GOTTA GETTA GEODUCK? You’ll need teamwork, tenacity, buckets, shovels and snorkels to go after the wily, gargantuan bivalve.

HOOD CANAL

• Triton Cove State Park on Highway 101 near the county line is open all year for clams and oysters. Clam population is low, however.

• Tidelands at Eagle Creek are open for oysters all year but closed for clams. Be sure to observe boundaries. A small parking area is across the highway from Eagle Creek Tavern.

• Lilliwaup State Park, a strip of beach north of Lilliwaup Creek, is accessible by a stairway from Highway 101. It’s open year-round for clams and oysters, though the rocky beach makes clamdigging difficult.

• North Hoodsport Hatchery Beach is open for boat-in shellfish, but the state cautions that shellfish harvest should be limited to the extreme north end of the beach, four-tenths of a mile north of the hatchery, and that all shellfish from this beach should be cooked. South of the hatchery, the beach is closed.

• The beach at Cushman Park, across from the Tacoma Power hydro plant, is open year-round for clams and from March 1 through December 31 for oysters.

• A state beach at Potlatch is actually three adjacent beaches comprising nearly a mile of tidelands: Potlatch State Park, DNR Potlatch and Potlatch State Park East. Tidelands, which have been enhanced with seeded clams and oysters by state and Skokomish tribal fisheries, are open for oysters and clams April 1 through August 31. Note: The only land access allowed is from Potlatch State Park; there is no parking along Highway 101 south of the park.

• The beach at Twanoh State Park has been closed to shellfishing due to high pollution. A new sewer system has been installed, but no reopening has been announced.

• Part of the beach at Belfair State Park was reported open for clams (May-December) and oysters (year round) at press time, but the east section of the beach is closed to harvest. Be sure to check current status.

• On the east shore of Hood Canal, a DNR beach at Rendsland Creek near Bald Point is open all year for oysters and from January 1 through June 15 for clams.

• The small West Dewatto Beach near the mouth of Dewatto Bay is open all year for oysters. A conservation closure for clams is in effect this year. Parking is limited.

• DNR beaches 47 and 48, north of Dewatto, accessible only by boat, are open all year for clams and oysters. Be sure to know locations and boundaries of these beaches, which comprise a little more than a mile and a half of shoreline.

PUGET SOUND PUBLIC BEACHES

• North Bay Oyster Reserve, closed except for state-owned tidelands on the east side of North Bay to 1,600 feet south of the powerlines, open for clams and oysters all year. This area is easily accessible; look for the signed parking lot off State Route 302.

• Tidelands at DNR Beach 20 at the south end of Stretch Island and, on the mainland opposite and to the south, DNR Grapeview and Stadium Point, are open all this year for clams and oysters. These are boat-in beaches; make sure of boundaries.

• West Dougall Point and South Dougall Point, boat-in beaches at the north end of Harstine Island, had state health department closure advisories listed this spring, as did the beaches at Jarrell Cove State Park.

• Harstine Island beach DNR-33, about a mile north of the Harstine Island Bridge, is open for clams and oysters all year. It’s a boat-in site.

• DNR Beach 24, open year-round for clams and oysters on the east side of Harstine Island, is generally considered a boat-in beach, but it can be reached by a somewhat steep trail from a parking area off Yates Road. The beach is over a mile long and extends from the general area of the trail entry to a point even with the north end of McMicken Island. Oysters grow fast and large here.

• The beach on McMicken Island, a boat-in state park, is open for clams and oysters all year. The beach on Hope Island, west of the south end of Squaxin Island, is open for clams and oysters only in April and May.

• Oakland Bay Recreational Tidelands near Bayshore, marked with a state fishing-access sign off State Route 3, offers clams and oysters year-round but a state advisory notes that coliform levels rise whenever there’s heavy rain and no harvest should be taken within five days after significant rainfall.

NOTE: Public beaches at Shorecrest and Walker Park county parks, and the state beaches on both sides of Chapman Cove in Oakland Bay, are all closed to shellfish harvest.

License required

Before you head out to harvest your limit of clams, oysters, or the other shellfish that grace local beaches, be sure to observe these essential aspects of your adventure.

HEALTH ISSUES:

• Check to see if health restrictions are in effect on the beach you’re heading for. The toll-free hotline for shellfish information is 1-800-562-5632 or you can check for Washington Department of Health advisories online at www.doh.wa.gov. Specific health-department harvest advisories linked to each beach listed on the Washington Department of Fisheries site at wdfw.wa.gov/fish/shelfish/beachreg.

Poison oak is beachside bane Western Washington’s salt waterways are bordered by vegetation that often includes an attractive low shrub with glossy three-leaf foliage clusters and an upright or vine-like growing habit. This is poison oak, and the oils from its leaves (or even the smoke from burning it) can produce murderously itchy welts that show up hours later. In the late summer and fall, poison oak leaves develop beautiful red and orange autumn color, but don’t be tempted to bring in a bouquet. If you know you’ve come in contact with poison oak, it sometimes helps to wash the skin thoroughly with strong naphtha soap, but don’t rely on that to prevent the itchy onslaught; bring on the calomine lotion.

Some beaches may have seasonal limitations. Before you leave home, check www.wdfw.wa.gov and follow the links to shellfishing for current harvest closure information. What’s published here was checked in April, but conditions and health department regulations are subject to change.

LICENSES AND HARVEST LIMITS:

• Have the personal-use licenses required for gathering shellfish from public beaches or waters, available at sporting goods stores and from the state. It’s actually a criminal offense to fish for fin fish or shellfish without a license.

• Know the limits. Hefty fines raise the cost of that free seafood. Call (360) 796-3215 for harvest limit information, pick up a fishing season and limits guide at a sporting goods store, or visit www.wdfw.wa.gov on-line.

• Shuck those oysters. Possession of oysters in the shell, unless purchased from a commercial source, can lead to a ticket and fine. If you harvest oysters from a public beach, you must shuck those oysters on the beach and leave the shells, which often have new seedling oysters attached.

BEACH RULES AND CONDUCT:

• Park in safe and appropriate locations and do not trespass across private uplands when accessing public tidelands.

• Often there are no sanitary or garbage facilities associated with public beaches. Use sanitary facilities at nearby marinas and parks. The recreational and commercial harvest of shellfish in Washington relies on clean water.

• Never start fires in driftwood.

• Shellfish growing is an industry that’s important to the local economy. Shellfish growers “seed” and farm their private tidelands for commercial purposes. Be careful not to encroach onto private shellfish beds.