The first of two December razor clam digs will open as scheduled, beginning Tuesday at Twin Harbors. Tests showed clams are safe to eat, allowing the dig to proceed as planned. Test samples showed the clams were well below state standards for domoic acid and PSP.

There is one change, however. Long Beach will be open a third day, Dec. 16, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced.

Here are the opening dates and the time of the evening low tides and the beaches that will be open each day:

• Tuesday: 4:51 p.m., -1.1 ft., Twin Harbors
• Wednesday:

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The snowplay area at Paradise is scheduled to open Dec. 15, assuming there is enough snow on the ground. And if conditions continue as they are, there should be plenty of snow by then.

“We look for at least 5 feet of snow before we can safely open the area,” said Chuck Young, chief ranger at Mount Rainier.

As of this morning, after more than a foot of new snow, there was 5w inches of snow on the ground at Paradise.

Remember that park visitors are required to have tire chains when driving into the park during the winter.

The public can attend a free presentation on how to catch steelhead on Oregon’s Sandy River Thursday. Veteran Oregon angler, fly shop owner and guide Mark Bachmann will speak at the meeting of the Puget Sound Fly Fishers.

“Wild steelhead and wild steelhead rivers are my passion. I have been catching steelhead with flies since 1963,” Bachmann said. “There is no substitute for experience. Nothing teaches more about fishing than catching fish. My goal as a fly fishing guide and instructor is to impart my experience so that you can be successful.”

Bachmann owns and operates The Fly Fishing Shop …

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Here are some highlights from the fishing report that will appear in Saturday’s paper.

Lakes
American: Look for the rainbow trout holding among the weeds in shallow water. Try using yellow Power Bait on a 4-foot leader. Some of the fish are topping 20 inches long.

Munn: The lake is still fishing well for trout. Go with white leeches fished on an intermediate- or fast-sink line.

Offut: The fishing for trout has improved, with most people catching their limits of rainbow trout. Some people are catching their limits in close to an hour. Dock anglers are using worms and …

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The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday passed legislation that would name the Eatonville post office after slain Mount Rainier ranger Margaret Anderson.

The bill, H.R. 5788, would name the post office National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson Post Office. The measure awaits action in the Senate.

The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Auburn) to honor Anderson who was shot and killed Jan. 1 while on duty at Mount Rainier National Park. She was fatally shot by Benjamin Colton Barnes, a suspect in an earlier Seattle shooting. Anderson set up a road block to stop Barnes after he had driven …

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Here are some of the highlights from the fishing report that will appear in Wednesday’s Sports section.

Rivers

Minter: The chum fishing has been very good, with people catching some bright fish among the darker fish. There are lots of fish in the creek, making it hard to not foul hook some.

Nisqually: The reports have shown the fishing has improved along with the weather. People are catching some limits of bright chum.

Olympic Coast: The first of the winter-run steelhead are showing up in the rivers around Forks and the action has been pretty good.

Puyallup: Anglers are …

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CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN – The line for the gondola Wednesday morning at Crystal Mountain wrapped around the base lodge, but after the hour wait skiers and snowboarders were rewarded with a valley full of fluffy snow.

“It’s pretty good for opening day,” said Tiana Enger, Crystal Mountain’s spokeswoman.

Enger said the ski area was taken by surprise by the number of people who turned out early for the first day of ski season. Ski area crews scrambled to open a second chair lift to shuttle visitors to the upper mountain and by 11 a.m.

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