About Clams
 Clams can be Harvested All Year
The colder months are generally better because clams are susceptible to bacteria in summer months. They are high in protein and a good source for calcium. And best of all, they taste great. Tips for people buying fresh clams instead of harvesting.
Best Clamming Practices
Harvest only what you need
And know the cooking preparation for the species you intend to dig before you go out. There are several recipes on this site ranging from appetizers to dips to chowders to the main course.
Know your "Clam Shows"
This helps assure you’re digging the species of clam intended. Experience in the same areas and with species is the best way to decipher the differences in "clam shows." Depending on what type of meal you’re preparing, you’ll probably want to harvest only one species of clam. Biology of the clam.
Dig Carefully
Think about your technique for digging clams. Many species are easily broken, causing a dangerous situation for your fingers and additional cleaning work. Many diggers prefer to dig close to the depth of the clam and then do the remaining work carefully with their hands. Unbroken butter, cockle, and littleneck clams can be returned as these species have the ability to dig themselves back in. Gaper and softshell clams are incapable of adequately digging back to their needed depth once removed and therefore illegal to return.
Keep Off the Grass
Eelgrass provides essential habitat for a number of fish and invertebrates. Avoiding areas of eelgrass is fairly easy as it tends to be patchy within clam beds. Once dug up or trampled, it can no longer provide habitat. So ... look for gaps. Eelgrass beds usually have breaks where digging is easiest and best.
Refill the Holes
Digging clams can often require the movement of a significant amount of sand. When piled up mud and sand can hinder the access to the surface of other clams below. Simply pushing the material back in the hole eases the impact on the clam bed for your next trip.
So you like the clams do you?
 There are a combination of factors one must know when first learning to dig clams.
For example: what kind of meal are you going to prepare? What kind of clams you are going to dig? What area will you dig? What tools do you need to successfully extract quality clams? Seems fairly simple, right?
Let's find out.
Q. What kind of meal do you want to prepare?
A. Determining the kind of meal you're after will establish which kind of clam to dig because different recipes call for different kinds of clams.
1) Since there are too many delicious clam dishes to choose from, starting with the basics seems the easiest: Appetizers | Chowders and Soups | Dip and Sauce | Main Course
Q. What kind of clams are you going to dig?
A. For recreational clamming, let's break down the kinds of clams into two categories:
1) Bay Clams - this is more of a generic term which represents all of the more popular clams. For now, consider these five types of clams to be Bay Clams: Butter | Cockles | Gapers (Empire) | Littlenecks | Softshells
2) Razor Clams - many things are different for the Razor so it gets a category all to itself: Pacific Razor Clam
Q. Where will you go digging for clams?
A. Now that you know which meal you're going to prepare, and what kind of clam you need, the rest is duck soup, so to speak. Find clams in Florence or Oregon coast.
If You are Purchasing Shucked Clams
They need to be plump, smell fresh, and feel heavy for their size. They should be stored in a porous bag made of burlap or other natural material in the refrigerator. Avoid those with an ammonia aroma. The clam juice should be clear with no shell fragments.
Clams Still in the Shell Must be Sold Live
Storing clams in sealed plastic or under water will kill them. Discard any dead clams before cooking. Here are some ways to check: open shells that do not close when tapped; if you can feel the clam jiggle from side to side while shaking; for any clam that cannot close the siphon within the shell, you can touch it. If it doesn't move, it's dead. One last test is putting them in a pan of water. If one floats, toss it.
Do Not Feeze Clams in Their Shell
To freeze clams, shuck them, and save their liquid. Rinse with salt water (1 tablespoon of salt to 1 quart of water). Place in a container with the clam juice. If needed add additional salt water so they are completely covered. Frozen clams will last up to three months at 0 degrees F. Thaw frozen clams in the refrigerator, and never refreeze them.
Store Cooked Clams in a Covered Container
in the refrigerator up to four days. Freezing is not recommended for cooked clams as they will become extremely tough and rubbery.
Clams Belong to a Group of Animals Called Bivalves
Bivalves also includes mussels, oysters, and scallops. The soft body parts of these animals are enclosed between two shells; hence, the word bivalve. Bivalves are closely related to limpets, abalone, snails, slugs, squids, and octopuses. These animals, including bivalves, are collectively called mollusks.
There are over 2,000 varieties of clams and have been used as a food source since prehistoric times.
Larval Clams Drift for a Long Time
before settling so the location where a particular larva ends up may be many miles from its parents. Many people assume that, if they transplant adult clams to their beach, they will soon populate the beach with clams. If the transplants survive and spawn, the resulting offspring will likely be scattered for several miles. A successful set of young clams on any particular beach depends on a mass spawning of adult clams in a very large area, and on survival on the beach in large numbers.
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