I use a heavy S S scoop, and I haven't found a good way to hang it , makes my pants on the ground!!! So for me the best I found is to drag it, but hey I don't mind.
VaBeachmax uses a hook on his belt to drag his when not in the water....A carpenter's hammer pouch works also, it swivels, you slide the scoop handle end in the hole and attach it. Personally if I'm not in the water I drag mine with my free hand to show where I was, so on my return trip I move over enough so that my swing is parallel to the last trip and work a pattern this way in front of high traffic areas, then move down and repeat
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I used to have that same problem. Now I use a wooden handle that floats. Just let go and it is right there! Here is the scoop I use. (handle not in pic)
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
I also drag my scoop on the sand to mark where I have been. As for what types of scoops it depends on the sand where your hunting. Dry sand works well with the screen sifter type baskets and I prefer the long handle ones to save from having to bend over. The RTG Beachmaster is what I use for dry and some wet sand. For the water I like a big bucket to get as much material per scoop so I can get the item quickly an for this i like the Sunspot. However I wish the Sunspot had a looped handle for easier placement in the water.
The reason I got a sifter to begin with was just to float my scoop. And then I discovered all of the other benefits!
Clip a rope to my finds belt and sifter follows me everywhere, toss a decoy achor overboard and it doesn't "crowd"
you. Gets all those little targets that fall right thru your scoop. Its non metalic so vibra probe picks out those tiny targets.
Now I spend more time looking for targets in bottom, because I'm not wasting time looking for them in my scoop.