water hunting troubles

[garviso8]

been using my cz 21 at local area beaches here in Miami and getting frustrated to the point of calling it quits ,definitely not as easy as it seems my problem comes on retrieving targets, I listen to the machine ,place the scoop near where I think it is and proceed to dig and dig and dig to no avail how deep is this thing? all this digging muddy's the water to the point that now I can't see a thing ,eventually I get tired and move on. when I manage to get a target it's usually a penny as this machine is not the best discriminator nor does it have a depth meter, add the miles traveled to the beach ,tolls ,refreshments and what not, just to walk away with a few hard earned pennies that I can't probably use because there so corroded. I don't need to make a living off this but would like to see a better treasure to trash ratio sorry to vent but it seems like other people have better experiences doing this any advise on what i'm doing wrong would be appreciated

 

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[Irishgoldhound]

If you don't get gratification from just getting out in the fresh air and finding only a penny or two, then you need a new hobby. It's not for everyone. I've always found my gold when I wasn't looking for it. I was busy enjoying the scenery and fresh air. For me it's my zen and a stress reliever. The treasure comes when I'm not expecting it.

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

Eye candy!!!!

 

[MrMikeJackie]

I'm thinking this is simply a pinpointing issue. The more you do it the better you will get. The targets not moving, you're just off a bit and getting frustrated when you don't bring it up. You will get a hang of it, just keep trying. You have one of the best water machines by the way. GL HH

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Exactly always the eye candy if you're getting tired of looking at crusted pennies.

 

[lookindown]

I always say "I cant have a bad day, Im at the beach".

 

[OBN]

Learn how to dig target by practicing on dry sand with your eyes shut..or in the dark. Once you can dig a target without looking down and with confidence on the dry then move to the wet.

I think one of the best qualities of a good hunter is being able to hit and run..AFAP

 

[Jackalope]

I use a 5" round sand scoop in the saltwater here in Hawaii. It's too small of an opening and can't handle gravel/rocks, it's got no bite. Just don't have the money for a pointy, large scoop right now. My technique is to center the target under the coil - then position the scoop over the search coil head (it'll scream) - now you can move the search coil away and drop the scoop straight down. Rock the handle this-way and that-way to dig into the sand/mud, then pull the handle back, reach down under the water and get as far forward as you can on the handle and raise the scoop. I've lost targets by not being careful to raise the scoop facing fully up (dirt is washing off as it comes up so you need it to be upright.)

I don't bring the scoop out of the water - I check my hole and if the coil says I've missed it I drop the dirt - preferably so the dirt plume floats away from the target hole. I just keep repeating the procedure until the coil says the target isn't there (and it's in the scoop). That's when I can rinse out the sand/mud and see if it was worth the effort.

I use a plastic handle above the basket so it is easier to reach down and leverage up the scoop. A little help sometimes from the knee to get the heavy basket up. I've had trouble losing small jewelry out the basket with its 1/2" mesh - but that's what you get using a dry sand scoop in the water. I've inserted window screen in the past and that keep the small stuff inside - but not the best solution.

On the subject, is there anyone who knows which water scoop utilizes small mesh, at least near the rear, to keep the little stuff from escaping? Those tiny earring backs and such are escape artists.

 

[Sandman]

I use a 5" round sand scoop in the saltwater here in Hawaii. It's too small of an opening and can't handle gravel/rocks, it's got no bite. Just don't have the money for a pointy, large scoop right now. My technique is to center the target under the coil - then position the scoop over the search coil head (it'll scream) - now you can move the search coil away and drop the scoop straight down. Rock the handle this-way and that-way to dig into the sand/mud, then pull the handle back, reach down under the water and get as far forward as you can on the handle and raise the scoop. I've lost targets by not being careful to raise the scoop facing fully up (dirt is washing off as it comes up so you need it to be upright.)

