Chilly outing, last Monday 10 degrees / 26 mph winds, Tuesday 19.4 degrees, 3 golds

[OBN]

Had some great conditions last week, a little cold but very well prepared. It's taken me several years to be able to say I can go out in Zero degree temps for five hours and leave feeling perfectly warm.

Last week temps and winds were crazy...Monday the beach I was hunting had very little wind chill since the winds were blowing out.
10 degrees, water temps 37 degrees.



Ice was falling off of my suit as I walked back to the car after 5 hours in the deep.

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The Booty from Monday...
Has to be a record for me, 42 nickels..then 2 gold rings, 2 silver Washingtons and 2 sterling's.

..

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Then Tuesday was a very nice day, just a little chilly at 19.4 but winds were calm.

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When I hit the water it was a super low tide so I had to get out a distance off shore to get targets. They were every where and just a few inch's deep, but in oyster shells hard packed. I hate digging in that stuff, some targets took me ten minute to dig..

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The treasures....1 gold and a few silvers/sterlings

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I learned something this outing, a few years ago I had dug what I though was gold earings, being two matching, from two different hunts, that's what I figured. I had got the pair..3 years ago!

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But this trip there was a third! So this meant it was a bracelet or some type of chain.
Pieces ...2 from 3 years ago and the one from Tuesdays.

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treasure and trash, learned my lesson this hunt also, got there at lowtide thinking it would be good for several hours, after two hours the tide was pushing me in, water was getting too deep to dig in safely. So I got chased out of the good area...
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Got another cold front coming in weds, sure slows things down but the cold gold is calling! Never let it rest!

 

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[ctdirtdigger]

Joe, couldn't quite tell from the pic, do you wear a face mask ?

 

[TomW244]

Outstanding work and congrats on the quality recoveries!

 

[OBN]

Joe, couldn't quite tell from the pic, do you wear a face mask ?

Yes, see if I can find a picture.. I wear a full head 7mm neoprene hood then I have a neoprene face cover that is on a flap that pulls down so all that is exposed are my eyes, and I wear glasses. Only problem I do have is the glasses will fog up if I'm not careful and freeze. It happened a few weeks ago, and I had to hunt with out glasses. So I learned to keep them up high and breather thru my nose. Looks a little crazy but she is warm...
..

 

[DJWEHAGE]

Nice job, brother! Good for you. I've decided that Im good detecting the warm water. Last year was my last for winter. I got in a few weeks ago to test out some new gear and made that decision. I always said that if detecting became unenjoyable, I'd stop. Well, I can truly say I do not enjoy the cold water or the prep it takes to get out there. I even stopped wearing shorts in winter (something I've always done)! See you in the spring!

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[mham2]

May I ask were u got that outfit ? Nice work

 

[mham2]

I particularly like the pee valve although at those temps not sure if I could clear the material [emoji3]

 

[OBN]

May I ask were u got that outfit ? Nice work

Thank You...

It's a Bare Nex Generation, rear zipper. Got it off ebay, (this is one of 3 Bare Nex gen drysuits I own), each was very cheap since they needed repairs. Each is setup for the seasons of the year, since some spots here are so polluted, it's needed for one's safety. Since I'm handy at this water proofing stuff, I redid several things to fit my needs on each for the seasons. This one I fitted with SI tech dry gloves, light monkey "P" valve, "Muck Arctic pro" boots, good down to -40F. That is the outer, the undergarments are the secret to staying warm/dry, and not being to buoyant. The best part about the Next gen, it is rear zippered, front zipper suits will fail in a few years from the stress of constant digging. Killed a DUI SL 350 suit like that, replacing a zipper is very costly, close to 350.oo. So it was cut up for parts. I just replaced one of the zippers myself on a suit I got for 65.00, the install cost me 140.oo for material I needed to do the job.

,,

.. Finished, but took me about 4 hours.

 

[UncleTom]

Congratulations Joe nice hunt! Love the gold.

 

[ARC]

I particularly like the pee valve although at those temps not sure if I could clear the material [emoji3]

lol

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Great post. See the need for a dry suit if I ever travel north. And also great time to hunt. Good luck and fortune.

 

[mham2]

Thanks for the info very interesting for sure !

 

[dewcon4414]

You A R E the man Joe. Even your outfit makes me cold....... dang. Now thats passion guys. Excellent hunt as always Mr. Joe. Did i see somewhere you had a push button PP switch on one of your Xcal? Hang in there buddy......couple of more months and you will be able to at least remove the mask.

 

[Carolina Tom]

Congrats on the finds OBN.

That is quite the set up you have. Good luck and be safe!

 

[islamoradamark]

As long as ur warm thats all that matters while ur enjoying this great hobby. Two things i don't like one is being cold the other is being wet and cold

 

[Hawks88]

You sure do take this hobby seriously and you were rewarded nicely. Congrats on all the finds.

 

[stevemc]

Wow! You are really ready for the cold. You did find a lot too. Amazing day and so cold too! My hero!

 

[OBN]

As long as ur warm thats all that matters while ur enjoying this great hobby. Two things i don't like one is being cold the other is being wet and cold

Me too! I hate the cold and I hate being cold when hunting, then mixing wet into the equation ...No fun........But I seen it was possible several years ago to be warm and dry, so after a couple cold winters of working thru the different setups, I now have the option to go when conditions allow. Some of the best lowtides are during the winter and being able to take advantage of them is a great opp. I was out last Friday evening and temps were not to bad, in the mid 30's. I got to the beach around 2pm and hunted till it was dark, at 6pm. I did not want to leave, very peaceful, having fun and it was warm for me.
....cleaned

 

[redcobra8u]

I admire your dedication....from my warm beach in Malibu.