the heavy tube full of sand that held a dandy 4-inch-long razor clam. The entire process was slick, so easy that anyone can do it! In recent years, razor clam digging has only improved. At Bell Buoy of Seaside, a seafood specialty store, Jon Hartill said his workers clean and vacuum-pack more than 800 pounds of razor clams each week during a season stretching from April through July. He added that the hand-work techniques for cleaning and processing the clams hasn’t changed in decades. “This is a pretty old, traditional way of doing it—all by hand and nothing fancy here,” noted Hartill. “Sixty percent of our clams go to restaurants and they want a consistent size so that’s usually eleven or twelve clams to the pound.”

Bell Buoy also sells fresh clams to the public as fast as they are placed in the cooler. In fact, the store is the only Oregon processor of fresh razor clams. “I think there is a huge demand for razor clams—especially in Portland,” added Hartill. “I think people taste these Oregon clams that are so sweet and tender and that immediately takes them to the beach. It’s kind of neat that way.”

Each spring, more than 800,000 razor clams are harvested off 18 miles of shoreline between Seaside and the Columbia River. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Matt Hunter is a shellfish biologist who monitors the size, age, and quality of the daily commercial clam catch. Hunter said that Mother Nature delivered a record amount of razor clams to the Oregon coast in recent years: “We seem to be setting new records of abundance each year! The ocean currents are right and the productivity of the ocean seems better and we get this tremendous set of clams on our beaches. Plus, we’ve had mild winters in the past ten years and that helps overall clam survival. People will have no problem digging their limits of fifteen razor clams!”

Back on the beach—near the Peter Iredale shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park, Paul Watt said that one man’s recreation is actually his “research.” “I love coming out here on a minus low tide to dig on the sandbars that are revealed—it’s really good clamming when that happens.” Watt doesn’t mind wading knee-deep through chilly saltwater so he can try out his latest clam gun model that takes the strain out of the sport. You see, Watt designs and builds the popular tools that many folks use to catch their supper from the sea.

“Clam digging is really addicting,” said Watt. “You never know if it’ll be a big one or a little one—it’s just a lot of fun and I love it!” Watt is a structural engineer by education and a welder by trade, but the lifelong “coastie” has earned a nickname over the past 3 decades: “King of the Clam Gun” for the innovative clam guns that he creates.

Inside his welding shop in Bay City, Oregon, he cuts out the parts, shapes the tubes, and attaches the handles, but he doesn’t use plastic or aluminum—rather, Watt prefers stainless steel: “The stainless is very thin and yet it’s strong enough to stand up to the pushing and pulling through thick sand. Plus, it’s really a slick metal so it goes into the sand easier.” And if you’re a clam digger, “easier” equals more efficient use of your energy as you lift out several pounds of sand with each pull of the clam gun.

Watt has added a new feature to his clam gun that really takes the strain out of the sport. Diggers have long complained that the clam gun’s sand vacuum slows them down and leads to sore backs as they struggle to lift the sand-filled guns. So Watt has added a tiny release valve near the bottom of the gun that’s made the sport easier than ever: “You’re in the water digging and the tiny valve breaks the vacuum that is created when you push the gun down. So when you pull it up, the valve opens and releases the sand vacuum and it’s easier to pull.”

He’s also built a shorter and lighter child’s model, so youngsters can easily dig a limit too. And what does Watt like to do with all those daily limits of delicious razor clams: “We broil ’em in the oven. Put a little breading on each and the flavor stays—just 5 minutes or less under the broiler and they are perfect.” Watt’s recipe is absolutely delicious and provides a fine way to round out the day’s adventure. You should know that good clamming tides occur each May and June. If you choose to go, check your tide table and plan your visit at least 2 hours before the low tide.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife manages the clam resource and there are important rules and regulations to note: a state shellfish license is required for clam diggers 14 and older. Each clam digger must dig their own limit of fifteen razor clams and you cannot put any back. Remember: even if you break a shell or dig a small clam, the first fifteen you dig you must keep. Clam map brochures are available at many Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife offices or you can go to their website and download the maps to take with you when you visit the coast (dfw.state.or.us; search on “clam maps”). You can purchase Paul Watt’s clam guns directly from his shop, Watt Welding (9815 9th Street, Bay City, OR; 503-377-2225), and from Englund Marine and Industrial Supply in Astoria.

7A Fort Stevens State Park

Where: 100 Peter Iredale Road, Hammond, OR 97121

Web: oregonstateparks.org

Phone: 503-861-3170 x21; 800-551-6949

7B Bell Buoy of Seaside

Where: 1800 S Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138

Web: bellbuoyofseaside.com

Phone: 503-738-2722; 800-529-2722

Watch the Episode: traveloregon.com/DigforDinner