I don't bring the scoop out of the water - I check my hole and if the coil says I've missed it I drop the dirt - preferably so the dirt plume floats away from the target hole. I just keep repeating the procedure until the coil says the target isn't there (and it's in the scoop). That's when I can rinse out the sand/mud and see if it was worth the effort.

I use a plastic handle above the basket so it is easier to reach down and leverage up the scoop. A little help sometimes from the knee to get the heavy basket up. I've had trouble losing small jewelry out the basket with its 1/2" mesh - but that's what you get using a dry sand scoop in the water. I've inserted window screen in the past and that keep the small stuff inside - but not the best solution.

On the subject, is there anyone who knows which water scoop utilizes small mesh, at least near the rear, to keep the little stuff from escaping? Those tiny earring backs and such are escape artists.

Some of the Sunspot scoops have these small holes. Note the earring stud in front of magnets.

 

[Sandman]

I have not water hunted yet. I did by an Aquanaut and plan on hitting some beaches at the local lakes to include the North coast. I look forward to learning the new type of detecting and can't wait to go "old school" on some targets, (by sound alone).

I'm thinking that I should line my scoop with 1/4" mesh before I hit the beaches, the scoop I have is a Beachmaster 32" scoop or something similar. What do you think?

The Beachmaster is okay for dry sand but you'd be better off with a larger basket for water hunting. The 1/4" mesh will slow down sifting if you run into shells & stones. The 1280-X is fine for freshwater but will false in saltwater. Set disc at 2 1/2. Make sure it sounds off on pulltab or it won't beep on many gold rings.

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

We are living in a world where everythings should be easy, where everyone could be famous.....I.m afraid metal detecting takes time like every hobby. It can be compared to fishing: having the latest and the most expensive fishing rod won't makes any differences! If you have nothing under the coil or if you are not used to recognize a target mixed with the trash....... Time, patience, humility and......be lucky!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

We are living in a world where everythings should be easy, where everyone could be famous.....I.m afraid metal detecting takes time like every hobby. It can be compared to fishing: having the latest and the most expensive fishing rod won't makes any differences! If you have nothing under the coil or if you are not used to recognize a target mixed with the trash....... Time, patience, humility and......be lucky!

I use to love fishing, spent a lot on money enjoying it too, but I never once found a gold or diamond ring in belly of any I cleaned and only caught 1 bass over 10 lbs...

 

[cudamark]

been using my cz 21 at local area beaches here in Miami and getting frustrated to the point of calling it quits ,definitely not as easy as it seems my problem comes on retrieving targets, I listen to the machine ,place the scoop near where I think it is and proceed to dig and dig and dig to no avail how deep is this thing? all this digging muddy's the water to the point that now I can't see a thing ,eventually I get tired and move on. when I manage to get a target it's usually a penny as this machine is not the best discriminator nor does it have a depth meter, add the miles traveled to the beach ,tolls ,refreshments and what not, just to walk away with a few hard earned pennies that I can't probably use because there so corroded. I don't need to make a living off this but would like to see a better treasure to trash ratio sorry to vent but it seems like other people have better experiences doing this any advise on what i'm doing wrong would be appreciated

At my local beaches, it's rare to be able to see the bottom once you get more than knee deep. Start by going to popular swimming beaches. Use the tips mentioned about pin pointing and dig until you get the target so you can compare what the machine told you to what it actually is. That will help with future targets. Try to sweep completely around the target without getting a hit. That will give you an idea on how big it is. Get a good water scoop, like the Stealth 720, for faster recoveries. Even doing everything right, there will be days where crusty zincs will be your only "prize".

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

I use to love fishing, spent a lot on money enjoying it too, but I never once found a gold or diamond ring in belly of any I cleaned and only caught 1 bass over 10 lbs...

You can help the chance, but at the of the day you can't know what will be under your coil!

Humility.... I have invited a friend who's a "experienced detectorist" to one of my "private permission roman field". We ve hunted during 1 hours, and he made 6 or 7 founds of importance (small antique relics, gold coins and silver coins) and me = 0. We were just 20/30 ft from each other. He came back behind me and recovered 2 wonderfull coins that I have missed!


