Any advice for lake shore hunting?

[Lasivian]

With the heavy drought in the southwest US i'm thinking of hitting some of the local lakes that are WELL below full.

Any tips on that type of hunting? I'm not sure if it'll really be different from beach hunting, tho I know most lakes here do NOT have sand, so it'll be more like hunting over rough rocks to boulders. (Makes me wish I had a small coil)

thanks

 

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[coinshooter]

Not any different than hunting the beach unless you get into a really muddy area (which I would avoid like the plague). Use a scoop such as a sand scoop. Keep digging until your target disappears into your scoop. Use the lake water to get the dirt out of the scoop. Don't reach too far into the lake because if there is something good in the scoop that can fall out you don't want to have to reach too far into the water.
Oh yes, wear water shoes and shorts. Makes it alot easier than trying to keep your feet dry.
Take a screw driver if you have alot of rocky areas to pry the rocks apart. I hear they were scooping up a ton of gold at Havasu a while ago when they started either draining the lake or it was drawn down heavily.
Concentrate around boat docks and shoreline where you know people would hang out. Also areas where there are any kind of places to spend $. At Havasu I would concentrate hunting where everyone gets naked. Not because you can find more, but because it will be more fun to hunt there! 8)

BTW -In answer to your question, our beaches have been the worst they have been for hunting in the last 5 yrs. Not much being found this year. The sand has been really bad in coming back this year. No sand = less finds (since items don't have as much to sink into).
CS

 

[Lasivian]

Bummer, I was thinking of heading out there since it would be a hell of alot cooler

 

[southern gent]

This may or maynot help, but here in S.C. our lakes are controlled by the Corp of Engineers. They drop the level of the water in three of our local lakes. What I've found was that any goodies that remain were most often in the areas where the water would have been between mid calf to waist deep. I've noticed that my best stuff comes from people getting on and off floats at those depths. What I find harder to deal with is the times that the lakes stay down for years at a time. That drives the swimmers farther out and when it comes back up the goodies are to far out to get to.
Hope that helps a bit. C ya

 

[Gretchen]

Hi,
The lakes here in the San Bernardino Mountains are going down to their lowest levels because of the drought. I am using a very basic metal detector - a Radio Shack Discovery 1000 (Bounty Hunter).
The beaches have sand and two of them are not used anymore. Coins, once in awhile jewelry, sinkers, marbles, hundreds of bottles, brass, spark plugs, old lipsticks are just on the beach as the water goes down. Metal detecting I have found silver coins, halfs, dimes, buffalo nickels, clads and a whole jar of corroded memorial pennies. With a Harbor Freight tumbler I have been able to clean many of the clads and put them back in circulation. The Discovery works well in the water - I can go in all the way to the control panel. I love the meter - easier to use than the touch pads and faster. It may not go as deep as other expensive metal detectors, but when it tells one something is there - it is right. I often read without discrimination as I am also after relics in the forest areas. After the Old
Fire last year I discovered a couple of old dumps that had been covered with vegetation. I found bottles, but plan to go back after rain - the black ashes coats shoes and clothes. I will try to do some sifting. Gretchen.