By Joseph Robertia
Photos by Joseph Robertia, Redoubt Reporter. Rudy Bryant, of Bird Creek, scans the beach for signs of dimples while clamming just north of Clam Gulch on April 19. At minus 5.5 feet, the low tide was the lowest of the season. Below right, while most were small, there were numerous razor clams dug.
Redoubt Reporter
As the tide slipped farther and farther away, they began to descend.
At first it was just a handful of folks — dragging a spade in one hand and an empty bucket in the other, dressed in bright, water-repellent slickers or earth-toned hip boots. But before long there were several dozen people gathered at the water’s edge in Clam Gulch.
From cherry-cheeked children missing a day of school to dig for their first time, to silver-haired seniors who have come annually for decades, they walked with their heads down, scanning the black, sandy shoreline.
Rocks submerged just an hour before now stood high and dry, the neon pink, green and yellow anemones stuck to them with their tentacles pulled in and closed up tight to wait until the tide turned in a few hours.
These colorful creatures were not the center of attention, however. The beachcombers were after something much less obvious. They were searching for dimples in the wet sand — the telltale sign that a razor clam was not far below.
“It took awhile to figure out what they looked like, but the longer the tide has been out, the easier they are getting to spot,” said Hailey Whitney, of Sterling, a first-time clamdigger who was missing a day of school to take part in the event with her friend, Alicia McLelland, and her family.
“My dad said this was going to be the best tide of the year, so he didn’t want us to miss it,” Alicia said.
Her father was correct. April 19’s low tide was minus 5.5 feet, making it the lowest tide of the year, and the perfect opportunity to get to clam beds normally covered by the briny water of Cook Inlet.
For some, the cool, 40-degree air temperatures and water still carrying large chunks of ice make April a little too soon for clamming. The extreme low tide falling in the middle of the workweek kept others away. Yet the shining sun, clear sky and stunning backdrop of Mount Redoubt across the inlet came together to make a perfect day for the two to three dozen people who came out to dig.
“It doesn’t get much better than this,” said Mark Shamblin, of Kasilof. “I come whenever there’s a minus
The extreme low tide also exposed colorful anenomes not commonly seen on an average low tide.
tide. I’ve even been down here in October digging clams by lantern light, but on a day this beautiful and with so few people, you just can’t beat it. Next month at this time, there will be hundreds, maybe even thousands of people down here digging for them.”
In just over an hour Shamblin amassed nearly his full quota of clams — 60 razors per day is the bag limit.
“They’re in here,” he said. “You just gotta get after ’em.”
While most people were having the same success, Susan Moore, of Kasilof, said she was concerned about the runty razors she and others were getting.
“They’re so small,” she said. “I’ve been coming since ’79 and this year and last year were the worst I’ve seen it for size. We used to get big, fat, 5- to 6-inch clams. Now they’re all 2 to 3 inches. Even their dimples are small. They used to be the size of nickels. Now they’re more like the size of a pencil eraser.”
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, roughly 1 million razor clams are dug annually, and Moore is concerned that too much harvesting may be happening.
“It’s a shame to see all these small clams,” she said. “I really think they ought to close the beach for a few years, maybe five or so, to give the clams a chance to grow.”
Rudy Bryant, of Bird Creek, was another seasoned clamdigger, and he agreed the mollusks were miniscule this year.
“They’re plentiful, but it’s all cows and calves, not many bucks this year,” he said. “I’ve got around 45, and generally that would be a full bucket, but this year it’s barely half a bucket they’re so small.”
Still, Bryant said tiny clams are better than no clams.
“I’ve been coming down here annually at this time for the last 35 to 40 years. It’s all part of getting out of
While most were small, there were numerous razor clams dug.
the house and being outdoors. I go for whatever I can, clams first, then it’ll be halibut, then kings, silvers, ducks and big game. I do it all.”
Bryant still had time on the low tide and more clams left to his bag limit, but he said he was calling it a day with what he had already dug, since he knew digging was the easy part of harvesting razors.
“Back in my younger, hippy days, we’d stay a week and leave the beach with hundreds of clams,” he said. “Now I’m older and wiser, and even though 60 clams is the limit, 45 is about all I want to clean.”
