This past weekend put a lot of happy faces on the hordes of visitors for the last clam dig of spring 2006. While on the beach, there are many interesting characters in their unusual outfits, bare feet and ingenious clam containers.

But the one that takes the cake for innovation is Bob Burns, a Klipsan beach resident, who may have hit his head on the bed post just one too many times. He’s not too hard to spot with his customized “clam gun,” which is painted in a beautiful “camo” design worthy of any outdoorsman and a 4-power Swift hunting scope mounted on top.

When asked about the unusual contraption, Bob said, “For years my friends have been giving me a hard time about my inability to dig a clam without breaking the shell. So I thought, there has got to be a better way. I came up with the idea of painting my clam gun with camouflage paint, so the clams would not see me and become alarmed. That definitely stops them from digging deeper into the sand and increases my chances for not breaking the shell. The riflescope was my wife’s idea. She said, ‘At your age and with your failing eyesight, you need help, why not try a large magnifying glass to help you spot the clam shows?’

“Well, this friend of mine David Gudgell, gave me this extra scope of his, and I was well on my way to becoming the most prolific digger on the Peninsula. The scope not only allows me to see the clams showing at a greater distance, it also helps me to determine which direction the clam is pointed and how deep it is.”

As Bob strolled further down the beach, I just shook my head and wondered if I was just talking to Yogi Berra or if Bob had a bad case of clamitis.

Real world of clamingIn the “real world” the claming this past weekend was nothing short of fantastic. The clams were big, fat and very plentiful. The weather and the ocean were more than cooperative all three days of the dig, although I did notice several take a tumble in the surf.

Speaking of surf, there were plenty of surf fishermen on the beach all three days, but the catch was very spotty. There were lots of bites but very few “pogies” were caught.

Halibut season openerFishing for halibut in Marine Area One, out of Ilwaco, opens Monday with the encouraging prospect of good weather on the horizon for the next week. With the price of halibut in the stores at $10 per pound, the price of a freshly caught halibut can more than pay for the trip.

Nautical trivia & PhrasesSon of a Gun – When in port, and with the crew restricted to the ship for any extended period of time, wives and ladies of easy virtue often were allowed to live aboard with the crew. Infrequently, but not uncommonly, children were born aboard and a convenient place for this was between the guns on the gun deck. If the child’s father was unknown, they were entered in the ship’s log as “son of a gun.”

Ron Malast is the owner and captain of the Ilwaco charter boat Big Dipper, 665-3573.