Urban Outcast Music #24 - Way Down We Go by Kaleo.
Success breeds confidence and confidence leads to digging futile holes in the mud looking for that second, third, and fourth geoduck. Back in June, I tried to replicate my success on Indian Island but I was outfoxed four times by monstrous clams that cannot move... The day got off to an encouraging start with a geoduck siphon spotted within only an hour of wading among the sea creatures (including this voyeur sculpin spying on a couple red rock crabs in a compromised position) .
After digging and redigging to 3.5 feet down, there was no sign of the siphon and the hole was so broad, I couldn't remember where I had started. It was time to concede and try my luck elsewhere. After undoing my excavation efforts it only took a couple minutes to spot the next siphon on a well timed fountain from underneath the eel grass. Another half hour, some bleeding blisters + clam shell slices and the siphon trail had gone cold again... grrrrrr. At least I had the hole ready if my heart gave out so I kept digging out of habit. By the time I came to my senses and started refilling the crater, the tide was on its way back up and my back was shot.
So when I spotted a third geoduck, I pointed it out to a couple who had the recommended geoduck metal tube but were running into horse clams by accident. Even with the tube, the geoducks turned out to be too deep and they had to give up. Feeling a little less like a schmuck, I headed back to the car. Along the way I spotted geoduck #4 and since I was closer to the rocky bluff, I thought there was a chance he hadn't been able to bury himself so deeply. I only dug far enough to confirm that theory didn't hold water...
Already plotting my revenge for next year. I think the big upgrade will be a thin fiberglass fence post that I can use to keep track of the siphon as I suspect those sneaky geo's of making turns. Not that you would want to after such a story but if you are looking to get after these tasty mollusks, the geoducks were thick on an island that was exposed on a tide of -3.0 feet (towards the Lagoon Beach side of Isthmus Beach on Indian Island).