Digging was very successful [during Nov. 12-15], and there was over 20,000 people who participated. The weather always plays a big factor, but I expect it to be equally as good.

It is a really classic Northwest way to ring in the New Year, that's for sure. If the weather is good, it's going to be great.

We know that digging razor clams is a holiday tradition for a lot of families, and the tides cooperated this year.

Our experience last year showed that we have enough clams on those two beaches to provide some additional days of digging.

Success really depended on where you were at, and we had people that also got their [15-clam daily] limits. I was at Ocean Shores on New Year's Eve and some diggers were over their limit, but the crowd was half of what we expected.

Last year was a banner year. Digging probably won't be quite as good this year, but we'll still have a lot of clams to harvest.

We will look at harvest levels after this dig, and there should be more digging opportunities in the coming months on some beaches.

We're especially pleased that we'll be able to offer folks the opportunity to dig their way into the new year, with the low tide on New Year's Eve.

They're pretty skinny and not very attractive.