Putting Google Earth to Work For You.

[bigscoop]

This winter I’m spending a lot time on the beach probing the beach in search of shallow shell pack areas and firmer bottoms, in both the wet sand and in the water. When I find these areas I record them on Google Earth so once those deeper summer sands arrive I’ll be able to identify those areas with the shallowest hard pack areas. My thinking is that whenever the sand moves I’ll know where I have the best opportunities to possibly access those lost heavier items, such as gold rings, etc. I’ve also done a historical overview and it’s surprising how cuts and holes and rips seem to develop in the same general area from year to year. These areas are also recorded. What I learned here on the East Coast is that everything is dependent on the sand and its movements and I want to be able to capitalize on those movements whenever and wherever they occur. Google Earth is a great tool for isolating and keeping track of these areas and the potential changes. Will be interesting to see how this impacts things next summer.

 

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[River Hound]

Smart. That's doing your home work.Reminds me of something Hamid said awhile back knowing where the shallow areas are.Is their a way to get real time photos or close to with google earth. Out here in northern cal we just had massive rain I am a little burned out on the lake ive been hunting and was going to go on a road trip.I am 2 hours from the beach if i could have scaned the beach using google earth that would have been very cool.How do you prob the beach with a rod of sorts

 

[bigscoop]

Some beaches have 24/7 live cams that you can access, just have to do a search for them to see what you can find. Can't do real time on Google Earth but you can go from the most recent image and back a few years. I probe the beach simply by hunting it, taking notice of those areas where the digging gets harder, areas where that dark gray clay-like sand is encountered, shell pack areas, etc. During the summer months most of these areas are covered by a deep layer of soft sand, but during the winter months this soft sand gets stripped away and these areas can be more easily located. It's amazing just how much soft sand gets delivered to the beaches in the summer. Right now, if I encounter and area that I planned to hunt and it's still got a deep covering of soft sand I'll often move on to another location unless there is an obvious feature like a hole, cut, etc.

 

[Crispin]

I can recognize a cut pretty easily. How do you recognize a hole prior to digging into it?

 

[bigscoop]

I can recognize a cut pretty easily. How do you recognize a hole prior to digging into it?

Look for the darker water, about the same as cut. On my area of cost there are sections of beach that nearly always produce a sting of holes during those higher volume/exchange periods that occur each month. You probably won't see them on Google but you can find them at the beach and then record them on Google. They don't last long, maybe a few of days and then they fill right back in, pretty common in the summer when the sand is deep and soft near the waterline. Rips are also easy to spot.....good to know about during low tide. You can also isolate those condo buildings that have a higher rate of tourism and traffic, etc.