1st Beach hunt---Story & Question

[Whiterook]

So I am at a nice beach at a lake with my new T-Rex scoop. You have to remember this will be my first real sandy beach hunt. The beach is nice white sand just like at an ocean beach. IT's maybe 100 yards long and 30 yards deep. I arrive and no one else is there. I notice lines in the sand parallel to the shore the entire length of the beach. The lines are maybe 1 foot wide and they are about 6-8 feet apart. I thought that was strange but began hunting in the sand with my AT Pro, dragging my new scoop behind me. My plan was to search a while in the sand but spend most of my time in the water. After hunting 10 minutes or so I dug a dime using my new scoop and then looked back behind me. My scoop dragging behind me left the exact same line in the sand as the mysterious lines that were on the sand when I arrived. Someone had just been there a day or two before and searched the entire beach. I did find a few coins and an ear rig but here is my question; Do you experienced guys/ladies use your large coil in the water to cover more area or smaller coil for less resistance in the water. Which searches more area faster?.

 

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[Beach Papa]

I have a 13"x17" coil and have tried it in the water but it is like dragging a tree branch with leaves through the water. Even if the coil covers more area, if you can't drag it through the water very far without your arm falling off, it won't find much. I have hunted the water with both a 10" and 11" coil with greater success. However, I will say that the smoothest flow through the water is with my Tesoro Tiger Shark 10" coil. That coil is thin and solid with a 3" diameter hole in the middle and provides much less resistance than a coil with spokes.

 

[The Urban Prospector]

I use the 5x7 all of the time. Mainly because I am used to it. However I also know it is better at "weeding" thru the trash. Less drag in the water? Yeah probably. As far as covering more ground with the 8.5x11.....I don't know. My swing arc doesn't change regardless of which coil I use. I have heard that the larger coil is deeper. Hope this helps.

 

[penzfan]

A tip on the Sand/Tiger 10" coils that may flip up in the surf. Turn the bottom of the shaft 180* with the coil pointed at your feet. No more flips.

 

[frogmaster-riviera]

For CTX in the wade :

17" => forget it, quite hard to swing and very hard to locate target with your scoop
11" => good
6" => almost like 11" to swing due to the massive down shaft of the CTX, very easy to lacate the target
11"*5"Coilteck for CTX Joey Coil => just forget it, too massive to be swing easily, I never use it in the shallow or even worse when scuba diving: you can't have the coil on a full horizontal position

 

[Captain Caveman]

I run the cz20 with the 8" coil and have no problems with water resistance. I may be able to cover more water with a bigger coil, but I've been fine with things the way they are.

 

[cudamark]

How's your arm strength? I use both a stock 10" and a 15" WOT on an Excalibur. Neither are easy to swing in the surf, but the 10" will make a difference over a long time in the water. Coverage isn't a whole lot different but a slight edge to the bigger coil. It covers more area, but, you can't swing it as fast as the 10". It gets a bit more depth though, so, I use it when possible. When the surf is high or that particular beach has a big surge, I use the smaller one.

 

[flgliderpilot]

I use an 8.5"x11"... just swing very slowly....you want to go slow anyway!

 

[cudamark]

In the water, you really don't have much choice but to swing slow. Too much resistance to overswing.

 

[RustyGold]

I would use the Excalibur with the 8" coil