It's a Keepah!

We had been trying to find the time to go clamming for a couple of months, and when we finally found a free Saturday morning we were really excited. We got up very early, which is rare for us on a Saturday, and made our way to Cotuit Harbor in Osterville. New to the clam hunt, we were optimistic as we parked at the boat ramp and walked to the muddy shore with our shiny new clam rake and basket.

We had no idea what we were doing, and felt even less confident when we noticed no one else was digging on shore. We did however see several people in the water up to their thighs with larger quahog rakes and floating baskets brimming with the large clam. Were we even in the right spot?

We decided to poke around the muddy flats right off the boat ramp. We looked for what we knew from when we were little – the tell tale sign of a clam just under the surface: little squirts of water coming from the mud, or at the very least little bubbles. I stabbed the rake in the general vicinity of the first squirt we saw only to find plenty of mud and stones. After several failed attempts, we decided to move along the shore hoping to stumble on a mine field of mollusks. All the quahog folks we happened upon were very friendly. A man and his young son were heading back to their car with a full basket when we asked him if he knew a good spot to dig for steamers. He pointed us to an area he heard was good, and we were on our way. When we got there we found even more rocks and a few weird worms. Worms don’t steam well, so we ventured off a little further after another quahogger said he thought there were some good flats down the way. They all mentioned that they hadn’t dug for steamers in years.

So we went down the shore even further. More quahoggers striking it rich encouraged us not to give up, keeping afloat our sinking optimism. But alas, more of the same. A few random oysters, which were big enough but out of season, a lot of crab holes and a few more salty worms were all we found. I had to be to work at 10, so we headed back toward the car, slightly defeated but not totally discouraged from trying again someplace else.

When we got back to the place the first quahogger suggested, Lauren said we should try just one more time. I had a few minutes so we found some little holes with bubbles coming up and started digging. Hey – look at that! I found one!

A tiny clam that fit too easily through the gauge. We had to rebury it neck up so it would survive and grow big enough for next time. But now we were hooked – surely there will be other clams in this area – this little one’s parents perhaps. We dug like mad, nearly wearing our fingertips down to the first knuckle, and finally – a keepah!! We could hardly believe it. A little more digging – and another one! We were master clammers now. We found some old oyster shells and used them to dig to save what was left of our fingers, and once we figured out how deep to dig we found a bunch – I think we found 11 in all before I really had to go, but that was gold to us.
It was quite a learning experience, clearly quahogs are more abundant - in the area we were in anyway, and digging for steamers is labor intensive. But it was well worth it when we had those 11 clams for an appetizer at lunch. They were delicious! Now that we’re expert clammers we will be out as often as we can. Even if we come up short, just being on the Cape Cod shoreline, seeing the sites, smelling the fresh ocean air...we still win.