Digging For Gold in Lagoon Pond

For as long as I’ve been fishing on the Vineyard, I’ve always used waders to extend my casting range and get as far out into the water as possible, closer to the action. But when my alarm went off on a mild Friday morning with a reminder that read “meet Nina to dig for gold,” I knew those beat-up old waders would serve an additional purpose. 

The Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group (MVSG) wants people to know about the joys of shellfish. They hold public outreach campaigns throughout the year — seminars, family events, and celebrations of shellfish culture like the Bivalve Ball — to get the word out about how shellfish clean our waters and enrich our economy. (The Bivalve Ball was in April, but check mvshellfishgroup.org for more events and to get on the list for next year.) The group invited me out to Lagoon Pond to experience for myself how easy and enjoyable harvesting shellfish can be.

Despite being a fisherman for years, I never got into harvesting shellfish. I figured adopting another sustenance hobby would be too involved and expensive. But after being out on the Lagoon with a rake and a floating basket, I immediately made the decision to secure my license, intent on treating my family and friends to some delicious meals.

Emma Green-Beach, executive director of the MVSG, told me she has been shellfishing in Sengekontacket Pond with her family since she was small enough to fit into a clamming basket. “My uncle would have the rope with the basket in the inner tube, and my dad would have me in his inner tube floating close behind,” Emma said. “The only thing I remember my father feeding me was shellfish.” For Emma and other MVSG members, shellfishing is all about family, friends, fresh food, and protecting our local waterways. 

The tide was out and the weather was as warm as it could be on a rainy and windy week in April. After MVSG board president and Tisbury shellfish constable Danielle Ewart gave a quick demonstration of how to use the rake and how to measure each clam with a small gauge attached to the basket, it was time to wade out to the clam beds. At first I was dragging my floating basket by the line attached to it, but Danielle gave me a pro tip — stick the small foam noodle attached to your basket line into either the pocket of your waders, or into the waders themselves, so you don’t have to drag your basket along with you. At about 50 yards out, we were only waist deep, and my clamming party began to dig. “You sort of dig the tines of your rake into the bottom, but first you want to make sure you can see the bottom and the area you’re working doesn’t have a bunch of seaweed,” Danielle said. With her rake handle propped against her shoulder, she began to rock back and forth, slowly walking her body and her rake back, while keeping even pressure on the handle and keeping the tines at an even depth underneath the sand. She said to listen for a somewhat hollow noise when the tines make contact with a clam — if it’s a rock it will sound more solid and tinny. 

After searching around for a clear spot, I began to dig. It’s surprising how much of a whole-body workout raking for clams is (another benefit of shellfishing). After many times flipping my rake only to find an empty basket, I started to focus more on using my senses to locate the clams. If you really try and pay attention to when the teeth of your rake make contact with something under the bottom, you’re much more likely to strike gold. The clams I found were often buried deep beneath, and I had to wedge my rake underneath them in order to pull them into the rake basket. After a particularly confident flip of my rake, I finally had three or four hard-shelled clams.

I could immediately tell the clams were large enough to legally harvest. But, in order to build muscle memory and good habits, I attempted to fit every clam into the gauge hinge first. Much to my excitement, none of the clams went through the gauge, meaning they were all more than one inch thick and two inches long. The noise those clams made after dropping them into my floating basket was gratifying, and my mind started going to what sides I would cook to accompany my linguine and clam sauce. 

As we continued to rake and fill our baskets, MVSG education and outreach coordinator Nina Montanile told me about some of the organization’s programs. She was particularly excited about the youth groups and 4-H programs that bring kids and their families out to go shellfishing and learn more about the marine ecosystem. “Shellfish really are the fabric of the Vineyard. People have historically relied on [shellfishing] to feed their families, and to earn a living,” she explained. “We want all generations who grow up here and come here to respect the environment, and cherish what it provides.”

Danielle said this year the Tisbury Shellfish Department will host the ninth annual Family Shellfish Day (which usually takes place in June), where she and other shellfish educators are able to take unlicensed families out and show them the ropes during the free event. Danielle said kids are always enthusiastic when they find their first clam, and often ask her about what type of shellfish it is and whether they can take it home. “I think our kids’ programs are some of the coolest initiatives we’re involved in right now, because starting them young really provides a unique perspective on how connected everything is that lives in our water, and how much we rely on shellfish as a community,” she said.

After only about an hour or so, I had collected (and been generously given) more than enough clams to make dinner for my family and my girlfriend. The one thing I forgot to bring to our shellfishing excursion was a cooler with ice, so Montanile lent me a reusable shopping bag with some ice in it to transport my catch back to my refrigerator. I can’t wait to go down to one of the local tackle shops and buy my rake and floating basket, purchase my Edgartown license, and start shellfishing.

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