DESPITE GOOD WEATHER and tides for two of three recent days of digging at Kalaloch, razor clam diggers still struggled to find clams.
Results progressively improved during the President’s Day Weekend digs from Feb. 16-18, but limits weren’t common and clams were relatively small.
“It was not because of conditions, but because of low [population] densities and they weren’t showing,” Olympic National Park natural resource scientist Bill Baccus said.
Poor weather hampered efforts on Saturday, Feb. 16, according to Baccus.
“I was out at the digs and the first day, we didn’t have a great low tide, the weather was poor with a swell over 12 feet, so only the upper portions of the clam beds were reachable,” Baccus said.
He said counts showed 194 diggers averaged just 1.8 clams.
Better results and weather, improved the Sunday, Feb. 17 dig.
“A much better day,” Baccus said. “A beautiful day on the beach and the tide was quite a bit lower at -1.1 [feet]. We gained more than half a foot of tide and the sea swell was down to 9 feet. So that exposed larger portion of clam beds.”
Success rates were higher, but the 225 clammers counted only averaged four clams per person.
The last day of clamming provided excellent conditions for clamming, according to Baccus. Tides were -1.6 feet and the swell dipped below seven feet, exposing the majority of clam beds along the beach.
“Word was out,” Baccus said. “People had found out that success rates weren’t too high or they decided to go home for the weekend. We had 99 diggers on the beach and a little bit better success rate at six clams per person.
“Some folks were getting their limits. The ones that were getting higher numbers had success in a real early show in some of the more densely packed areas. Some got them three hours before low tide. They found a good concentration of them in one spot and went to work.”
Overall, Baccus said the average clam size of 3.5 inches was “quite small.”
More razor clam digs are tentatively approved for March, including three days of digging at Kalaloch on morning tides from March 22-24.
The proposed razor clam digs, along with low tides and beaches, are listed below:
• Saturday, March 16: 3:43 p.m.; 0.3 feet; Twin Harbors, Copalis (during the Ocean Shores Razor Clam Festival).
• Sunday, March 17: 4:43 p.m.; -0.2 feet; Twin Harbors (during the Ocean Shores Razor Clam Festival), Mocrocks.
• Thursday, March 21: 7:48 p.m.; -0.5 feet; Mocrocks.
Switch to a.m. tides.
• Friday, March 22: 8:14 a.m.; -0.2 feet; Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Kalaloch.
• Saturday, March 23: 9:01 a.m.; -0.3 feet; Twin Harbors, Copalis, Kalaloch.
• Sunday, March 24: 9:49 a.m.; -0.3 feet; Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Kalaloch.
• Saturday, April 6: 8:05 a.m.; 0.3 feet; Twin Harbors, Copalis.
• Sunday, April 7: 8:42 a.m.; 0.1 feet; Twin Harbors, Mocrocks.
• Monday, April 8: 9:20 a.m.; 0.0 feet; Mocrocks.
• Saturday, April 20: 7:58 a.m.; -1.1 feet; Long Beach (during the Long Beach Razor Clam Festival), Twin Harbors, Copalis.
• Sunday, April 21: 8:42 a.m.; -1.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks.
Monday, April 22: 9:25 a.m.; -1.0 feet; Twin Harbors Mocrocks
Fly Fishers meet
Sequim angler Dave Croonquist will speak at the March meeting of the Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishers on Monday.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Campfire USA Clubhouse, 619 E. Fourth St., at Webster Park in Port Angeles.
Croonquist has nearly 50 years of experience in fisheries and wildlife management. Croonquist will relate that experience with “how to communicate and influence those in a position to help with your issue, such as fishing at reasonable times and not when [Fish and Wildlife] finds convenient.”
