Detecting at high tide or low tide?

[Crunchyhippo]

I know low tide is supposed to be the optimum time to go to the beach and get in the water to hunt, but what if it's early morn and it's high tide? Do you still go in, or should you switch to a wet/dry sand search? The last two times I went out, it was unfortunately high tide, but I went in anyway. It seemed like I walked a mile each time, methodically gridding the area, and I didn't even get a single freakin' signal. Totally discouraged, I went into the dry sand. I finally got some hits, but it was all trash. In 16 trips to the beach, all I've found is two fake rings and garbage. This isn't turning out to be the hobby I thought it would be. All I seem to be doing is wasting my time. I'm going to give it a few more trips, and if it doesn't produce some actual gold or silver, I'm going to sell my Manticore. I'd rather go to the beach, swim, and snorkel and leave happy than frustrated every time.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Unless it's a day like today, where low tide is 4:35 pm. Parking is packed, but I'm only 15 minutes from the beach. I'm thinking of having my daughter drive me over, drop me off, and come back to get me in a few hours - even though it's a work day. (I hate having to fight for parking).

15 mins from beach, why not rig a bike to hold scoop and detector and bike to the beach, chain lock bike when you get to beach? Wish I was 15 mins from beach... .....except when hurricane is bearing down. 😜

 

[Sand Swinger]

Some people hunt for years before finding gold, others find it quickly, even being experienced and knowing all tricks, it still requires some luck.

You didn't say what beaches your hunting, and that is a factor, some beaches are hit harder than others, Clearwater is hit hard and so is Daytona so odds are lower there, both are detected at night too. Miami is a much larger beach area to hunt because it has multiple beaches and causeway to hunt.

One thing that is 100% guaranteed, you want find any gold if you dont detect, the more times you go hunt the better chance you have of finding gold.

BTW TH, wanted to Thank You for your service! Fellow Air Force Vet.

Went through Basic at Lackland, Tech School at Lowry, then 3 years at Eielson in Fairbanks, AK, curtailed and spent the last 10 months at Edwards in CA. Man, sending me from Alaska to the Mohave Desert was just so wrong, on so many levels, lol.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

BTW TH, wanted to Thank You for your service! Fellow Air Force Vet.

Went through Basic at Lackland, Tech School at Lowry, then 3 years at Eielson in Fairbanks, AK, curtailed and spent the last 10 months at Edwards in CA. Man, sending me from Alaska to the Mohave Desert was just so wrong, on so many levels, lol.

Back at you. I also did Lackland, Lowery, then McCoy, Kadena, McCoy, kadena, MCoy..

Know what you mean on different environments, worked for phone company on the road, company sent this Florida boy to Minot ND and couple towns in Minnesota and Nebraska in winters. Spent Winter at Lowery, Denver, it was my 1st time seeing the Rockies, snow, or temps below zero.

 

[Sand Swinger]

Back at you. I also did Lackland, Lowery, then McCoy, Kadena, McCoy, kadena, MCoy..

Know what you mean on different environments, worked for phone company on the road, company sent this Florida boy to Minot ND and couple towns in Minnesota and Nebraska in winters. Spent Winter at Lowery, Denver, it was my 1st time seeing the Rockies, snow, or temps below zero.

We used to say, "Why Not Minot". Even all of us up in AK, where routinely in the winter it would get to -45 to -55, none of us ever wanted to go to Minot. One guy, who served at Minot, told me that during one winter, he had to go out to the shed in backyard of his house, but first had to tie a thin rope between the steps handrail and his belt, so that he could find his way back, couldn't see his hand in front of his face, that's a pretty serous White-Out situation, lol.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

We used to say, "Why Not Minot". Even all of us up in AK, where routinely in the winter it would get to -45 to -55, none of us ever wanted to go to Minot. One guy, who served at Minot, told me that during one winter, he had to go out to the shed in backyard of his house, but first had to tie a thin rope between the steps handrail and his belt, so that he could find his way back, couldn't see his hand in front of his face, that's a pretty serous White-Out situation, lol.

The coldest I saw in Minot was -26F without wind chill, with the wind chill was seeing -50 F. Too darn cold to suit me, too many nights of -10 to -20 F....

Spent many days and nights between 0 and -15 F between living in MN, ND, and NE, not counting one winter in Denver. It was -4 day I arrived at Lowry AFB.

