Shellfish / Estuary Clam
Shellfish: Estuary Clam
Mya arenaria
In window now~142d left
Open
Year-round
No pronounced peak. Deep soft-mud estuary clam with only a mild cold-months firming; summer spawning softens it slightly.
signal · Bay water temp, salinity. (assumed)
Plate No. 040 · Finley & Bohlman
Abundant, low impact
Introduced long ago and well-established. Dig your fill, and refill the mud you turn.
The read
Brittle chalky shell, spoon-shaped hinge tooth. Deep in soft estuary mud.
The event: A deep minus tide on soft mud: a slow, deep dig.
Field notes
Deep in soft estuary mud, higher in the bay where it's muddiest, down 10–16 in. A slow, muddy dig: follow the siphon show and dig beside it, not on it, so you don't cut the neck.
Brittle, chalky, spoon-hinged shell that gapes a little even alive: the 'soft' is the shell, not the state. A keeper still resists and its neck retracts when touched; a limp clam that won't react is dead. Sweet, delicate meat. Arguably the best-eating estuary clam, the classic steamer and fry clam.
Thin, oval, dirty-white shell with a distinctive spoon-shaped tooth in the hinge. The gape at the siphon end is normal for the species, not a sign it's dead.
Shellfish license (12+). Its own daily limit, separate from the bay aggregate; confirm the current number with ODFW.
Confirm the area is open before you dig.
Purge to shed mud, then steam and eat by the peeled neck dipped in broth and butter, or bread the bellies and fry.
Where to find it
What we watch: live feeds
What informs Softshell Clam in particular. The shared feeds it reads (tides, weather, water temp) are the live feeds above.
No sources keyed specifically to Softshell Clam yet. See the shellfish sources →