Those are the really, really large & obscene cousins of the Long Island piss clam I've mentioned here. Geez, one of those is a meal in itself.
I'm almost afraid to ask; how did they get the name "Martha Washington?"I dug one here on Humboldt Bay a long time ago. Not worth the effort when the Martha Washington clams were plentiful and much easier to get. The limit on them was 50/day.
We had many discussions about that but we never figured it out. We dug horse neck clams too, and that name seemed more obvious. When they dredged the entrance to Humboldt Bay they would pile the tailings up off to the side in shallow water and the horse neck clams were easy pickings for a week or so. They like deeper water. Now they haul it all off shore a couple miles so they get wasted. They call it "the dump" and it's a hot spot for crabbing.I'm almost afraid to ask; how did they get the name "Martha Washington?"
You could have at least made up some tale to sate my curiosity.We had many discussions about that but we never figured it out. We dug horse neck clams too, and that name seemed more obvious. When they dredged the entrance to Humboldt Bay they would pile the tailings up off to the side in shallow water and the horse neck clams were easy pickings for a week or so. They like deeper water. Now they haul it all off shore a couple miles so they get wasted. They call it "the dump" and it's a hot spot for crabbing.