Fishing (and Clamming) at Ocean Shores

The Copalis Zone: Ocean Shores' Official Razor Clam Beach

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife manages razor clam digging on four official coastal beaches statewide: Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, and Mocrocks. Ocean Shores' ocean-facing beach sits within the Copalis management zone, which runs from the North Jetty at the mouth of Grays Harbor north to the Copalis River, encompassing the Copalis, Ocean Shores, Oyhut, and Ocean City areas. Within Ocean Shores itself, WDFW-recognized public beach access points include Chance A La Mer, Pacific Avenue, Ocean Lake Way, and Tarus Street, with additional access at 2nd Street in Ocean City and the terminus of Highway 115 in Oyhut.

A specific closed area worth knowing if you're digging near the southern end of town: a Razor Clam Reserve restricts digging beginning four-tenths of a mile south of the Ocean City approach (2nd Avenue) and extending south a quarter mile along Copalis Beach -- confirm current reserve boundaries directly with WDFW before digging in that stretch.

Season Structure, Limits, and Licensing

WDFW does not run a fixed calendar-date razor clam season; instead, it announces tentative dig days ahead of time and confirms each one individually based on marine toxin (domoic acid) testing results, since razor clams can concentrate naturally-occurring biotoxins to unsafe levels and every approved dig depends on current test results clearing the beach. The 2025-26 season, as one example, opened with 47 tentative dig days announced starting October 6, 2025, with digging continuing through the winter and into spring -- dates in late December through early January, late February into March, and further spring dates through early May were all part of the announced calendar, subject to the toxin-testing confirmation process for each individual opener.

The daily limit on all four state beaches, including Copalis, is 15 clams per person, and diggers keep the first 15 clams dug regardless of size or condition -- meaning there's no culling and re-digging to improve your haul once you've hit the limit. Anyone age 16 or older needs a valid Washington fishing license to dig razor clams on any of the state's beaches; check current license requirements and fees directly with WDFW.

Marine Area 2: Salmon, Bottomfish, and Boat Fishing

For rod-and-reel and boat fishing beyond clamming, Ocean Shores sits within WDFW's Marine Area 2 (Westport-Ocean Shores), which covers salmon, halibut, and bottomfish opportunities off this stretch of coast. In practice, the primary charter-fishing and boat-launch infrastructure for Marine Area 2 is concentrated at the Port of Westport, across Grays Harbor from Ocean Shores, rather than within Ocean Shores itself -- reaching it from Ocean Shores by boat means crossing the genuinely hazardous Grays Harbor bar, covered in more depth on this site's Boating & Water Access page, or driving around to Westport directly by road.

Surf fishing directly from the Ocean Shores beach for species like surfperch is also a lower-key, accessible option that doesn't require a boat or a bar crossing at all -- check current WDFW regulations and any relevant beach-specific rules before fishing directly from the sand.

Crabbing and Other Shellfish

Beyond razor clams, Grays Harbor and the immediately adjacent nearshore waters support recreational Dungeness crab and other shellfish harvest opportunities, regulated separately from the ocean-beach razor clam program and subject to their own seasons, gear rules, and licensing requirements set by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. This page does not state current crab season dates or limits, since those, like razor clam dig days, are set and can change on a schedule independent of this page's publication -- check WDFW's shellfishing regulations pages directly for current crabbing rules specific to Grays Harbor.

What to Actually Do Before Your First Dig or Trip

Check WDFW's razor clam webpage directly before any planned dig -- confirmed dig dates depend on toxin testing that can change close to the date, and a trip planned around a tentative date that gets pulled for toxin-test results is a real, common disappointment worth avoiding by checking current status rather than an old calendar. For boat fishing in Marine Area 2, check current WDFW regulations for season dates, size and bag limits, and any area-specific closures, and if launching from Ocean Shores itself rather than Westport, get current Grays Harbor bar conditions before departing. A valid Washington fishing license, current for the activity and dates in question, is required for both razor clamming and rod-and-reel fishing for anyone 16 or older.