How to Dig Gaper Clams
Gaper clams, or horse clams, are big bay clams that burrow deep in mudflats, prized for large, meaty necks - hard, muddy digging, but a few make a serious feed of chowder and fried clam.
Deep mudflat digging is hard and can be hazardous - watch soft mud and the tide, and never get cut off. Licence, size and limits apply; heed biotoxin closures. Shellfish is a serious allergen; cook thoroughly.
Gaper clams - horse clams to many diggers - are the big prize of the bay mudflats, and they make you earn it. These large clams burrow deep into soft mud and estuary flats, so getting one means committing to a hole that fills with water as fast as you can dig. The payoff is a big clam with a heavy, meaty neck; a handful makes a real feed of chowder and fried clam, and a proper gaper dig is a badge of honour among clammers.
Why go for them
Sheer size and yield - gaper clams are among the biggest clams a recreational digger can take, so a small limit is a lot of food, and the meaty neck fries and chowders beautifully. For diggers who enjoy the challenge, there is real pride in mastering the deep, fast, muddy digging that gapers demand.
Where and when to find them
Gapers live deep in the mud and sandy mud of bays and estuaries, often a foot or two down, betrayed by a large siphon hole or a squirt of water when you approach. Work them on the lowest tides when the flats are well exposed, and be mindful that you dig into soft, waterlogged ground.
How to catch them
Find the big siphon hole, then dig fast with a clam gun or shovel before the hole floods, and reach down along the neck to the shell to lift the clam - pull on the shell, not the fragile neck. It is hard, muddy, quick work. Keep only legal clams, mind the tide, and backfill your holes.
Handling, cleaning and cooking
Purge the clams, then shuck them and clean the large neck - many cooks skin and pound or grind it. Gaper meat is excellent minced into chowder and fritters, and the tenderer body meat fries well. Rinse out grit, cook thoroughly, and discard any clam that will not close beforehand.
Safety and the law
Soft mudflats are genuinely hazardous - you can get stuck, and a rising tide over soft ground is dangerous, so watch the mud, the tide and your exit. Get the required licence, observe size and daily limits, and heed biotoxin and pollution closures. Cook thoroughly; shellfish is a serious allergen. See our shellfish safety guide.