Any ideas on searching lakes with heavy silt?

[Karma Guy]

After doing some research I've found what could be a very sweet spot. It's an old pier (pilings really) that was heavily used in the early 1900's. Currently the land around the pilings is protected wetlands and is rather marshy. My thought is to attack this from a small boat but I don't think the bottom will support my weight and I'll end up sinking up to my hips (or worse). The area is very shallow and I could work the bottom from the boat up to about 4-5 deep with extensions on my detector and scoop. I also have a friend that is willing to scuba the deeper areas if I find anything in the shallows. The deepest part of the pilings is probably 10 ft. Any ideas would be helpful but I'm not planning on hitting this area until the summer.

KG

 

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[FLauthor]

Twenty years ago, I'd tell you to use a dredge with a screen box on the end of the riffle box. But with todays laws, the environmentalists take a dim view of of dredges even though a small one of 3 inches is only recyclling water, not like the commercial ones that can really tear up the bottom. I have a site like yours and when I get my Hookha running and I have a partner, I plan to sink to the bottom with a 3 gallon pail and scoop the mud and send it up on a rope and have my partner dump it into a floating screen box. Have a two or three bucket brigade going. Not as easy as a dredge but I think it will work. If a environmentalist shows up then tell them you are looking for your stainless steel propeller.
I've looked for a few of those in my times. You can also use a aluminum manure rake to probe the muddy bottom for old bottles. The tines are usually about 12 to 18 inches long and will go "tink" when they strike glass. Good luck.

 

[Karma Guy]

Thanks FLauthor, I agree that this is extra difficult because of the park wetlands that are nearby but I plan to disguise my operation as just tying my boat up to the piling to go swimming in the warm water. I'll be sure and post any of my finds as I'm positive there's something down there...it's hard to get to and even harder to recover anything without the right equipment and a lot of perserverance.

 

[Sandman]

I had an area like this once and I used a Garrett gold classifier pan, which is plastic. I'd dig it into the muck and push the muck thru the holes and you can check the mud in the pan with a detector. The water gets very cloudy so you end up going by feel.

Good Luck,
Sandman

 

[Karma Guy]

Sandman, that's a great idea. I think I'm going to pack a bunch of different "tools" with me on the boat as I'm not sure what's going to end up working until I get out there. As this place is only accessible by boat I don't want to get out there only to find plan A didn't work.

KG

 

[Swanie1]

This is how we cope with hunting old, closed, swimming beach lake bottoms that have silted in. In many cases we have to suck through quite a bit of "silt" and sand to get to the goodies. My friend and I bought these Keene coin dredges back in the 90's and have found a lot of loot with them in old lakes where the beaches have been closed to swimming over the years.
I am wearing a 1.10 ct diamond ring that I sucked up in an old lake beach area.

 

[TreasureTales]

How about a floating screen - 1/2 inch mess screen tied onto an inner tube? Dump the buckets of silt, bottom dirt, into it. Everybody from shore thinks you've got a kid using the inner tube (they can't see the screen in the center of it). Wear swim fins and kick the silt away from your digging area. Just some wild ideas, I've never tried them myself.

 

[Karma Guy]

These are all great ideas, I really appreciate the input and pics. I won't be hitting this place until the water warms up a bit and I'll be sure to post what I find...junk and all.

KG