Anyone snorkel and hunt ?

Check old maps. I remember some old maps from the late 1700's showed a few shipwrecks on them. Thomas Jefferys, and Sawyers. They sprinkled information on their maps. They may have just been cargo ships. But might have some nice finds on them.

jeffys.webp
 

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I used to be a BIG water hunter here yrs ago - health issues over the last few yrs
have taken me out of the game
link to articles i wrote during my higher times - some might be of help
Hopefully...if anything - some will inspire

 

When i water hunt - I use a mask and snorkel about 99% of the time
I get out deeper than most - it makes recovery faster than most
I have found about $300 in paper money on bottom others have walked over
and many other non-metallic treasures wearing a mask
old bottles, nice shells, shark teeth, sun glasses, etc
 

I used to be a BIG water hunter here yrs ago - health issues over the last few yrs
have taken me out of the game
link to articles i wrote during my higher times - some might be of help
Hopefully...if anything - some will inspire

Double click on pics to enlarge for easier reading
 

Wow Casper-2. thanks for sharing.
I live in Delaware, and every season I tell myself "this year you should get out there in the water with a snorkel and mask (and detector)." And then I don't.
Not sure why; the lack of visibility in the water around here is probably the biggest reason.

But I'm confident there's good stuff out there just waiting to be found.
I'll give it a go eventually.

- Brian
 

Wow Casper-2. thanks for sharing.
I live in Delaware, and every season I tell myself "this year you should get out there in the water with a snorkel and mask (and detector)." And then I don't.
Not sure why; the lack of visibility in the water around here is probably the biggest reason.

But I'm confident there's good stuff out there just waiting to be found.
I'll give it a go eventually.

- Brian
Been detecting since 1975 - age 12
lot of competition for land spots back then - specially for the old stuff...i mean you can always find fresh drops but thats not my thing - unless its new gold and silver.
before 2000 when more hunters started going into the water...most of the guys that started jumping in with
me hammered the shallows to waist deep so i started going deeper. Thats where every beach i ever hit turned out to be virgin again. I go to spots that would have 5 guys hitting from waist deep on in and I'd head out up to my neck and Id kill it where as between them that might have a small handful - especially off season. Eventually some guys would learn and try joining me out deeper - then I bought a hookah system and went out even farther. Before around 1980 every fresh water spot and a lot of fresh water spots had floating platforms in deep water. I seen many old pics of ones back into the 1800s. You find some of those spots and find away to get under then - hppkah or scuba = you will kill it!
A friend of mine -Jim - who might give his 2 cents if he sees this post - was lucky to live near a small fresh water spot with such a platform and found a large bucket full of stuff and most of it oldies
Good Luck
 

I only snorkel hunt, scuba hunt, or hookah hunt. I don't even own a scoop ! Weather is just getting good, and I got 2 golds today !!
 

I used to be a BIG water hunter here yrs ago - health issues over the last few yrs
have taken me out of the game
link to articles i wrote during my higher times - some might be of help
Hopefully...if anything - some will inspire

Seriously, Casper where the hell you been sorry to hear about health issues. Miss you. I’m back in the game. If you can’t get out, we gotta hang out. Miss you, brother!!!!
 

Seriously, Casper where the hell you been sorry to hear about health issues. Miss you. I’m back in the game. If you can’t get out, we gotta hang out. Miss you, brother!!!!
Between you and big Jim you’d make excellent Navy SEALs!! WOW…… Rookie rings in my ears!!
 

That’s what I do, BUT not without a “Flyadive” flag!
Be safe and good luck!
 

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One of my best years - water finds Im pretty sure were mostly found wearing a mask and snorkel
and mostly found at spots hammered in close - most of these finds found out deep and down deep

 

Wow Casper-2. thanks for sharing.
I live in Delaware, and every season I tell myself "this year you should get out there in the water with a snorkel and mask (and detector)." And then I don't.
Not sure why; the lack of visibility in the water around here is probably the biggest reason.

But I'm confident there's good stuff out there just waiting to be found.
I'll give it a go eventually.

