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Digging razor clams is a challenging and fun recreational pastime with delicious rewards. Continue reading to learn some fundamental skills needed to harvest razor clams.

Razor clams and other bivalves are filter feeders that eat single celled plants called phytoplankton. Some species of phytoplankton manufacture biological toxins that, if ingested by bivalves, will be stored in their flesh. Though the biotoxins do not make the shellfish sick, they will make humans sick if a person consumes an affected animal.

Oregon estuaries are rich with many species of clams, although only a few of these species are commonly harvested. Gaper, butter, cockle, littleneck, softshell and purple varnish clams are popularly harvested due to their abundance, size and taste. A wide variety of other bivalve species are found in Oregon estuaries, but not commonly harvested due either to their scarcity or poor taste.

Oregon crabbing is a year-round activity that can almost always yield a successful trip. Crabbing trips require minimal gear, often available for rent in coastal towns, and while boat crabbing increases your likelihood for success, dockside crabbing is easy and very accessible. Before crabbing, be aware of crab regulations. Knowledge of where, when, and how to crab will increase your chances for success. Learn where to crab

The south coast area extends along the Oregon coast from Yachats south to the Oregon-California border. The area offers some of the most productive and scenic warmwater fishing in the state with excellent fishing for bass and panfish available in large waters such as Mercer Lake, Siltcoos Lake, and Tahkenitch Lake.

The north Willamette area includes the Columbia River from Bonneville downstream to St. Helens and the lower Willamette Basin north of Salem. The Columbia and Willamette both offer outstanding warmwater fishing for bass and a variety of panfish including crappie. Good fishing is also available in the area's lakes and reservoirs such as Henry Hagg Lake which has produced state record smallmouth bass and brown bullhead catfish.

A quick guide to cleaning and storing the fish you catch.

Steelhead have been called the ultimate game fish. These elusive and challenging fish can test an angler’s patience and persistence, but the reward is hooking into a fish that is famous worldwide for its line-peeling runs and spectacular, acrobatic fight.

Bass are an increasingly popular game fish even in a state noted for its native salmon, steelhead and trout. Bass often thrive in the urban waters of places like the Willamette Valley where warmer temperatures limit trout fishing in the summer months. Whether you target them in the Columbia or Willamette rivers, a coastal lake or the neighborhood pond, throughout much of the year bass can offer a rewarding fishing opportunity relatively close to home.

Surf fishing is one of Oregon’s most underutilized fisheries. There are hundreds of places to fish along Oregon’s sandy beaches, and there are plenty of fish within an easy cast from shore.

A dozen great rivers pour out of the Coast Range Mountains into tidal bays that welcome runs of salmon and the sea-going rainbow trout called “steelhead.” Bays are the year-round home to marine perch, rockfish, crabs and clams, while other species come and go with the seasons and the tides. In the Northwest Zone a handful of ponds dot the forested slopes, and there are dozens of dune lakes— many stocked with plump rainbow trout, and some that grow their own largemouth bass, perch, crappie and brown bullhead.

Salmon, steelhead and smallmouth bass offer world-class fishing here year-round. Rainbow trout are stocked in the upper Rogue and in lakes nestled in settings as varied as fir forest and wind-swept dune. Big reservoirs provide fishing for trout and for thriving populations of largemouth bass, catfish, perch and crappie. Coastal bays serve as gateways to rich offshore reef fisheries, and miles of public beach welcome anglers to fish for surfperch against a backdrop of rugged capes.

Abundant rainfall feeds the massive Willamette River watershed, tamed by a system of reservoirs stocked annually with hundreds of thousands of rainbow trout. Some of these reservoirs also grow trophy-size largemouth and smallmouth bass, and lots of bluegill, brown bullhead and crappies. Salmon and steelhead navigate the Willamette and its productive tributaries, many of which are also home to rainbow and cutthroat trout.

Known for its high desert climate, sage-covered canyons, glacial peaks and mountain lakes, this zone is defined by the reach of Oregon’s finest trout stream. The Deschutes River is no bigger than a creek when it passes close by South Twin Lake on its way toward Wickiup and Crane Prairie reservoirs. But it soon gains power enough to grow athletic rainbow trout. The considerably tamer Crooked River offers good practice if you’re just learning how to keep your footing in a slippery freestone stream.

Wide open spaces, wild windy places, and extreme temperatures characterize Oregon’s largest, most remote fishing zone. Scarcity makes water especially precious here, providing welcome oases in an often rugged, but spectacular landscape. Rainbow trout are native to its streams, including the Williamson, Malheur and Chewaucan rivers. And stocked rainbow and brown trout grow to trophy size in many of its lakes and reservoirs.

The granite peaks of Oregon’s Blue and Wallowa Mountains form the backdrop for many of this zone’s glacier-carved lakes and crystalline streams. Pack trains are a common sight on steep backcountry trails. Bull trout thrive in this zone’s cold, clear rivers, which also sustain rainbow trout and welcome returning runs of hatchery-reared steelhead. Warmwater fisheries are few, but the John Day River offers world-class fishing for smallmouth bass.

Mentored Youth Hunter Program allows youth 9 through 15 years of age to hunt without first passing an approved hunter education program. It gives unlicensed youngsters the opportunity to receive mentored, one-on-one field experience and training on the ethics, safety, responsibility and enjoyment of hunting while closely supervised by a licensed adult. Youth “First Time” Program guarantees big game hunting opportunities for youth. Under the program young hunters can receive up to three tags: one buck deer (100 series), one antlerless deer (600 series) and one antlerless elk (200 series). Youth-only hunts for big game, upland bird and waterfowl give

Dove hunting seasons open earlier than many others and offer one of the first opportunities to go afield each year. The action can be fast, offering lots of opportunities to shoot and the chance to sharpen your skills for the opening of other bird seasons later in the fall.

Rabbit hunting is the third most popular type of hunting activity in the U.S., behind wild turkey and deer hunting. Few people take advantage of it in Oregon, but they should—rabbits and hares are abundant and there is no closed season or bag limit. Plus, they taste good!

Oregon offers some of the best upland game bird hunting in the West. The state’s diverse habitats support nine species of upland game birds— pheasants, chukar, Hungarian partridge, valley (California) quail, mountain quail, ruffed grouse, blue grouse, sage-grouse and wild turkey. There are upland hunting opportunities in every corner of the state, and one upland bird season or another is open continuously from September 1 through January 31. Throw in a six-week spring turkey season and you can hunt upland game birds in Oregon for more than half of the year! Also, since many of the species share similar habitat