.

 

[Sand Swinger]

The coldest I saw in Minot was -26F without wind chill, with the wind chill was seeing -50 F. Too darn cold to suit me, too many nights of -10 to -20 F....

Spent many days and nights between 0 and -15 F between living in MN, ND, and NE, not counting one winter in Denver. It was -4 day I arrived at Lowry AFB.

.

I entered Lackland for Basic on 3/3/76, did 6 weeks, then went to Lowry, so should have been in April. Tech School @Lowry was 6 weeks so I think I got to Eielson in June, wasn't bad weather when I arrived.

When you were at Minot, did you guys ever take a cup of hot coffee in the winter outside when it was minus a zillion degrees, toss the coffee up into the air and watch it turn into dust?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I entered Lackland for Basic on 3/3/76, did 6 weeks, then went to Lowry, so should have been in April. Tech School @Lowry was 6 weeks so I think I got to Eielson in June, wasn't bad weather when I arrived.

When you were at Minot, did you guys ever take a cup of hot coffee in the winter outside when it was minus a zillion degrees, toss the coffee up into the air and watch it turn into dust?

Yes, did it in multiple states too. I hooked a hose up once to a inside faucet, and took it to back door and turned on the nozzle, shooting snow.....lol

Lackland in Nov '67, Lowry in Jan 4, '68, tech school was 7 months long for me, one of, if not the longest school at Lowry.

 

[coinshooter]

Worst part of detecting has become parking. Use to be free to park on Daytona and New Smyrna beach, now its $30 a day to park on the beach.

I'm hoping this will drive away the people who are thinking they are gonna get rich. Maybe we will lose some competition.

 

[Sand Swinger]

Yes, did it in multiple states too. I hooked a hose up once to a inside faucet, and took it to back door and turned on the nozzle, shooting snow.....lol

Lackland in Nov '67, Lowry in Jan 4, '68, tech school was 7 months long for me, one of, if not the longest school at Lowry.

Craziest thing for me was the summers in AK were just incredible. Almost 24 hours of daylight, so we could go swimming in a pond or fishing or whatever at 3am, and it was daylight. But the temps were just great. I think we'd get up to around 90 or so in the summer, but absolutely no humidity, it was literally perfect. I remember telling my wife that I remember walking outside from the barracks in the summer, and I'd feel nothing, not hot, not cold, just the most perfect temperature, kinda strange that Alaska can have such great weather, lol.

 

[Sand Swinger]

I'm hoping this will drive away the people who are thinking they are gonna get rich. Maybe we will lose some competition.

It might just have them leaving to try their luck elsewhere. Unless THer's in the area are well off, I guess they'll soon discover that they're spending a lot more every time they hit the beach than they're making back in coins & jewelry. I've had some really good days finding lots of coins, sometimes I'd get the unexpected coin spill, but I don't ever recall coming back with $30 worth of clad. So, if parking is $30 and I didn't get a ring or two, or some other silver/gold jewelry, I'd be in the hole each hunt, and would soon be looking for greener pastures, or at least another beach to try, lol.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

15 mins from beach, why not rig a bike to hold scoop and detector and bike to the beach, chain lock bike when you get to beach? Wish I was 15 mins from beach... .....except when hurricane is bearing down. 😜

I made a pleasant discovery yesterday. I assumed that parking at the beach here was always packed like sardines during the day, especially during the warm months like now (they're barrier islands and have very finite parking). The only time I figured I could ever find a parking spot would be sunup or sundown. Well, I got home from work yesterday at my usual time (3:30), and the low tide chart showed that it would occur at its zenith around 4:30, which I really wanted to take advantage of. I decided to take a chance and drive over and see what it parking was like. If it was packed, I'd know and wouldn't try again.

So I got my stuff together, drove to the beach, and pulled into the lot around 4:25 pm. To my great surprise, there were several empty parking spaces here and there. You could have heard my jaw hit the floor. I figured that even though it was a warm, pleasant day in the summer, enough people were still at work that the lot wasn't completely full. (Unfortunately, the waves were too high for me to get in the water like I wanted). Later, when I got done detecting at 6:40 and got back to my car, vehicles were circling like sharks in the parking lot like usual, hunting for empty parking spaces, which reinforced my idea that people were still at work when I got there earlier. And better yet, even though the beach was crowded, there wasn't a single detectorist other than myself out there. I really can't figure that. Unfortunately, I only managed to find one junk gold earring in two hours (other than my usual trash haul), which marks 22 trips with nothing of value found.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Worst part of detecting has become parking. Use to be free to park on Daytona and New Smyrna beach, now its $30 a day to park on the beach.

