Washington Coast Clam Dig Dates in Dec, Jan, Feb

Published 12/22/23 at 3:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Washington Coast) – A last-minute holiday gift to razor clam fans has been handed out by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), with dates announced for this week, in January and in February. Razor clamming starts on December 26 in some areas, offering some pre-New Year's weekend fun.

Meanwhile, on the Oregon coast, clamming is open in most areas, except for the section of Cape Blanco (near Port Orford) down to Brookings.

WDFW shellfish biologist Bryce Blumenthal said it will be a chance to get out in nature before all the festivities and football watch parties.

Not every section of Washington coastline will be open to razor clamming: as usual, the locations are scattered around different dates. The digs are during afternoon and evening low tides (noon to midnight only).

Tuesday, December 26 sees Long Beach, Copalis and Twin Harbors open.

December 27, Mocrocks, Long Beach and Twin Harbors have their turns. The following day sees Long Beach, Copalis and Twin Harbors again, while on December 29 it's once more Mocrocks, Long Beach and Twin Harbors.

WDFW said you'll need to figure out your destination before heading to dig for the little morsel.

“Optimal digging occurs between one and two hours before the listed time of low tide,” WDFW said.

Also see More of Oregon Coast Commercial Crabbing Opens Up - Open now is about Manzanita to the south coast border

Full list of areas and dates is at the end of the article.

Testing done by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) showed biotoxins were below the threshold in many areas.

In this case, it is often domoic acid that hinders clam digs, a naturally-occurring biotoxin produced by some kinds of marine algae. Final approval by Washington coast officials is usually given within a week of the scheduled, tentative dates released.

During these razor clam digs, the daily limit is 15 per person, and each digger must keep their catch in a separate container. Also, all diggers must keep the first 15 clams, regardless of condition or size, in order to prevent waste.

“All diggers 15 or older must have an applicable fishing license to harvest razor clams on any beach,” WDFW said.

These can be purchased online at WDFW's licensing site.

WDFW is currently accepting comments from the public on alternative scheduling being considered for Copalis and Mocrocks in January and February. The public may email their feedback to razorclams@dfw.wa.gov.

FULL LIST OF OPEN DATES

Dec. 26, Tuesday, 6:18 p.m.; -0.9 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Dec. 27, Wednesday, 6:57 p.m.; -0.8 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Dec. 28, Thursday, 7:35 p.m.; -0.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Dec. 29, Friday, 8:11 p.m.; -0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks

Additional tentative dates in January and February:

Jan. 9, Tuesday, 5:02 p.m.; -0.7 feet; Long Beach, Copalis
Jan. 10, Wednesday, 5:46 p.m.; -1.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Jan. 11, Thursday, 6:28 p.m.; -1.5 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Jan. 12, Friday, 7:11 p.m.; -1.6 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Jan. 13, Saturday, 7:53 p.m.; -1.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Jan. 14, Sunday, 8:36 p.m.; -0.8 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Jan. 15, Monday, 9:19 p.m.; 0.0 feet; Mocrocks

Jan. 22, Monday, 4:28 p.m.; -0.1 feet; Mocrocks
Jan. 23, Tuesday, 5:13 p.m.; -0.3 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Jan. 24, Wednesday, 5:53 p.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Jan. 25, Thursday, 6:28 p.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Jan. 26, Friday, 7:01 p.m.; -0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Jan. 27, Saturday, 7:32 p.m.; 0.0 feet; Long Beach, Mocrocks
Jan. 28, Sunday, 8:02 p.m.; 0.4 feet; Copalis

Feb. 6, Tuesday, 3:52 p.m.; 0.0 feet; Mocrocks
Feb. 7, Wednesday, 4:41 p.m.; -0.7 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 8, Thursday, 5:26 p.m.; -1.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 9, Friday, 6:09 p.m.; -1.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Feb. 10, Saturday, 6:49 p.m.; -1.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Feb. 11, Sunday, 7:29 p.m.; -1.0 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 12, Monday, 8:08 p.m.; -0.3 feet; Long Beach, Copalis

Feb. 21, Wednesday, 4:56 p.m.; 0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Feb. 22, Thursday, 5:33 p.m.; 0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks
Feb. 23, Friday, 6:05 p.m.; 0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 24, Saturday, 6:34 p.m.; 0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis
Feb. 25, Sunday, 7:02 p.m.; 0.4 feet; Long Beach, Mocrocks

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted