Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

[bigscoop]

Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

I've had pretty good luck in these water flows, old swimming holes, old bridge overpasses, etc. Love to hunt them because I have "never" run into another coil swinger in these places. Just curious as to how many of you have ever hunted these types of places before? What kind of luck you have had?

 

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[halfstep]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

What state you live in? I live in msssouri and we have a lot a rivers and creeks around here. I have a couple new detectors ordered and plan on hitting the river and creek beaches pretty hard. I haven't hunted in a while due to some injuries. Most people want to hit the ocean or lake beaches and they can get hunted hard. The little beaches on the rivers and creeks get overlooked and are good places to hunt. I'll let you know soon on what I find.

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

What state you live in? I live in msssouri and we have a lot a rivers and creeks around here. I have a couple new detectors ordered and plan on hitting the river and creek beaches pretty hard. I haven't hunted in a while due to some injuries. Most people want to hit the ocean or lake beaches and they can get hunted hard. The little beaches on the rivers and creeks get overlooked and are good places to hunt. I'll let you know soon on what I find.

I'm in Indiana, but I've hunted these smaller areas in several different locations, mostly up north. Just a heads up, a 4" coil can really come in handy in the rocky areas.

 

[travelingjack1]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

I have been doing research on older swimming holes in large creeks here in my general area. After I come back from vacation in a few weeks, Im gonna try some of them out. Some of the places ive read about the water levels have changed some over the years. Also you have to wonder with the years of flooding, if it has covered the majority of items with soot or mud over the years. I'm interested in putting some time into it. Hope to find some items, i would think the creek bank areas could also be good. I also wonder in creeks with the changing currents if things could be scattered downstream some. Someone need to write a book on creek and small river hunting!

 

[Tank69]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

great water spots to hunt

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

I have been doing research on older swimming holes in large creeks here in my general area. After I come back from vacation in a few weeks, Im gonna try some of them out. Some of the places ive read about the water levels have changed some over the years. Also you have to wonder with the years of flooding, if it has covered the majority of items with soot or mud over the years. I'm interested in putting some time into it. Hope to find some items, i would think the creek bank areas could also be good. I also wonder in creeks with the changing currents if things could be scattered downstream some. Someone need to write a book on creek and small river hunting!

For sure you want to hunt them down stream. Also, and this is why I like a 4" coil, I find quite a bit of stuff trapped in the fist sized rocks and large gravel. Try right in the bottom of the narrower runs, especially where there is a sudden drop at the head of the run or pool, a lot of things will get deposited here as they are pushed down stream. And one of the best signs is this, if you start finding a lot of larger lead fishing sinkers in an area then you want to hunt that area and the area just below it real well. Just use the same sort of logic prospectors use when trying to find gold in a stream, most items are pushed along by the currents in much the same manner. Old swimming areas below small damns can be really good because during times of high water the areas below these dams will get continuosly dugout and moved around by the increasing force of the water, the effect is much the same way a hurricane dislodges and redistributes the sandbars and reefs along that coastline. The best places to hunt below these dams is right along the down river slope of these digouts, and then the areas just above and down stream from them. Also, it can pay to visit these streams during times of high water so you can see where the stronger currents are possibly pushing items into the shoreline. A lot of coins will often be found in these areas. I wish I could find more of these areas to hunt because they have produced "really well" for me over the years. Another area to checkout is bridge overpasses, especially the old ones. When I was a kid it was quite common for people to treat these like wishing wells, thus flipping coins into the water for good luck. As for thick layers of silt and thick layers of soft sand, I skip these areas because they are simply to hard to hunt unless you want to try to sink your coil into it and swing it through these layers, and even then you probably won't be able to sink your coil deep enough without serious risk of damage to your coil, shaft, or cable. Just sharing a few thoughts for you to consider. If you can find the right places it's usually tough hunting but quite often the reward is well worth it. OH, and one last thing, I made a "steel" scoop for these tougher hunting conditions, it has a 48" x 3/8" black pipe looped handle and a 6" bucket with 3/8" holes, it is all welded. You'll be lifting a lot of rock so if you go over a 6" bucket a full scoop of these stones can get really heavy. The leading lip of the 6" round bucket is serrated in three places with 1 1/2" "V" cuts so it is easier to work into the gravel and layers of rock. If you decide to build your own, think, "prybar!" Good luck!

 

[halfstep]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

I have been doing research on older swimming holes in large creeks here in my general area. After I come back from vacation in a few weeks, Im gonna try some of them out. Some of the places ive read about the water levels have changed some over the years. Also you have to wonder with the years of flooding, if it has covered the majority of items with soot or mud over the years. I'm interested in putting some time into it. Hope to find some items, i would think the creek bank areas could also be good. I also wonder in creeks with the changing currents if things could be scattered downstream some. Someone need to write a book on creek and small river hunting!

For sure you want to hunt them down stream. Also, and this is why I like a 4" coil, I find quite a bit of stuff trapped in the fist sized rocks and large gravel. Try right in the bottom of the narrower runs, especially where there is a sudden drop at the head of the run or pool, a lot of things will get deposited here as they are pushed down stream. And one of the best signs is this, if you start finding a lot of larger lead fishing sinkers in an area then you want to hunt that area and the area just below it real well. Just use the same sort of logic prospectors use when trying to find gold in a stream, most items are pushed along by the currents in much the same manner. Old swimming areas below small damns can be really good because during times of high water the areas below these dams will get continuosly dugout and moved around by the increasing force of the water, the effect is much the same way a hurricane dislodges and redistributes the sandbars and reefs along that coastline. The best places to hunt below these dams is right along the down river slope of these digouts, and then the areas just above and down stream from them. Also, it can pay to visit these streams during times of high water so you can see where the stronger currents are possibly pushing items into the shoreline. A lot of coins will often be found in these areas. I wish I could find more of these areas to hunt because they have produced "really well" for me over the years. Another area to checkout is bridge overpasses, especially the old ones. When I was a kid it was quite common for people to treat these like wishing wells, thus flipping coins into the water for good luck. As for thick layers of silt and thick layers of soft sand, I skip these areas because they are simply to hard to hunt unless you want to try to sink your coil into it and swing it through these layers, and even then you probably won't be able to sink your coil deep enough without serious risk of damage to your coil, shaft, or cable. Just sharing a few thoughts for you to consider. If you can find the right places it's usually tough hunting but quite often the reward is well worth it. OH, and one last thing, I made a "steel" scoop for these tougher hunting conditions, it has a 48" x 3/8" black pipe looped handle and a 6" bucket with 3/8" holes, it is all welded. You'll be lifting a lot of rock so if you go over a 6" bucket a full scoop of these stones can get really heavy. The leading lip of the 6" round bucket is serrated in three places with 1 1/2" "V" cuts so it is easier to work into the gravel and layers of rock. If you decide to build your own, think, "prybar!" Good luck!

Can you post a pic of your scoop? I live close to current river and it has a lot of creek gravel and some sand. I also live near a small creek called little black river. There are 3 forks that finally connect by an old bridge and is a popular swimming area. There are a few other swimming holes scattered about. Current river is very popular with quite a few little beaches. There are several other creeks and another river near by. I plan on lowering the gold content in my part of the world. Most creeks and river around here are clean and clear. This should make it easier to hunt. Thanks for your useful tips.

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

This one is my favorite river & creek scoop and it only has a 5" dia x 6 1/2" deep bucket (including the lead points), larger buckets can really wear you out when you're digging in rocky bottoms. The 3-point leading edge is a real work horse in the rocky bottoms, the center tip works really well as a lead edge when forcing the scoop into packed rock. Most of the time if you wiggle it around while pressing down with your foot it will find it's way into the bottom without too much trouble. The blue pool float is nice on the hands and it also makes the scoop easier to spot if you drop it in stained water, also helps in keeping the handle upright when fully submerged (though you'll need more float as I lost a section on this one). Be sure you get good welds when attaching the handle because these two areas will get a lot of stress.

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

One thing here, besides the obvious, be sure you check your state's laws, many of them have special sections regarding "Navigable Waterways" and it's quite often that you'll find the removing or altering of anything is prohibited. I had a couple of friends get pinched because of this very obscure and little recognized class of protected water ways.

 

[halfstep]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Thanks for posting your scoop pics. I was looking at a scoop on ebay that looks pretty good. It has a v bottom and is pointed on the end. It is made to be used with a post hole digger handle. If you want to look at it, here is the link.http://cgi.ebay.com/STAINLESS-STEEL...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e59645bd9
It looks like a good scoop for the money. I like the pointed end. It should go through the creek gravel a lot easier than a flat ended scoop. I like the fact it uses a post hole digger handle because a person can make different handles is wanted. I don't have a water detector yet so I will be stuck just working the beaches. I plan on buying a water detector in the future. I need to stay out of the water for a while anyways until my ankle gets better. I just had a major surgery on it. I just got the okay to walk on it. It is sore and I can't walk on it much yet. If it gets better, I will invest in a water detector. If not, I probably won't. Time will tell. I'll just hobble around on the beaches for now. Hence the name "halfstep".

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Hey halfstep,
Funny you should mention bad ankles, lately my right ankle gets so bad sometimes I can't even put any weight on it. It's also from an old injury and quite often when the weather changes or storm fronts move in it will swell up real bad and feel like someone is running an ice pick through it if I try to walk on it. Other days it's just fine, no problems at all, even when I'm climbing around and jumping around on stuff. Can't figure it? So let me know how the ankle surgery works out for you because I'm probably headed there eventually.

Personally, I think I just need to spend more time "in the soothing water with my detector."

 

[halfstep]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Back in 02, I broke both ankles and my back. I destroyed my right ankle. The bone I broke is bad about dieing is it is dislocated. Over the last 9 years, it died and collasped then broke apart. I've been walking around on a broken ankle for a while. The surgeon cut about 5" off of the fibula (the smaller leg bone) and used it to build me a new bone. He took out most of the dead bone first. Then he fused it all together. I have 11 screws and 2 plates. One screw is about 6" long. It goes up through my heal and into the tibia. I had the surgery back in mid march and just now got the okay to bare weight. I am still using one crutch to help me walk. It is too painful to walk without it. I have walked on a painful ankle for 9 years so I know what pain is. It sounds like to me that you might have a peice of trash that gets kicked up in the joint now and then. You would be wise to have it looked at so it won't cause you problems down the road. Go to an orthropedic surgeon, not a podiatrist.

 

[Jason in TN]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Have done this type hunting some has tons of trash but also has it's rewards.

Jason

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Back in 02, I broke both ankles and my back. I destroyed my right ankle. The bone I broke is bad about dieing is it is dislocated. Over the last 9 years, it died and collasped then broke apart. I've been walking around on a broken ankle for a while. The surgeon cut about 5" off of the fibula (the smaller leg bone) and used it to build me a new bone. He took out most of the dead bone first. Then he fused it all together. I have 11 screws and 2 plates. One screw is about 6" long. It goes up through my heal and into the tibia. I had the surgery back in mid march and just now got the okay to bare weight. I am still using one crutch to help me walk. It is too painful to walk without it. I have walked on a painful ankle for 9 years so I know what pain is. It sounds like to me that you might have a peice of trash that gets kicked up in the joint now and then. You would be wise to have it looked at so it won't cause you problems down the road. Go to an orthropedic surgeon, not a podiatrist.

Dang! We could be busted up brothers. Back in 2003 I shattered my neck and didn't know it for 2 weeks, even went backpacking, thought I just pulled a muscle real bad or possibly tore one. A week later I went to the doc and the next day they were rebuilding my neck, removed a lot of fragments, tossed in some cadaver parts, plates, screws, etc., put me down for almost a year, neck brace from my shoulders up. Today that part of me is about 95%, still can't feel much in the fingers on my right hand but other then that I'm amazed at how they put me back together again. My ankle is from an old basketball injury, tore all the ligs and cartilage playing basketball when I was a kid. At that time they didn't know what they know today so I just let it heal on its own and up until about a year ago I've had very little problem with it other then I can twist it rather easily if I'm not careful. But I suspect you're right, maybe some fragments, spurs, old scar tissue, or possible the joint is just wornout. Just had the ligs in my left thumb reattached last year so I'm in no big hurry to get cut on again. I guess I'm just one of those guys who never knows how bad he's hurt until things just quit working, "high pain tolerance" I've been told. Anyway, hope things go well for you and I'm here to tell you, they can, and, do some amazing things now days. Doc told me if I would have shattered my neck 10 years earlier I would have been really screwed because the technology just wasn't there yet. I'll bet you'll come out of it in great shape. Best wishes!

 

[halfstep]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Pain tolerance is an aquired skill. It is like an alcoholic. They can drink a lot more than a person who doesn't drink much. They have trained and conditioned themselves over a long period of time to tolerate and handle the alcohol. Pain tolerance is the same way. Over a period of time, we can condition ourselves to handle the pain. Some people who work in a stressful environment can handle stress better than the average person. It is amazing how people can adapt.

 

[travelingjack1]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Thanks for the good info bigscoop. You brought up alot of great points and some awesome tips. I have currently have 2 scoops but they probally are not made well enough to handle the tough rocks and hard bottom. I will have to see if I can buy or make a heavy duty one.
I have found 4 swimming holes that I should be able to hunt. Two I believe have small dams. But one of the areas was a public swimming hole then it changed to a pay swimming park. It flows beside a fancy golf course now, unfortunately they put huge boulders the whole way down the length of the shore line. This site looks to me like it will be very muddy and sooty. I can envision sinking to your knees in muck, however I haven't waded in yet. The water is also 4' + deep on average. It just looks a little tough to hunt. The other swimming areas are more clear and rocky bottom I think they will be a better bet. Theres also a Lake close by that was used as a camp ground, public swimming for 100+ years. A private owner bought it and made it a bed and breakfast...I would love to hunt it if I could get permission...Good luck HH

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Thanks for the good info bigscoop. You brought up alot of great points and some awesome tips. I have currently have 2 scoops but they probally are not made well enough to handle the tough rocks and hard bottom. I will have to see if I can buy or make a heavy duty one.
I have found 4 swimming holes that I should be able to hunt. Two I believe have small dams. But one of the areas was a public swimming hole then it changed to a pay swimming park. It flows beside a fancy golf course now, unfortunately they put huge boulders the whole way down the length of the shore line. This site looks to me like it will be very muddy and sooty. I can envision sinking to your knees in muck, however I haven't waded in yet. The water is also 4' + deep on average. It just looks a little tough to hunt. The other swimming areas are more clear and rocky bottom I think they will be a better bet. Theres also a Lake close by that was used as a camp ground, public swimming for 100+ years. A private owner bought it and made it a bed and breakfast...I would love to hunt it if I could get permission...Good luck HH

Deep silt is a huge obsticle here in Indiana, farmers have pushed most of the ground cover back so far a lot more top soil ends up in the creeks, streams, and rivers. But here's a trick you can use to see how deep the silt or much is in an eara before you step too far into it. Since most items will quickly sink into a soft subsrate until they reach a point where the density of the item and the substrate are pretty equal, you can take a long rod and probe these silty or soft mucky bottoms to see how deep it is. If the soft silt it's more then a foot deep I pass it up. In the case of muck, more then a few inches will make swinging the coil a real choir if you try to sink your coil into it. If the softer muck is over about 6" then finding deeper targets is going to be nearly impossible. What you want to try to find are the firmer bottoms in the area, hunt these areas first because they will offer easier hunting and a better picture as to whether the harder to hunt areas are even worth the effort.

Also, sections of streams and creeks with relatively smooth bedrock or limestone bottoms can be really good if they contain deeper pockets or crevices in the bedrock, and especially if the crevice or pocket is in, or just down stream of, the swimming area. And if these pockets and crevices bisect the bedrock or limestone then these become ideal treasue traps and they are really worth seaking out. Also, make yourself a crevicing tool out of a strong length of 5/16" or 3/8" iron rod. You may find that you'll need it in order to retrieve your target from a narrow crevice. (Take a hammer and flatten one end of the crevicing rod for a wider scrapping effect).

As you can probably tell, I love this type of hunting. These places are usually quite, lonely, and their seldom over hunted, if in fact they have even metal detected before? I like to think of these places as, "the last frontier in metal detecting".

Can't wait to hear what you find!

 

[halfstep]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

I am pretty much muck free over here. Most everything is creek gravel bottom. Most of the waters are clear. The creeks and rivers wind like a snake. I suspect that a lot of stuff will be taken down stream and deposited in the bends during high water. Usually after the spring, the heavy rains are over and hot weather gets here and the partiers, beach bums and swimmers start using the beaches. Usually we don't get any big rains during the summer so the beaches and swimming holes will be holding the the treasures. I'll be working these spots after the weekend crowd has left.

 

[bigscoop]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

I am pretty much muck free over here. Most everything is creek gravel bottom. Most of the waters are clear. The creeks and rivers wind like a snake. I suspect that a lot of stuff will be taken down stream and deposited in the bends during high water. Usually after the spring, the heavy rains are over and hot weather gets here and the partiers, beach bums and swimmers start using the beaches. Usually we don't get any big rains during the summer so the beaches and swimming holes will be holding the the treasures. I'll be working these spots after the weekend crowd has left.

Sounds like a good plan! Hope you find a bunch of goodies!

 

[travelingjack1]

Re: Rivers, Creeks, & Streams

Deep silt is a huge obsticle here in Indiana, farmers have pushed most of the ground cover back so far a lot more top soil ends up in the creeks, streams, and rivers. But here's a trick you can use to see how deep the silt or much is in an eara before you step too far into it. Since most items will quickly sink into a soft subsrate until they reach a point where the density of the item and the substrate are pretty equal, you can take a long rod and probe these silty or soft mucky bottoms to see how deep it is. If the soft silt it's more then a foot deep I pass it up. In the case of muck, more then a few inches will make swinging the coil a real choir if you try to sink your coil into it. If the softer muck is over about 6" then finding deeper targets is going to be nearly impossible. What you want to try to find are the firmer bottoms in the area, hunt these areas first because they will offer easier hunting and a better picture as to whether the harder to hunt areas are even worth the effort.

I think the runoff over the years of flooding in this area has caused the silt. This area has flooded continuously since i was a kid and probally before that. One interesting thing is the silt that I know about is directly were the swimming area was. I am not sure about down stream because its out of sight and in a secluded area. A little hard to get to...I need to do a recon of the area downstream....That sounds like a good tip. I could use my crevicing tool as a probe to measure the silt. Maybe a pry-bar would work well 18" or so....

Also, sections of streams and creeks with relatively smooth bedrock or limestone bottoms can be really good if they contain deeper pockets or crevices in the bedrock, and especially if the crevice or pocket is in, or just down stream of, the swimming area. And if these pockets and crevices bisect the bedrock or limestone then these become ideal treasue traps and they are really worth seaking out. Also, make yourself a crevicing tool out of a strong length of 5/16" or 3/8" iron rod. You may find that you'll need it in order to retrieve your target from a narrow crevice. (Take a hammer and flatten one end of the crevicing rod for a wider scrapping effect).

Thanks for the tips Bigscoop,
I know the creek I want to hunt first has bedrock and is more rocky and clear. I will be better off going in the summer and after a dry spell as the currents can get a little swift when it is raised. I want to spend alot of time in this area, it looks promising to me.

As you can probably tell, I love this type of hunting. These places are usually quite, lonely, and their seldom over hunted, if in fact they have even metal detected before? I like to think of these places as, "the last frontier in metal detecting".

The local lakes here have been hunted very lightly as from what i have heard an seen. I seriously doubt anyone has taken the time to hunt these swimming holes. I really had problems finding info on them. One I found out about from my grandmother then I found a brief writing about it on-line. The other I found a nice old article, and confirmed it with a older local. The other two were utube videos, and people commented they swam there in the 60's and 70's....I also need to look up the laws first, I think the waterways fall under the fish and game commission here.
I am heading to Cancun on Tuesday with the GF. I will get to hunt a few hours a day there, so when I come back I'm going to start on my creek hunting. Ill keep you posted if I find anything. Thanks again for the info! HH :coffee2