Up to my neck in fresh water for the first time - oh boy!

[DeepseekerADS]

I went to the lake, two different beaches, with Indian Steve today.

The first beach was murky water. Couldn't see the bottom or even the scoop. And there were boats passing fairly regularly, so I had to brace for the waves. Only found one coin - a zincoln, did dig a nail, bottle cap, and a beaver tail. My first time out, I had a heck of a time getting the scoop in the right location. I evolved to moving my toe up to the edge of the coil and trying to put the scoop (Stealth 930I) up to the end of my toe for the target. One spot, I bet I scooped 10 times before I found the target.

The floor of the lake was hard red clay with just a little sand and a bunch of pebbles. With the kinda "V" bottom of the Stealth scoop, I wasn't scooping up a lot of material each time. I love the scoop, but I think I'll use my other rounded scoop there next time.

The second beach, there was less of a crowd (I had a following of kids at the first beach). The water was clearer. At neck deep I could kinda make out the Excal coil, so it made scooping a heck of a lot easier. And, at neck deep I hit a patch where the first scoop was 3 nickels, the second scoop was two nickels, and then I grabbed two more. That beach was a whole lot better to work with!

I'm pretty pleased with my first real water adventure, I'll be doing some adjustments! Total, I found 7 nickels, 1 dime, and 4 Lincolns for a total of 12 coins.

I'm okay with that, know I will need to do adjustments for murky water - gotta learn how to get the scoop in the right location.

I'm wondering if maybe I could put some kinda reflector on the coil so I could see it better.....

I'll let Steve tell you how he did. Of course he beat the dookie out of me!

 

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[austin]

Hey, you found something. That's all that matters. That and you didn't drown...

 

[RustyGold]

Sounds like you had an awesome time. I love being in the water!

 

[kcm]

Have you considered the possibility of using a glow stick? Just crack one, strap it to your coil, and you'll easily see it. Another idea might be to use fluorescent tape or paint. Whenever it starts getting dim, just lift out of the water and let sunlight recharge for a moment.

 

[Indian Steve]

All I got was 48 cents in clad and a 2 gram 14 k ring. First target was the ring. As muddy as the water was, I don't think anything would help you see the coil better. I have florescent green duct tape on mine and couldn't see it.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Yeah, we hadn't been in the water very long at all! I looked over and here comes Steve with a smile and twinkle in his eye. He snuck me a peek so the kids wouldn't see it - yep got gold! My day is coming! I was just happy to have the experience and actually find something.

Raining here this morning, so the this will be a day of rest (but they all are when you're retired). I think I'll go to an old hardware store in Floyd today and get some gizmos. The pole on my scoop doesn't have handle on it, which made scooping with it too darned awkward when I was having trouble with it to begin with. Had to pull it up out of the water to see which direction the scoop was pointing

 

[OBN]

Congrads on your first outing! You will adjust and learn the more you hunt. I hunt very murky waters and can dig a target without even looking down, And it is because of putting one of these on my scoop,..........get a good handle for your scoop so you can feel where it is pointing. One thing about todays scoops several lack the grip to help us deep water hunters have a sense of location. You can get the fix for your handle here.. McMaster Carr

 

[cudamark]

If you would like a lift handle type, check out the ProHandle available at Home Depot. I like mine on my Stealth 720.