Among my happy childhood memories, one of my favorites is the times my brothers and I went clamming with out grandparents out on the ocean shores. (And in Ocean Shores, a town I’ve always liked.) Even though I was never very good at it–how embarassing is it to discover you’ve been outwitted by a clam?–I always enjoyed being out in the fresh air and digging frantically to try and capture the wily Pacific razor clam. It’s been years since I’ve gone but lately I’ve been thinking about going again.

It’s not quite razor clam season yet–the last one closed back in May and the next one won’t open til October or so–but it’s never too early to be prepared. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is hosting a series of public meetings in clamming areas to discuss issues relating to clamming–for the public to provide their input into the program, carefully managed by the state, and for the state to reveal their findings about the razor clam stock assessment for the coast. (It’s looking really good. The WDFW coastal shellfish manager says that the number of harvestable clams has increased on four of five beaches.) If you’d like to attend on of these meetings, check the WDFW site for details on meetings in Long Beach, Westport, Ocean Shores, Fife, and Forks.

If you want to learn more about razor clams and clamming rules, regulations, and how-tos, the WDFW offers this information, too, on their razor clam pages. I highly recommend getting yourself a shovel and a stack of sand and practicing the digging technique they illustrate way in advance of going because while it looks easy enough in theory, it takes a lot of practice in practice to capture yourself some clams. (You can also use a cylindrical can or tube but this takes even more practice to get right and I wouldn’t suggest this for an inexperienced clammer.) Razor clams are totally easy to clean and cook and make a tasty treat, as well.