Ocean shores beach fishing & razor clams?

[Gwendylyn]

Hello All!

I just booked a weekend in Ocean Shores for the family & had a few questions about fishing there. I haven't been there since I was a kid & just can't remember where we fished. Can you fish on any public beach or are there certain areas you have to stay within? I'm hoping to get the kids into some surf perch. I would love to get out on the jetty as well but I think would be too worried about watching the kids to do any actual fishing. Is there anywhere else around there to go for rock fish?

I saw that there is also a "tentative" razor clam dig for the 18th & 19th. Is a "tentative" date good enough to plan on digging? I haven't been clam digging since I was a kid either but think I remember the basics. We have a few of the tubes, shovels & buckets. Good enough?

Thanks guys!

[Toni]

Did you see this?
http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/vi ... 37&t=19053

[Gwendylyn]

Sure did! It's a great video & actually what got me thinking about going

[kzoo]

Tentative means they still need to do final sampling and testing before they open the dig. Just precautions, but they haven't shut down a dig since I started razor clamming, 2004.

As for booking a place, bad weather has more chance of deterring the trip. I typically book as late as possible, most places will not refund your money if you cancel the last few days.

[Gwendylyn]

Already booked... If we can't dig, we will just fish. I just wasn't sure if you could fish anywhere on the beach or if there are specific areas you have to stick to.

[Shad_Eating_Grin]

Already booked... If we can't dig, we will just fish. I just wasn't sure if you could fish anywhere on the beach or if there are specific areas you have to stick to.

Keep the kids off the North Jetty at Ocean Shores. That is a steep jetty and the rocks are slick when they are wet.

There are some rock riprap shorelines further inward towards the bay, which may be safer fishing for kids.

I typically fish off the open ocean beaches (same spots where people go clamming). You want to look for dips/holes/dropoffs during low tide, and then fish these spots during high tide. Also try driving around and looking for likely good spots. The lesser the wave action = the deeper the spot. More wave action = shallow spots.

Do not under any circumstances wade into the surf. Maybe ankle deep or shin deep may be OK. I have been knocked over by surprise waves many times, when I was merely standing ankle deep. Be extremely careful out there--every year I seem to read about a clammer/fisher drowning in Ocean Shores.