POLLING - ANOTHER WAY TO HUNT DEEPER WATERS

[CASPER-2]

BEFORE I BOUGHT MY 1ST HOOKAH (EARLY 2000s)
I WANTED A WAY TO HUNT JUST OUT SIDE MY SNORKEL RANGE
I WAS USING A WHITES PI PRO BACK THEN - THE CORD ON MINE WAS REAL LONG
ESPECIALLY WHEN STRAIGHTENED - I WENT TO HARDWARE STORE AND BOUGHT THE
LONGEST WOODEN POLE I COULD FIND - I THEN DETATCHED THE BOX AND SECURED THE POLL
ONTO THE ROD OF MY PI WITH LOTS OF DUCK TAPE AND SCURED THE BOX ONTO THE BACK OF THE POLL
THIS GAVE ME LIKE A 12 FOOT ROD - I WOULD USE IT AT FRESH WATER SPOTS THAT WOULD GO OUT TO ABOUT 6 FEET DEEP AND THEN DROP OFF SHARPLY - I WOULD USE IT WITH MY MASK & SNORKEL - AND USE IT LIKE I WAS CLEANING A POOL
WHEN I GOT A SIGNAL -MY COIL BEING NEUTRAL BUOENCY - WOULD PRETTY MUCH STAY WHERE I LEFT IT OR I WOULD PUT COIL ON ITS SIDE AND MAKE A MARK IN THE SAND WITH IT-THEN I WOULD DIVE DOWN WITH A HAND SCOOP TO RETRIEVE THE TARGET- MY FIRST TIME DOING THIS - I WAS REWARDED WITH A NICE LARGE GOLD RING -
THIS WOULD WORK BETTER WITH A PARTNER - ONE GUY TO HANDLE THE MACHINE AND ANOTHER TO DIVE
IF PARTNER IS A GOOD SWIMMER YOU COULD HIT DEEP SPOTS ALL OVER FROM A SMALL BOAT OR RAFT PROBABLY USING THIS METHOD

 

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[CASPER-2]

NEVER THOUGHT OF IT TILL NOW - BUT - YOU COULD CONTACT DETECTOR COMPANY AND PROBABLY HAVE THEM MAKE A COIL WITH AS LONG OF A CORD AS YOU WANTED AND ACTUALLY USE A LAND MACHINE BOX IN A BOAT -(DRY) - WITH COIL ON THE END OF LONG POLL-(WET)
- ONCE AGAIN THIS WAY YOU'D HAVE TO HAVE A PARTNER DIVING

 

[bluediamounds 55]

I have been hunting a lake that is down ten foot or more I have found a few gold rings where the water would have been out of reach



Found this one last week in what would have been in twelve feet of water there are a few other lakes that I hunt I know there are gold rings in the deeper water good idea I need a hunting buddy that can swim good

 

[Sandman]

We used to be able to order coils with long cables like 20 to 50 ft. and I think it was Garrett.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

After notifying lifegards what I would be doing, I tried bouncing off the bottom to obtain an additional four to six feet detection depth
in protected waters. As I did not have sufficient weight had great difficulty in retrieving detected targets.
Additional difficulty was that the water was too chilly for maintaining breath control.

As I did not have an inflatable safety vest, I relied on a 15 inch diameter inner tube which I tow as a float for sifting targets with gold classifier inside
when I work clay bottoms. Plan on resuming testing after purchase of wet suit, lead weight belt and inflatable safety vest.

If anyone has tried and has had success with this approach, I would like to know maximum workable depth achieved (measured above top of head when standing upright).

 

[Bejamble]

Great idea. I was looking at hookahs as well but they are an investment.

 

[meMiner]

I never did very well free diving and trying to recover using a scoop. I was so buoyant that trying to push the scoop into the sand pushed me to the surface. I guess putting on a scuba weight belt would help. In places with light sand, I was also able to use the fins to fan the bottom, but that really pushed me to the surface. It worked OK in water that was not much deeper then me plus the length of my fins. Bottom line is I found I was better off with scuba or hooka, lots of weight and an underwater detector.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

In Hawaii, many of the depressions where rings accumulate are well known by the locals.
Typically theese are at local beaches or resorts where tourists stay.

The best areas for this type of hunting is a depression parallel to the wave action with a shallow layer of sand over smooth hard coral or sandstone like bottom
which the rings cannot sink below.

When such a depression is found by drifting in and out with the wave action, divers usually just fan the bottom looking for the glint of gold to show through.
Most don't use metal detectors as the waves and currents are usually to strong. The draw back to this style of hunting is that it is hard on the rotary joints.

When detectors are used most often in calmer deeper waters, with fins mask and snorkle, a small stainless steel can shaped scoop basket with wire mesh for fastest draining is often used with the short section of the shaft for a handle for digging deeper targets where fanning does not work well.

The trouble with scuba and dive belts is the weight which you must carry as well as water drag.
Several years ago, we lost one of our most experienced detectorists (an X Navy Seal) who suffered a heart attack while lugging his diving and detecting gear while truding back to the car over soft sand after looking for a ring.

 

[meMiner]

Another thought, I have not tried it, but I suspect a scoop on a short handle that you pull towards you to dig/scrape up sand, would be way more effective when free diving than a scoop that you push away and dig with. Pulling towards yourself should pull you towards the bottom.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Another thought, I have not tried it, but I suspect a scoop on a short handle that you pull towards you to dig/scrape up sand, would be way more effective when free diving than a scoop that you push away and dig with. Pulling towards yourself should pull you towards the bottom.

I agree!

A pull towards you scoop works better for diving for the above reasons you stated.
I use a very rugged small diameter (slightly less than 5 inch wide) all stainless steel scoop with a cylndrical (can shaped) basket when diving. It's stainless steel of 5 inch mesh has less drag and drains rapidly.

I only use the short section of the handle when diving, or both sections when hunting dry and wet sand on the beach and shin deep in the water. Actually met the designer of this scoop, who had duck taped an extra piece of tubing on the handle so that he could retrieve deeper shallow water targets. He told me that he had this scoop made to meet his needs and is still kicking himself and the welder is the one who is now making the money off of it.

I also like to use this scoop where there is the possibility of live coral as it does minimal damage or where there are families as it looks less threatening than a large scoop such as the sunspot stealth that I also use which is nick named the grim reaper as it looks scary