- Brian
What part of Sussex County are you in? Wife and I used to have a 2nd house in Millsboro, so I'd hit the beaches with my Sovereign Elite every weekend for over 10 years, mainly DE beaches like Henlopen, Tower, Fenwick Island, Indian River & Coin Beach, but would occasionally go down to OC area. I'd wade in the water with my Sovereign no deeper than my knees as my Sov isn't waterproof and if I can't see my feet, then I can't see anything that might be swimming around me, you know what I'm talking about, lol.

But now I've added an X-Terra Elite so it's fully waterproof so I can go deeper. But still, I just don't like the idea of going deeper into water where I can't see what may be lurking around me. That said, there is another beach next to Henlopen I used to frequent. You can wade into the water pretty deep; it's in a protected area so no waves to deal with. That's the beach where I learned years ago that my brand new AT Pro wasn't waterproof. It's supposed to be, but as soon as I submerged the control box, the screen flickered and then it was dead.

That's also the beach where back in 2011, I made my most interesting find. It looked like some type of makeup brush when I pulled it up, it was a black tube with bristles on the end, so it looked like some type of brush. When I got back and started cleaning it, the "brush bristles" came off. It wasn't bristles from a brush but some type of sea growth. This thing was about 3 or 4 inches long, and there was a red light flashing at the end of the tube through a clear lens. There was a company, model number, and serial number printed on the tube. I did a search on the model and saw that it cost $125.00 at the time, so I'm sure the owner would want it back.

So, I contacted the company, gave them the serial number, and they contacted the party who purchased and gave them my contact info. A few days later, I got a call from the Director of Aquatic Studies at the Univ of Delaware. The thing I found was one of their scientific instruments that they use to document migratory patterns of fish. They had it attached to a Coast Guard buoy out in the ocean and when a hurricane came up the coast, it broke free and wound up on the shallow water of the beach where I found it.

I sent it back to the Univ of DE, and a week later, I received a large envelope with a Thank You/Commendation Letter from the Director and a T-Shirt, lol.
 

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What part of Sussex County are you in? Wife and I used to have a 2nd house in Millsboro, so I'd hit the beaches with my Sovereign Elite every weekend for over 10 years, mainly DE beaches like Henlopen, Tower, Fenwick Island, Indian River & Coin Beach, but would occasionally go down to OC area. I'd wade in the water with my Sovereign no deeper than my knees as my Sov isn't waterproof and if I can't see my feet, then I can't see anything that might be swimming around me, you know what I'm talking about, lol.

But now I've added an X-Terra Elite so it's fully waterproof so I can go deeper. But still, I just don't like the idea of going deeper into water where I can't see what may be lurking around me. That said, there is another beach next to Henlopen I used to frequent. You can wade into the water pretty deep; it's in a protected area so no waves to deal with. That's the beach where I learned years ago that my brand new AT Pro wasn't waterproof. It's supposed to be, but as soon as I submerged the control box, the screen flickered and then it was dead.

That's also the beach where back in 2011, I made my most interesting find. It looked like some type of makeup brush when I pulled it up, it was a black tube with bristles on the end, so it looked like some type of brush. When I got back and started cleaning it, the "brush bristles" came off. It wasn't bristles from a brush but some type of sea growth. This thing was about 3 or 4 inches long, and there was a red light flashing at the end of the tube through a clear lens. There was a company, model number, and serial number printed on the tube. I did a search on the model and saw that it cost $125.00 at the time, so I'm sure the owner would want it back.

So, I contacted the company, gave them the serial number, and they contacted the party who purchased and gave them my contact info. A few days later, I got a call from the Director of Aquatic Studies at the Univ of Delaware. The thing I found was one of their scientific instruments that they use to document migratory patterns of fish. They had it attached to a Coast Guard buoy out in the ocean and when a hurricane came up the coast, it broke free and wound up on the shallow water of the beach where I found it.

