Good News, Clams Returning to GSB

[Snapprhead27]

In the late 50's and 60's, there were 8' trees marking the entire Snake Hill Channel. The bars to the south end were not there. Once in the channel, it was deep water to the south end of the channel. The pier, where the sunken barge is, was really nice and regularly used by boats going to the bar called Way Way Yonder. My Dad and Uncle Bill were regulars as I played on the pier and beach catching crabs and blowfish. Uncle Bill owned a deli on the corner of Steinway Street in Astoria. He would pay me a nickle per blowfish. He and my Dad caught and supplied the deli with fish for the Catholics on Friday. Life was great back then. And yes, fluke size limit was 14".

There's a sunken barge in GSB?

 

[pequa1]

big ugly thing but mainly beached on the west side towards the south end of Snake Hill IIRC. Once I returned to the saltwater in the mid 90s, and trailered, and only from Massapequa or a couple of times from Oyster Bay, I never went further east than Amityville.

 

[Snapprhead27]

That must be it, I've never noticed it.

 

[pequa1]

coud be, but I could have sworn it was up against the shoreline, but I am talking the early to mid 80s

 

[Crabman]

Yes, there is a half sunken barge in Snake Hill Channel. It was tied up to the pier. You can still see the remnants of the barge and pilings. It holds some blackfish at times. About 20 years ago, an older friend, Joe (70 y.o. at the time), who died a few years back from complications of Vibrio vulnificus (a very scary water bacteria often found in oysters and coming our way) after getting the tiniest scratch on his calf from the chicken wire of a crab trap, fished the area solo in a 26' Shamrock tied to the barge. Unfortunately, a boat going by rocked him onto one of the submerged pilings and blew an 8" hole right through the hull below the waterline and about eight feet back from the bow. It's a very dangerous area and sits about 75' east and offshore of the island. It's in plain sight on any tide but the old pilings are sometimes hard to see. The area has been taken over by the nasty, invasive cormorants. BTW, Joe stuffed a blanket into the hole which fortunately had a flap of fiberglass to hold it in place and stuffed the bow onto the beach until I got there to help. We limped to Captree along the shoreline with a trash pump running and hauled the boat onto my trailer. The fix was not that difficult but there was a lot of sanding to feather and it took time to glass. Turned out good as new.

 

[Crabman]

The barge in Snake Hill Channel. A lot of you might not have seen it because the main channel is east of the bar in Snake Hill.

Barge near center screen and the bar. If you look to the right of the bar, you can see the wake of a boat going through the often preferred route. With regular passage, locals know a small depression over the bar and along the beach.

 

[Crabman]

Barge is in the circle. The arc is the preferred route.

 

[Crabman]

We need that bar dredged out again but the powers in charge just don't get it. When I was a kid, 65 years ago, it was dredged and that's what form what I called Sand Island in SHC. It's the island at the top of the photo in the above post. As many of you know, they are oyster farming just south of that island. The old, rusting dredge pipes are located near the top of the arc.

 

[Snapprhead27]

Yup that's what I posted. I've probably seen it a bunch of times and never occurred it was a barge

 

[Rakin it in]

I also tread and like you did it throughout the summer in high school and college. I made a clam rake that I will use at times in the right spot. I saw someone had a rake like this and went home and welded this one up. With the butter knife teeth, it's used differently than a regular clam rake. This one is much easier on your back.

View attachment 52448

That is an awesome rake. Do you sell them?

 

[Crabman]

That is an awesome rake. Do you sell them?

I don't. I made a couple of these rakes years ago. I did not design the rake. I knocked it off in my shop.

 

[Rakin it in]

I don't. I made a couple of these rakes years ago. I did not design the rake. I knocked it off in my shop.

Looks identical to killer clam rakes. Down to the whole in the shaft and cut of knife blades. Even the angle of bends.

 

[Crabman]

That's them. They're about $100. I copied the design many years ago from one a friend had. There were a couple of companies making them. There's no name on them. I don't know if they were killer clam rakes back then. They had a different deep basket. Gave them away when I moved and the clamming went into the toilet. Clams came back and a friend had this one and I copied it in my shop. After that I bought a few for the grandsons and a few as gifts for friends. Made a couple more with the boys in the shop while teaching them how to bend stainless with a torch and weld. They are easy to make if you have access to a welder and torch. Checkout their site. I recommend the 13 tooth rake. If you really want to get into clamming with one, I recommend an aluminum handle from Amazon instead of their recommended wood handle. I find the aluminum handle really lets you know when a tooth touches a clam.

 

[Susie Angler]

@Crabman, you continue to amaze me with your knowledge and craftsmanship! Not only do you understand the biology behind what's happening with the clam recovery (your insights about water quality being the key factor are spot-on), but you're also passing down traditional skills to the next generation.

Teaching your grandsons how to bend stainless and weld while making those rakes is pure gold - that's how real waterman knowledge gets preserved. And your tip about the aluminum handle letting you feel when a tooth touches a clam? That's the kind of detail that separates someone who truly knows their craft from weekend warriors.

Your story about Joe and the Vibrio vulnificus really hit home too - that bacteria is becoming a serious concern as our waters warm, and most folks don't realize how dangerous even tiny cuts can be. Your knowledge of the hazards out there, combined with your practical skills (stuffing that blanket in the hull breach was brilliant seamanship), shows decades of real experience on these waters.

Keep sharing that wisdom with those grandsons - they're learning from one of the best! By the way, George asked me to give him some background info on the whole clam recovery story from a marine biologist's perspective. I ended up putting together a whole article for him on it - you can check it out here: The Great Return: Hard Clams Stage a Remarkable Comeback in the Great South Bay

Hope you find it interesting!