Both are from the roman empire age, between -120bc to 100after christ


I don't think I am a rooky but I think humility was the appropriate term to use....

 

[CASPER-2]

one thing I did not see if you mentioned and did not see anyone ask
does your CZ21 have large or small coil?
everyone I personally know that have/had large coil - had hard time pinpointing shallower targets

 

[rainyday101]

I use the t-rex scoop I locate target and gestimate where I should scoop when I remove the coil . problem is target is either too deep or it's moving and after the first or second try the mud flats I'm detecting in gets so cloudy I can't see and rely only on guessing .maybe i'll try a beach with softer sand bottom

I hunt freshwater but target recovery is target recovery. Read post #8 by treasure hunter again and again. This is EXACTLY how I do it. When you get a target that is constantly moving- fill the hole, and move on. I have chased many of these when I first started and they usually are pull tabs or small items falling through the scoop.

Take your fist scoop just as Treasure Hunter described. The point of the scoop right at the heel of the coil, go straight down (repeat straight down) and then forward under the coil. This way you have in your scoop exactly what was below the coil. The one thing I would add to Treasure Hunter's advice is after lifting the scoop, hold it off to the side and recheck the hole before sifting the scoop out.

Learning to size up a target with your detector is very important. A coin or ring only have a small sweet spot of audio when the coil is passed over it. If the target sizes up so that you get audio across the whole coil width or more, it is not a coin or ring size target.

Remember you see all the great finds posted here that are found on the beach or in the water. What you don't see or hear is how many hours of finding junk or nothing come between these great finds. To find a lot, you have to hunt a lot, I mean a lot.

There are a lot of great sand scoops made, the T-Rex is one of them.

Shift your focus from getting rich to having fun and enjoying the hunt. The rings will come and your hunting will become relaxing instead of frustrating.

This is my advice and take it for what it's worth, because in the big scheme of things, I am a mere rookie compared to the talent that exist on this forum.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

If this is true, I must live in a different world or in a parrel universe!

We are living in a world where everythings should be easy, where everyone could be famous.....I.m afraid metal detecting takes time like every hobby. It can be compared to fishing: having the latest and the most expensive fishing rod won't makes any differences! If you have nothing under the coil or if you are not used to recognize a target mixed with the trash....... Time, patience, humility and......be lucky!

 

[lookindown]

one thing I did not see if you mentioned and did not see anyone ask
does your CZ21 have large or small coil?
everyone I personally know that have/had large coil - had hard time pinpointing shallower targets

Ive got the 10 1/2 inch coil and don't have a problem pin pointing shallow targets. I don't use the pinpoint unless I miss the target on the first scoop...then I pinpoint it and it comes out on the next scoop.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I use 15" WOT, 12x15" SEF Butterfly and 15x18" SEF Butterfly coils and I have no problem pinpointing, my hunting partners use 15" coils and have no problem pinpointing...

 

[dewcon4414]

Are you sure you have it set up right and those are targets? Most targets as you dig if you give it a second they will tend to move to the center of the hole. IF your scoop is to small targets will be pushed out of the scoop as it fills. Pennies can be the worth. Their composition can make them really sound off NEAR the coil and they like to float.

 

[jyt2017]

Modern clad can be infuriating to deal with. Why? Well every time you scoop and miss you move the target and may flip it. It may already be on tilt and your machine signals a few inches away from its actual location.

Take me some modern change and set it up and go over it to see the limitations of the machine. I know the cz will grumble an iron signal on deep almost out of reach good targets.


pinpointing and recovering targets in water is hard. Keep in mind that you won't find something every time. A lot of times you will go home tired and empty handed.

Until il you get good instead of trying to get it on first scoop...take a few 1 to 2 inch scrapes gradually ge deeper. You might find that it's a surface target that way. No sense in wasting energy by scooping deep when it's unnecessary.


Hhgl -Joe