You can see your breath and hear the crunch of the earth beneath your feet. That bitter cold air that can only be described as crisp. It was early morning and the sun was barely above the horizon. We were heading down to Napeague to go long clamming. We had checked the tide and it was on the way out,perfect. I had my rake and a wire basket. The handle on that rake was no more than two foot long and the five tines were almost eight inches in length. It was a fine rake. The wire basket was really for scalloping but doing double duty. Dad assured me that would be all we needed.
It was a short drive to get get where we wanted to be. It was rather difficult getting in and out of the car because I had so many layers of clothing on. Long underwear,thermals Dad called them,pants and coveralls. Several sweaters and a heavy coat. Insulated gloves and big rubber coated gloves to go over those. I had my hood pulled up ( not a neighborhood,an actual hood ) and of course big rubber boots. Looked more like an astronaut trying to make a fashion statement than some one going to do some recreational clamming. I was ready !
Arriving at the beach we gathered our rakes and baskets and set off down the shoreline. You want to walk slowly along and look for the telltale holes in the mud. There is that thin layer of ice clinging desperately to any little high spots of sea grasses that makes an interesting contrast against the black mud. Step on them and you hear that crunch. Walking in the mud you can feel the suction wanting to remove your boot. When it is really cold the mud will firm up to a consistency sufficient to hold your weight without getting stuck in it. When you see a small hole in the mud that is where you want to dig. Put your rake a few inches ahead of that hole and sink it deep. Pull back toward you while lifting up at an angle. With luck you will find the prize, a long clam. I've heard them called snouts and manoes. In polite company we called them long clams but among ourselves we called them " piss clams." The reason for that name is simple. A long clam has a long snout that sticks out of it's shell. When you pick one up they will sometimes shoot a stream of water out of the end of that snout. Hilarious stuff when you are younger or a fan of bathroom humor.
While I enjoy eating these clams I must confess I'm not a big fan of digging them. It's cold and hard on the back. In no time at all my hands would be so cold I couldn't hardly move my fingers. And there was always the problem of the runny nose situation. I'm sure you know what I mean . Being out in the cold,especially when bent over,tends to make a certain substance flow. Very unpleasant. And your hands are cold,glove covered and using a handkerchief or tissue is just impossible ! Sniff,sniff,sniff ! I hate that,very annoying.
Didn't stop me from going though and I would still go to this day if I were able.
Getting the catch home it was all worth it. We would steam them up and serve them with melted butter. Pry that shell open and grab that rascal by the snout. Yank it loose from the shell. Now that snout has a covering over it that must be removed before eating. Just pinch it near the shell end and pull. The outer layer will come right off. Hold that clam by the now fresh clean snout ,dip it in that bowl of butter and enjoy. In local jargon, " some good,Bub "
You may wonder why didn't you go in the warm weather to get these clams ? Well,you can't. They are only good to eat in the cold weather. In all the years that I did this clamming I never asked why that was. I always just took peoples word for it. My parents,Grandparents and Great Grand Parents all said so,so it must be true. Probably because it would be like taking something out of the refrigerator. A food that must be kept cool. Makes sense to me. I have purchased them at seafood stores. I like them but they don't have the same fresh flavor as the ones you dig yourself. Believe me, after you almost freeze to death getting them you really do enjoy them more ! I always steamed them but you can fry them too. Dip them in a batter and make a fritter ! A good friend of my Dad always said, " ain't nothing better than a long clam sandwich." I haven't seen any on a menu yet. I'll keep an eye out though.
It was a short drive to get get where we wanted to be. It was rather difficult getting in and out of the car because I had so many layers of clothing on. Long underwear,thermals Dad called them,pants and coveralls. Several sweaters and a heavy coat. Insulated gloves and big rubber coated gloves to go over those. I had my hood pulled up ( not a neighborhood,an actual hood ) and of course big rubber boots. Looked more like an astronaut trying to make a fashion statement than some one going to do some recreational clamming. I was ready !
Arriving at the beach we gathered our rakes and baskets and set off down the shoreline. You want to walk slowly along and look for the telltale holes in the mud. There is that thin layer of ice clinging desperately to any little high spots of sea grasses that makes an interesting contrast against the black mud. Step on them and you hear that crunch. Walking in the mud you can feel the suction wanting to remove your boot. When it is really cold the mud will firm up to a consistency sufficient to hold your weight without getting stuck in it. When you see a small hole in the mud that is where you want to dig. Put your rake a few inches ahead of that hole and sink it deep. Pull back toward you while lifting up at an angle. With luck you will find the prize, a long clam. I've heard them called snouts and manoes. In polite company we called them long clams but among ourselves we called them " piss clams." The reason for that name is simple. A long clam has a long snout that sticks out of it's shell. When you pick one up they will sometimes shoot a stream of water out of the end of that snout. Hilarious stuff when you are younger or a fan of bathroom humor.
While I enjoy eating these clams I must confess I'm not a big fan of digging them. It's cold and hard on the back. In no time at all my hands would be so cold I couldn't hardly move my fingers. And there was always the problem of the runny nose situation. I'm sure you know what I mean . Being out in the cold,especially when bent over,tends to make a certain substance flow. Very unpleasant. And your hands are cold,glove covered and using a handkerchief or tissue is just impossible ! Sniff,sniff,sniff ! I hate that,very annoying.
Didn't stop me from going though and I would still go to this day if I were able.
Getting the catch home it was all worth it. We would steam them up and serve them with melted butter. Pry that shell open and grab that rascal by the snout. Yank it loose from the shell. Now that snout has a covering over it that must be removed before eating. Just pinch it near the shell end and pull. The outer layer will come right off. Hold that clam by the now fresh clean snout ,dip it in that bowl of butter and enjoy. In local jargon, " some good,Bub "
You may wonder why didn't you go in the warm weather to get these clams ? Well,you can't. They are only good to eat in the cold weather. In all the years that I did this clamming I never asked why that was. I always just took peoples word for it. My parents,Grandparents and Great Grand Parents all said so,so it must be true. Probably because it would be like taking something out of the refrigerator. A food that must be kept cool. Makes sense to me. I have purchased them at seafood stores. I like them but they don't have the same fresh flavor as the ones you dig yourself. Believe me, after you almost freeze to death getting them you really do enjoy them more ! I always steamed them but you can fry them too. Dip them in a batter and make a fritter ! A good friend of my Dad always said, " ain't nothing better than a long clam sandwich." I haven't seen any on a menu yet. I'll keep an eye out though.
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| A mess of clams with that melted butter ! |
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