What to wear digging for razor clams

Ever asked your friends to go digging for razor clams with you and tried to give advice about what to wear? Well, in this case, there was some miscommunication that I tried to correct, albeit a bit late…

It’s important to gear up properly for razor clams as your pursuit of the tasty bivalves will certainly take you close to and often standing in water. Especially on our trip this past weekend with a -.3 low tide where a significant part of the beach at that tide level was clammed out on Twin Harbors beach. You had to fight the water a bit to find any clams.

We ran into a local as we were leaving that was pretty unhappy with WDFW only opening the digs on the weekends.

Especially when there were good -1.5 ft tides earlier in the week with lots of clams to be had at that tide level.

However, at this point in the season a -.3 low tide does not reveal much of the beach where clams are still present. In fact, we passed dozens and dozens of people with empty clam nets.

Lesson learned, and logged in my fishing journal! For more tips like this, you can refer to our razor clam digging page. This page has more deep and comprehensive information on razor clam digging than you will find anywhere on the internet.

Typical rubber boots are a budget-conscious way to have some protection from the water. It’s important to tuck your pants into your boots and stay away from the sneaker waves that will roll in, surprise you, and go up to your knees sometimes.

A good pair of Muck Boots will not only keep you dry but also warm and are super comfortable. They are also quite versatile, and have a bit more grip on them for use on a boat or hiking in some marshy conditions.

A solid deck bib will also provide great protection from wet conditions when combined with any decent rubber knee boots.

A waterproof bib like this is also great for being on a boat fishing, crabbing, or shrimping. While you could go full-on waders, there are times when that’s overkill and also potentially dangerous when you don’t want to find yourself in a situation where your waders can fill with water if you end up taking the plunge.