I sent it back to the Univ of DE, and a week later, I received a large envelope with a Thank You/Commendation Letter from the Director and a T-Shirt, lol.
Hi Sand Swinger. I'm in Lewes, so I'm very near all those beaches you mention. I do know what you mean about stuff swimming around in the murky water; I think a skate/ray would freak me out the most - I imagine my snorkel mask covered face could be inches away from one and then it would flutter away suddenly. Would scare the poop out of me.
Your story about the UofD equipment is very cool! Nice of you to give it back to them.
Let me know if you come down this way and we could hit a beach sometime.
- Brian
 

What part of Sussex County are you in? Wife and I used to have a 2nd house in Millsboro, so I'd hit the beaches with my Sovereign Elite every weekend for over 10 years, mainly DE beaches like Henlopen, Tower, Fenwick Island, Indian River & Coin Beach, but would occasionally go down to OC area. I'd wade in the water with my Sovereign no deeper than my knees as my Sov isn't waterproof and if I can't see my feet, then I can't see anything that might be swimming around me, you know what I'm talking about, lol.

But now I've added an X-Terra Elite so it's fully waterproof so I can go deeper. But still, I just don't like the idea of going deeper into water where I can't see what may be lurking around me. That said, there is another beach next to Henlopen I used to frequent. You can wade into the water pretty deep; it's in a protected area so no waves to deal with. That's the beach where I learned years ago that my brand new AT Pro wasn't waterproof. It's supposed to be, but as soon as I submerged the control box, the screen flickered and then it was dead.

That's also the beach where back in 2011, I made my most interesting find. It looked like some type of makeup brush when I pulled it up, it was a black tube with bristles on the end, so it looked like some type of brush. When I got back and started cleaning it, the "brush bristles" came off. It wasn't bristles from a brush but some type of sea growth. This thing was about 3 or 4 inches long, and there was a red light flashing at the end of the tube through a clear lens. There was a company, model number, and serial number printed on the tube. I did a search on the model and saw that it cost $125.00 at the time, so I'm sure the owner would want it back.

So, I contacted the company, gave them the serial number, and they contacted the party who purchased and gave them my contact info. A few days later, I got a call from the Director of Aquatic Studies at the Univ of Delaware. The thing I found was one of their scientific instruments that they use to document migratory patterns of fish. They had it attached to a Coast Guard buoy out in the ocean and when a hurricane came up the coast, it broke free and wound up on the shallow water of the beach where I found it.

I sent it back to the Univ of DE, and a week later, I received a large envelope with a Thank You/Commendation Letter from the Director and a T-Shirt, lol.
Multi factor ID device ?
 

Hi Sand Swinger. I'm in Lewes, so I'm very near all those beaches you mention. I do know what you mean about stuff swimming around in the murky water; I think a skate/ray would freak me out the most - I imagine my snorkel mask covered face could be inches away from one and then it would flutter away suddenly. Would scare the poop out of me.
Your story about the UofD equipment is very cool! Nice of you to give it back to them.
Let me know if you come down this way and we could hit a beach sometime.
- Brian
That "scaring the poop outta me" was what we used to call a "Code Brown" in the military, lol. I almost reached Code Brown 1 time when I saw a fin about 100 feet away. In just a nano second, I didn't know exactly what it was, just that it was a pretty good size fin, and it could close up on me faster than I could get out of the water. But once it jumped out of the water, I could see that it was a dolphin, and my Code Brown was averted, lol. Of course, in hindsight, dolphins have fins that are a bit curved, shark fins tend to have straight edges, but in that nano second of time, all I knew was that it was a fin, we're both in the water, and I gotta get out.

I might take you up on doing some beach hunting. We'll be down in OC next weekend at the Castaways for 2 nights, not sure if we'll be hitting the beach or just visiting some of our old haunts, but I'll be taking my new X-Terra Elite with me, along with my scoop and pouch, just in case. But now that I'm somewhat retired, I'm sure the wife and I will be taking day drips down to DE to hit the beaches as much as we can. I already have my 2025 State Park pass on my truck's windshield, so we can hit as many DE State Park beaches as we'd like.
 

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