Opinion on "where" to hunt on beach?

[bettendorfJoe]

Having absolutely no experience hunting on any beach, I am very curious as to what location has been the most productive for you, coins, rings, bracelets, etc...

By location i mean ankle deep, knee deep, waste deep, at the wave line, towel line, top of the beach where the chickens sit?

I am going to be headed to Florida soon and would like to get everyone's opinion so I can maximize my time.

Thanks in advance,
Joe S.

 

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[rickv14623]

Greetings Joe,

That is a great question. In addition to browsing this forum I recommend Gold Beneath the Waves Gold Beneath the Waves: Treasure Hunting the Surf and Sand: Jim F. Brouwer: 9780984889105: Amazon.com: Books

HH

Rick

 

[DewGuru]

I've found the most waist deep.

 

[bigscoop]

If only it were that easy. Some beaches down here remain fairly flat with little daily surf/current influence - other beaches experience daily surf/current influences and some of them see stronger influence then others. All of this equates to more sand movement on some beaches, especially during the summer months. Some beaches are basically flat, others can be lined with a series of troughs, etc. Take all of these factors and combine them with the daily tide times and the magnitudes of people on the beach = it all equates to people enjoying the surf/water "wherever the elements allow them to enjoy it at on any given day". Higher tides force these groves of swimmers toward the shallows, lower tides allow them to expand their territory much further out - the more surf and current the greater the influence. So basically - "study the beaches you'll be hunting".

 

[lorraine]

My humble opinion:

All of the above depending on the beach conditions for that particular detecting day.

Lorraine

 

[lorraine]

Greetings Joe,

That is a great question. In addition to browsing this forum I recommend Gold Beneath the Waves Gold Beneath the Waves: Treasure Hunting the Surf and Sand: Jim F. Brouwer: 9780984889105: Amazon.com: Books




HH

Rick

Excellent book! Informative and fun to read.

L

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Go here and read the Beach section, it has tons of info you can use....

Remember every beach is different and the same beach is different in differant parts......

I have found the majority of my gold in the water, but have also found gold in wet sand and in the dry sand..... Learn to read the beach to see where people gather, beaches have zones, see what zones have the most activity on the beaches you hunt....

What state you in?

 

[Buzzlitebeer]

Of course I bow to all the experience on this web site, but the best I got was learn to "READ YOUR BEACH".

With that said I hunt my beaches 4-5 times a week and have done so for 5 months a dont know much more than I did when I started. The summer came and made me very humble!

But its about the walk and scenery anyway right!!!

 

[matrix master DBA]

And don't forget to keep it slow and low....

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Having absolutely no experience hunting on any beach, I am very curious as to what location has been the most productive for you, coins, rings, bracelets, etc...

By location i mean ankle deep, knee deep, waste deep, at the wave line, towel line, top of the beach where the chickens sit?

I am going to be headed to Florida soon and would like to get everyone's opinion so I can maximize my time.

Thanks in advance,
Joe S.

Joe: If you ever were a boy scout, you already know the answer is: “Be Prepared”
Assuming your next question is prepared for what:
I would say it depends upon the detector you will be using.
If you will be using a single frequency VLF metal detector, which is most likely, you will be most effective detecting on dry sand.
A multifrequency VLF detector or a pulse Induction detector (PI) is normally needed to hunt on the wet sand and in the water
because of the mineralization /salt will drive a single frequency VLF and you Nut So chasing ghost signals.
That is unless you are very skilled, and can sacrifice detection depth.

This is not as bad as it sounds as the found jewelry, mostly fresh drops, will be in better condition.
Though the jewelry tends to be lighter. I have found some of my best stuff high and dry,
even though I spend the least amount of time hunting there.

Again be prepared: Think Lawrence of Arabia on a one day campaign.
It is tough walking on the loose sand, you need to keep things light, protect yourself against the sun, keep hydrated, flap hat.
A Garrett pro pin pointer (side lobe) works well with a spade and composit scoop (you have to drop knee/bend over/prone out)
to rapidly sift sand where there are lots of targets close together.

I like the late evening best, to start hunting when people are leaving as it is easy to find parking and you don’t have to be worried about being fried.
You still need to arrive early enough to have time to scout out where the older people gather as they wear the most expensive jewelry,
unless you are into new age materials and coins of clad. If there are a competitors, you will have not be able to wait till the sun bathers
start to depart (optimum time) then detect into the night as long as you dare or till you drop.

Be aware that it is more difficult to see with head lamps and it will be much harder to fill the holes as you lose depth of perception.
Also if you are using red LEDs so that you don’t lose night vision every ring will look gold.

You will have a second shot at it, best before sunrise so that you can treasure hunt before it gets hot and too many pesky depositors return.
Even though gold platinum and silver can be found almost everywhere on the beach it will seldom be under your coil as your looking for centimeter size targets over acres of sand. Use a hit and run tactic working the most productive beaches.
Repeat this cycle day after day till you have to return home. Then start all over when you return.

By the way: its people watching skills that matter most here.
You don’t need to be able to read the beach nor do you have to time the tides.
Though you can pretty much tell what the tides are by when competitors arrive and depart.
Good Luck and Good Hunting

“It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it.”

 

[bigscoop]

Of course I bow to all the experience on this web site, but the best I got was learn to "READ YOUR BEACH".

With that said I hunt my beaches 4-5 times a week and have done so for 5 months a dont know much more than I did when I started. The summer came and made me very humble!

But its about the walk and scenery anyway right!!!

When I first moved to the East Coast two things occurred that set me back quite a bit. First, I hunted day in and day out with little to show for my efforts while others were posting a lot of nice finds. Second, the vastness of the "beach" was overwhelming..."read the beach, my butt"....I thought to myself,.."I couldn't read that much beach in a lifetime!" But, the same hunters kept posting good finds again and again.....it was absolutely driving me nuts.

Truth is, these hunters do know how to read the beach, wind, tides, etc., and they understand their machines intimately. Luck plays a big part in every gold discovery but it doesn't play a part in being able to consistently determine where the best luck might be found. This is the strength of these consistent hunters, they know how to keep their coils over the best possible locations. In my opinion this is the big difference between those that have great success and those that have modest or little success.

"5 months" isn't long enough. Give yourself that first full year so you can see first hand the seasonal changes that take place on the beach, I assure that they are far more drastic then you might first anticipate/assume. Once you get the full scope of these changes it will start to become much easier for you in regards to spotting potential changes on the beaches you routinely hunt. Take a picture of the beaches you are hunting now at low tide, take another one from the same spot six months from now during the same low tide cycle - what an eye opener it will provide. We tend not to notice these gradual seasonal changes, but rather only those obvious, rather drastic changes that one might associate with the passing of storm fronts, etc. But once you can relate to the seasonal changes of the beach you'll start to see some of these same things in the daily changes throughout the season, if only a smaller scale, but an important scale.

 

[mumszie]

Go to the very first post and read - The Goldenolde. That will give you all the info you need. The guy that wrote that is a legend to most of us. You will go back there and re read it again and again. Good luck

 

[bettendorfJoe]

Go here and read the Beach section, it has tons of info you can use....

Remember every beach is different and the same beach is different in differant parts......

I have found the majority of my gold in the water, but have also found gold in wet sand and in the dry sand..... Learn to read the beach to see where people gather, beaches have zones, see what zones have the most activity on the beaches you hunt....

What state you in?

Iowa...but we go to Florida at least twice a year.