06-07-2008, 11:10 AM
NEWPORT - Can you dig it? Yes you can! With some of the lowest tides of the year and Oregon's Free Fishing Weekend, it's a great time to try your hand at harvesting clams.
<br>Free Fishing Weekend, June 7 and 8, is your opportunity to try fishing, clamming and crabbing anywhere in the state, without having to buy a license. We hope you'll discover a sport that you'll want to do again and again. If you have a friend who's never fished before, this is your opportunity to introduce him or her to a great outdoor activity.<br>
<br>A minus tide series with the lowest tides of the year happens this week. June 4 and 5 will have tides of -3.0 near Newport, the lowest of the year. Friday is almost as low at a -2.7 shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday have low tides of -2.1 and -1.3 around 10 a.m. and 10:45.<br>
<br>To find out how and where to dig clams or drop a crab trap, check out the recreational shellfishing pages on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Web site at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/. They contain everything you need to know for identifying and harvesting Oregon's shellfish.<br>
<br>Here are a few good clamming areas along the Oregon coast:<br>
<br>Alsea Bay: Cockle, softshell clams
<br>Coos Bay: Gaper, cockle, softshell, butter and littleneck clams
<br>Coquille River near Bandon: Softshell clams
<br>Nehalem Bay: Softshell clams
<br>Nestucca Bay: Softshell clams
<br>Netarts Bay: Gaper, butter, cockle, littleneck, razor
<br>Suislaw River, near Florence: Softshell, gaper, pittock, cockle clams
<br>Tillamook Bay, Gaper, littleneck, butter, cockle, razor, softshell clams
<br>Umpqua River: Gaper, softshell clams
<br>Yaquina Bay: Gaper, cockle, butter, softshell clams<br>
<br>The recreational harvest of all shellfish, including all clams and mussels, is open coast wide but harvesters should check for current closures on the ODA shellfish safety page at http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/FSD/shellfish_status.shtml or call the shellfish hotline, 503-986-4728 or 1-800-448-2474. Waters can be closed on short notice because of contaminated waters due to coastal flooding and because of elevated levels of naturally occurring toxins.
<br>Free Fishing Weekend, June 7 and 8, is your opportunity to try fishing, clamming and crabbing anywhere in the state, without having to buy a license. We hope you'll discover a sport that you'll want to do again and again. If you have a friend who's never fished before, this is your opportunity to introduce him or her to a great outdoor activity.<br>
<br>A minus tide series with the lowest tides of the year happens this week. June 4 and 5 will have tides of -3.0 near Newport, the lowest of the year. Friday is almost as low at a -2.7 shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday have low tides of -2.1 and -1.3 around 10 a.m. and 10:45.<br>
<br>To find out how and where to dig clams or drop a crab trap, check out the recreational shellfishing pages on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Web site at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish/. They contain everything you need to know for identifying and harvesting Oregon's shellfish.<br>
<br>Here are a few good clamming areas along the Oregon coast:<br>
<br>Alsea Bay: Cockle, softshell clams
<br>Coos Bay: Gaper, cockle, softshell, butter and littleneck clams
<br>Coquille River near Bandon: Softshell clams
<br>Nehalem Bay: Softshell clams
<br>Nestucca Bay: Softshell clams
<br>Netarts Bay: Gaper, butter, cockle, littleneck, razor
<br>Suislaw River, near Florence: Softshell, gaper, pittock, cockle clams
<br>Tillamook Bay, Gaper, littleneck, butter, cockle, razor, softshell clams
<br>Umpqua River: Gaper, softshell clams
<br>Yaquina Bay: Gaper, cockle, butter, softshell clams<br>
<br>The recreational harvest of all shellfish, including all clams and mussels, is open coast wide but harvesters should check for current closures on the ODA shellfish safety page at http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/FSD/shellfish_status.shtml or call the shellfish hotline, 503-986-4728 or 1-800-448-2474. Waters can be closed on short notice because of contaminated waters due to coastal flooding and because of elevated levels of naturally occurring toxins.