PROVINCETOWN – It did not take Rennie Jason long to get his allotted 10 quarts of clams when digging off the breakwater in the west end of Provincetown.
In about two hours around low tide, Jason got his allowed amount and then he helped a friend get half of theirs. He also socialized with some of the 30 or so other folks who were clamming on Friday afternoon, and he kept his eyes out for coyotes.
”If you go off the breakwater, there’s an old trail out there and you’ll see coyotes as big as German shepherds. I had one follow me back [towards land] one time.”
“Usually if there’s people out there, there’s coyotes looking for some free food,” he said.
On this chilly day, Jason estimated between 30 and 40 people were clamming. “I’ve seen up to 100 out there on a really nice day,” he said.
“I’ve been digging them my whole life.” – Rennie Jason CAPE COD WAVE PHOTO
When the tide is low, people go out. “But when the tide comes in, you want to get out of there or you’ll be swimming,” said Jason.
Jason, who lives in Plainville, Connecticut, grew up in Provincetown and lived here for 55 years. He remembered his father piling him and his five siblings in his truck and they’d go clamming. “I’ve been digging them my whole life,” he said.
He moved to Connecticut eight years ago but he still comes back here specifically to go clamming.
He planned to bring the clams back to Connecticut and eat them steamed with linguica and onions. He planned to feed himself, his girlfriend and two other friends, he said. The clams are a treat for folks in Connecticut, he said.
“You can’t get clams like this,” he said. “You go to the Stop and Shop and you won’t get clams like this.”
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