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[Golden oaks]

Yes this is for fishing. I am hoping it will help educate others as to what we are referring when we mention cuts and troughs, etc.

Being from Ohio, I didn't have a clue at first what some of these terms were. I hope others will contribute with other examples (pictures) and favorite places to hunt on a beach.

For myself, I have tried to hunt the troughs and have had mostly unproductive results. Right place at right time I guess. I seem to do pretty good in deep pools just off the beach in usually knee to waist deep water that is surrounded by ankle deep waters.

So let's see it!

 

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[ron lord]

your cut is in the wrong place , the cut is above or at top of surf line with a 6 inch or taller wall.

 

[bigscoop]

First, I can tell right away that the image you posted was taken in the summer and/or when there was "a lot" of sand on the beach. This means the trough area and runout area in your image has been made through mostly deep fluffy sand, this being apparent by the soft sandy ripples in the through area and runout and the mild slopes of those two areas. For this reason I'd probably pass on both accounts unless you were hoping to run into a recent drop or two or lighter objects like coins, pulltabs, etc.

Now if the slopes leading into both of those two areas (the edges) had been steeply cut and the sand in them appeared hard and smooth with a scattering of noticeable large shell, etc., then I'd hunt them. But this is just me.....

PS: The only reason that image has the runnel area is because of the "sandbar" that has built up above the low waterline, and that's just what it is..."a lot of soft sand!" Walk onto it when it is covered with water and see how easy it is to sink your foot into it, now give a very dense item, like a gold ring, 6 hours or more to sink into that, "deep fluff" with the added agitation of the surf. So unless that section of beach is absolutely packed with people and you're hoping for a few "recent drops" it isn't a very promising proposition.

 

[DrJoePrime]

My experience is specific to California.

The real CUTS are parallel to the water line..and can be anywhere from 8 in to 6 feet+. They generally occur over winter high tides combined with wind and (hopefully) rain. When you see them DETECT the heck out of them! My preference is right under the cut but I will also thoroughly search everything to the waterline at low tide.

Last year in January a cut of about 150 yards length opened up in an unpopular section of beach. I worked that cut for almost 2 months and got a dozen gold rings a gold bracelet and about 50 silver rings (not to mention lots of clad)! A few weeks ago another shorter cut opened up on a different beach and a week's work got me 5 gold rings and a gold religious medallion. So this works...for me and I do love it!

If you can locate a beach that was popular 40 or more years ago and has since become less popular...I would hit that hard.

Winter EROSION is another thing to look for. When sand is removed by storms and waves to rocky or clay bottoms...well that becomes quite thrilling! California does get the occasional storm but nothing like the storm watching of the east coast (of which I have no experience..yet).

Best of Luck to you!

 

[CASPER-2]

some of my articles might help - others might inspire
https://www.flickr.com/photos/casper-2/

 

[Tom_in_CA]

My experience is specific to California.

The real CUTS are parallel to the water line..and can be anywhere from 8 in to 6 feet+. They generally occur over winter high tides combined with wind and (hopefully) rain. When you see them DETECT the heck out of them! My preference is right under the cut but I will also thoroughly search everything to the waterline at low tide.

Last year in January a cut of about 150 yards length opened up in an unpopular section of beach. I worked that cut for almost 2 months and got a dozen gold rings a gold bracelet and about 50 silver rings (not to mention lots of clad)! A few weeks ago another shorter cut opened up on a different beach and a week's work got me 5 gold rings and a gold religious medallion. So this works...for me and I do love it!

If you can locate a beach that was popular 40 or more years ago and has since become less popular...I would hit that hard.

Winter EROSION is another thing to look for. When sand is removed by storms and waves to rocky or clay bottoms...well that becomes quite thrilling! California does get the occasional storm but nothing like the storm watching of the east coast (of which I have no experience..yet).

Best of Luck to you!

Great post Doc ! Good to hear from you. Glad you got into some thick pockets. There's no feeling like being in an area the size of your living room, and never lacking for signals on every swing for 2 hrs. Doh ! (you'll never go back to dry sand hunting again, haha). Trouble is: These days are few and far between.

I recall one erosion episode where .... for an entire hour, every single scoop had NO LESS than 2 coins. Sometimes 5 or 6. With sinkers, keys, globs, etc.... Sick sick sick.

 

[bigscoop]

Great post Doc ! Good to hear from you. Glad you got into some thick pockets. There's no feeling like being in an area the size of your living room, and never lacking for signals on every swing for 2 hrs. Doh ! (you'll never go back to dry sand hunting again, haha). Trouble is: These days are few and far between.

I recall one erosion episode where .... for an entire hour, every single scoop had NO LESS than 2 coins. Sometimes 5 or 6. With sinkers, keys, globs, etc.... Sick sick sick.

Those were that good'ol days, for sure. I once had 13 coins in my scoop when I was done counting.....

 

[Golden oaks]

The example picture was from Deleware-Surf-Fishing.com. Does anyone have a decent picture to give examples of places you would work? I have tried the cuts (Sand/shell walls), the dark grey rippled sand low spots, areas where shells gather (another low spot), etc. I seem to have my best luck in the wet hard sand just above the waves.

 

[4x4x4]

....Is that a copyrighted picture ?

 

[Obsessive]

some of my articles might help - others might inspire
https://www.flickr.com/photos/casper-2/

Theres a lot of knowledge in those pages. Thanks for sharing!


Also, for the OP, regarding beach hunting: a book was recommended to me recently called "Gold Beneath the Waves" Its a pretty quick read and covers a lot of the basic knowledge needed to get you going.

Unfortunately for me it helped me to determine that my local beach is not what would be considered productive. And since my detector does not do well with salt soaked sand, Im sticking with dry land, for now.. But I'll keep visiting at low tide to try and spot those potential areas.