DaChief
Bronze Member
- Sep 16, 2007
- 1,035
- 36
- Detector(s) used
- -------(Water)------- Garrett Infinium (Relic and Coin) Minelab Sov. Elite
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
Hey folks. I am a long time relic hunter with a metal detector. I have done very well over the years in that arena but tomorrow, I am taking my kids, (7 and 10 years old), for the first time to look for fossils.
We live in Central Florida near Gainesville and there are many fossil creeks in the area. I have built a sturdy sifter box with 1/4 inch wire and have done a good bit of reading about folks who have sifted the creeks. I am aware of the need for a fossil permit in the event that we find something other than shark teeth but the teeth will be the subject of our hunt tomorrow although I know we may find other things.
We did a scouting trip of a local creek today. There have been some significant rains this week but now the water is down to about a foot or less in the creekbeds and it is clear. There are pockets of gravel and rock here and there mostly in the bends of the creek. We did some eyeballing today but no luck. We only spent about 20 minutes and didn't really do any serious looking.
Here are my plans for tomorrow. We hit the creek about mid morning with some water and snacks, a camera, our rubber boots, the sifter, and a shovel and find a good area where there are lots of gravel/stone deposits. We put the sifter down and shovel the gravel and stone over into the sifter and then sift it in the water. Then we all three spend an eternity looking through the stuff in the sifter to see if we see anything that resembles a shark tooth or other fossil. Once we have gone through the sifter, we repeat the process.
Any hints anyone could give me tonight to make it any better would be appreciated. The creek we are hunting is known for small fossils and I noticed lots of white limestone fragments that had been washed out into the water today. I am assuming that most everything we will be looking for will be black in color but not everything. I have gone onto a local hunter's web site where he has posted some of his finds to get and idea of what we should be looking for.
Thanks in advance for any obvious things I have overlooked. I am new to this but would like for my kids to find something tomorrow. They love playing in the creeks anyway so a no find day would probably not be so bad.
Jim
DaChief
We live in Central Florida near Gainesville and there are many fossil creeks in the area. I have built a sturdy sifter box with 1/4 inch wire and have done a good bit of reading about folks who have sifted the creeks. I am aware of the need for a fossil permit in the event that we find something other than shark teeth but the teeth will be the subject of our hunt tomorrow although I know we may find other things.
We did a scouting trip of a local creek today. There have been some significant rains this week but now the water is down to about a foot or less in the creekbeds and it is clear. There are pockets of gravel and rock here and there mostly in the bends of the creek. We did some eyeballing today but no luck. We only spent about 20 minutes and didn't really do any serious looking.
Here are my plans for tomorrow. We hit the creek about mid morning with some water and snacks, a camera, our rubber boots, the sifter, and a shovel and find a good area where there are lots of gravel/stone deposits. We put the sifter down and shovel the gravel and stone over into the sifter and then sift it in the water. Then we all three spend an eternity looking through the stuff in the sifter to see if we see anything that resembles a shark tooth or other fossil. Once we have gone through the sifter, we repeat the process.
Any hints anyone could give me tonight to make it any better would be appreciated. The creek we are hunting is known for small fossils and I noticed lots of white limestone fragments that had been washed out into the water today. I am assuming that most everything we will be looking for will be black in color but not everything. I have gone onto a local hunter's web site where he has posted some of his finds to get and idea of what we should be looking for.
Thanks in advance for any obvious things I have overlooked. I am new to this but would like for my kids to find something tomorrow. They love playing in the creeks anyway so a no find day would probably not be so bad.
Jim
DaChief
