The "other" clams

Anybody got tips for the “other” clamming: butter aka Washington and little-necks?

http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Saxidomas.htm http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Protothaca.htm

Thought you might be talking about the ever elusive bearded clam! Sorry I'm not of much help.

Maybe someone else has them dialed. 

-Eliot

Thought you might be talking about the ever elusive bearded clam! Sorry I'm not of much help.

Maybe someone else has them dialed. 

-Eliot

You...dirty mind...like me 

I've dug Washingtons at Tomales. You look for a "keyhole" shaped  siphon hole. They are great for frying or chowder.
 As a kid my family would often dig Horseneck, Washington, and rake-up some steamers on a clam outing.

I've done really well on butter clams in Humboldt Bay.  Areas of sand mixed with rocks were the best places to look.  Sometimes you can find them underneath rocks you lift over.  We got a lot of butters and gapers (horsenecks) this way, along with a few littlenecks and rock cockles.

Found this interesting:

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt6b69n865/

I've dug Washingtons at Tomales. You look for a "keyhole" shaped  siphon hole. They are great for frying or chowder.
 As a kid my family would often dig Horseneck, Washington, and rake-up some steamers on a clam outing.

That sounds awesome! Were you raking the steamers at tomales? I've done it a few times on a trip in oregon where the clamming is crazy good but never tried locally. What kind of conditions would you look for to rake steamers in tomales?

Thanks for the tips!

-Eliot

Thought you might be talking about the ever elusive bearded clam! Sorry I'm not of much help.

Maybe someone else has them dialed. 

-Eliot

You...dirty mind...like me 

Dirty minds... I prefer the brazilian clam.

That sounds awesome! Were you raking the steamers at tomales? I've done it a few times on a trip in oregon where the clamming is crazy good but never tried locally. What kind of conditions would you look for to rake steamers in tomales?

You want a area that has gravel and small rocks.

Moss Landing has a small population of Washingtons if you know where to look.  They also have soft shell clams (my personal favorite), Gaper clams, basket cockles, and littlenecks (another personal favorite).  Man, I need to hit up that place soon.

Without giving away your spots, can you describe generally the type of place to look for each of those clam types, what gear you need to successfully harvest some, and share a word or two on technique?

Thanks!

PM

Moss Landing has a small population of Washingtons if you know where to look.  They also have soft shell clams (my personal favorite), Gaper clams, basket cockles, and littlenecks (another personal favorite).  Man, I need to hit up that place soon.

Speaking of the clams at Moss Landing, I used to dig for inkeeper worms as well as other worms found there. On occasions I have accidently dug up clams, but never kept them for consumption for the fact that the PG&E plant is right there lol.

Sorry to ask this naive question, but is it safe to consume the clams there?

Yeah, I was concerned about that as well but that plant is natural gas power plant.  Not really an issue but all the farmland runoff and harbor pollution had me concerned.  Before I started clamming there I called up DFG's specialists on contaminated sea food.  Oddly enough they called me back within minutes from (Sacramento office too) and I talked to them for a while about it.  They said that the ones they studied there showed slight contamination and were safe for consumption.  They said and I quote "A meal of clams from there is fine and you would have to eat clams from there everyday for the rest of your life to see any damage.  If you were to do that you might get liver cancer way down the line."  I'm not really worried about it b/c I only go there like once a year if that. 

Funny thing though, I won't eat fish from the bay and C&R like 99% of my bay fish (using barbless hooks and lip grippers).  Now those fish are polluted.

Eric, thanks for the info on Moss Landing power plant and the safety of eating shellfish outta that area.

Btw, I realized I knew who you were after I looked carefully at your avatar pic. Thas an impressive catch my friend