Can't you pay by the hour? Or every six months or so?

 

[Crunchyhippo]

2 hrs isn't really that long of a hunt at all, each trip I make is a mininum 4+ hours when hunting East central coast beaches. At least 6 hrs when hunting West central coast beaches and, when I drive to Miami I hunt at least 10 hrs a day each day to make the trip worthwhile.

When hunting Daytona, New Smyrna or Cocoa which is local for me (:45 - :75 minute drive) I hit beaches at least 2 hours before low tide at the latest and then walk the tide out and then back in, hunting 4-5 hours.

There is every little tidal difference on gulf coast so you have lots of shallow water to hunt. I have hit the water at 7am on Clearwater to St Pete beaches and hunted to 5-6 pm on early morning tides many times, hunting several beaches if necessary. Also hit it in evenings and nites too.

Problem is if you are hunting Clearwater beach your hunting one of the hardest hit beaches in central Fl, so you need to hit the beach hard, it may help you to hit it after 3 and hut for at least 4+ hours.... If your waiting to hunt it only in mid day hours you are late to the party.

I guess I'm just in bad shape. Two solid hours of walking and digging wears me out. My face is sweating and dripping at the end.

 

[Sand Swinger]

I guess I'm just in bad shape. Two solid hours of walking and digging wears me out. My face is sweating and dripping at the end.

Walking in dry sand is tough, but your calf & leg muscles will build up fairly quick. I've had tons of hunts over the years in the dry that lasted 4, 6, 8 hours, and it's definitely a workout, especially when combined with digging deep holes. Walking on wet sand is MUCH easier & cooler on the feet, and walking in water is a great equalizer, cause ya gotta walk & swing slow, as the water pretty much limits how fast you can walk & how fast you can swing. Also, walking in water always tends to cool me down, but walking on the dry can sometimes feel like the Sahara Desert, dry sand can be uber hot and can burn feet if you're not wearing some type of shoe or flip flop. I wear water shoes, so I can go from dry to the wet with no problem.

STAY HYDRATED!! Make sure you take a bottle or 2 of water with you and take frequent mini breaks, just a 1/2 minute or so to take a few sips, catch your breath and to enjoy any breeze that might be coming off the water.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Can't you pay by the hour? Or every six months or so?

You can pay by the year, $150 a year for parking permit to drive and park on beach.

Volusia county residents can park for free, but you have to prove you live in volusia county.

On-Beach Driving Rates (Effective 10/1/24)

• $30 daily fee
• $150 annual visitor pass

Off-Beach Parking Rates (Effective 1/1/25)

• $20 daily fee
• $100 annual visitor pass

Beach driving and parking

Beach driving map (south) Beach driving map (north) Beach Access Ramps Alternative Beach Ramps (effective March 30, 2018) Driving on the beaches of the Dayton.

www.volusia.org

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Walking in dry sand is tough, but your calf & leg muscles will build up fairly quick. I've had tons of hunts over the years in the dry that lasted 4, 6, 8 hours, and it's definitely a workout, especially when combined with digging deep holes. Walking on wet sand is MUCH easier & cooler on the feet, and walking in water is a great equalizer, cause ya gotta walk & swing slow, as the water pretty much limits how fast you can walk & how fast you can swing. Also, walking in water always tends to cool me down, but walking on the dry can sometimes feel like the Sahara Desert, dry sand can be uber hot and can burn feet if you're not wearing some type of shoe or flip flop. I wear water shoes, so I can go from dry to the wet with no problem.

STAY HYDRATED!! Make sure you take a bottle or 2 of water with you and take frequent mini breaks, just a 1/2 minute or so to take a few sips, catch your breath and to enjoy any breeze that might be coming off the water.

The last time I was hunting in the water, after a while I realized that my face was sweating simply from my walking. My body was cool, but the sun had been beating down on my head. A brief, cool, head dunk took care of that, though.