Detecting in the Melbourne, Florida area

[Crunchyhippo]

Does anyone detect in Melbourne, Florida? I understand that one can go in the water there, as opposed to further south, where it's forbidden. Any good advice on the Melbourne area beaches?

I'd be curious how the signals/finds are there compare to the Clearwater area. After a year of regularly hunting here, my tally so far is: gold = 0, silver = 1. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[surfnturf]

Hey crunch, did you find a gold ring yet please? I’m keeping my fingers crossed.🏴‍☠️

 

[surfnturf]

4/3 2026!! April fools it’s over🏴‍☠️

 

[newnan man]

Does anyone detect in Melbourne, Florida? I understand that one can go in the water there, as opposed to further south, where it's forbidden. Any good advice on the Melbourne area beaches?

I'd be curious how the signals/finds are there compare to the Clearwater area. After a year of regularly hunting here, my tally so far is: gold = 0, silver = 1. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I live in Indialantic, yes you can go into the water if you choose. I see people detecting at times here however they have been constantly renourishing the beaches here with sand pumped from further off shore. We locals despise that. So maybe a few new things have been lost but anything old is buried deep.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Hey crunch, did you find a gold ring yet please? I’m keeping my fingers crossed.🏴‍☠️

Never found gold.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

You can detect in the water starting about 1/2 north of Sebastian Inlet all the way to the Georgia border, except for military property, NASA property, and National Seashores.

Starting about a half mile South of Ft Pierce (around about Blind Creek Beachside North) you can detect in the water south to Key West.

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

I believe I do what you did but in reverse. Spent 5-6 yrs hunting Melbourne beach area from Coco beach down to Ft Pierce. Now I hunt Clearwater area from Dec - Apr. Anyways, it is tough going on the east coast. The constant wave action makes hunting the surf challenging. The 4 ft cuts that occur every week, it seems, help with finds if you catch them early. Don't hunt south if you expect any 1715 Spanish treasure - really few and far between...better to hunt for hen's teeth. Had some luck south along the coast where there are a lot of condos and very limited access for the general public or metal detectorist. I use to have my wife drop me off at an access point (no parking around) and pick me up hours later at same spot or dowen the beach 1-2 miles. Good luck!

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Just referred to this article about the Treasure Coast you might be interested in:

https://www.tcpalm.com/picture-gallery/news/local/florida/2026/04/02/1715-spanish-fleet-treasures-over-the-years-prior-to-2025/88949615007/

 

[Earlafindit]

Hunted down there in 2010 -2 weeks, & 2013 -3 weeks , total 5 weeks all in May , all sanded in , best months are winter when the beaches get striped , I did find one =18k gold ring & a bunch of iron from ships hull , not 1715 fleet , I did find some 2 inch brass square head nails & metal from the Challenger explosion , intentions from the trips were to find some silver from 1715 fleet , in the end I determined that if you're not a local that can jump on the beach after the storm hit's , your chances are slim to none , because all those items are 3 foot plus under the sand , Had a good time , even hunted between the mooring lines of the Gold Hound -( A 1715 Licensed vessel ), just iron with the Surf Pi Df , hunted from Bonesteel park , down to Emerald Beach , I did see Emeralds in the wash , but not fast enough to retrieve , they would appear/ disappear in a second . looking for property down on the Treasure Coast , hard to find something nice more than 1/4 acre with a 3 car garage & public water & sewer , for the thread maker Bone Steel park is on the South side of Melbourne Beach , a starting point, happy hunting! Enjoy Yourself, Earl

 

[Sandog]

You can detect in the water starting about 1/2 north of Sebastian Inlet all the way to the Georgia border, except for military property, NASA property, and National Seashores.

Starting about a half mile South of Ft Pierce (around about Blind Creek Beachside North) you can detect in the water south to Key West.

View attachment 2249603View attachment 2249604

I've looked at this map often to plan my target beaches, but this question hasn't occurred to me until today; Are the dotted lines just depicting general areas of shipwrecks, or are they outlines of the leased /subleased areas?

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

Melbourne is on my to-do list for water hunting. It seems like it would be a lot of fun. I enjoyed Vero, but was frustrated since it's restricted to land.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I've looked at this map often to plan my target beaches, but this question hasn't occurred to me until today; Are the dotted lines just depicting general areas of shipwrecks, or are they outlines of the leased /subleased areas?

Dotted lines are the actual treasure lease parameters.

 

[Sandog]

Dotted lines are the actual treasure lease parameters.

So, at least theoretically, as long as you watch your gps location, you could detect in the water between those lease parameters, which I believe are generally a radius shape with the center located on or near the beach. Correct?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

So, at least theoretically, as long as you watch your gps location, you could detect in the water between those lease parameters, which I believe are generally a radius shape with the center located on or near the beach. Correct?

I do not advise it....

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I believe I do what you did but in reverse. Spent 5-6 yrs hunting Melbourne beach area from Coco beach down to Ft Pierce. Now I hunt Clearwater area from Dec - Apr. Anyways, it is tough going on the east coast. The constant wave action makes hunting the surf challenging. The 4 ft cuts that occur every week, it seems, help with finds if you catch them early. Don't hunt south if you expect any 1715 Spanish treasure - really few and far between...better to hunt for hen's teeth. Had some luck south along the coast where there are a lot of condos and very limited access for the general public or metal detectorist. I use to have my wife drop me off at an access point (no parking around) and pick me up hours later at same spot or dowen the beach 1-2 miles. Good luck!

You mentioned Clearwater Beach. After a year of hunting there with no gold and 1 silver trinket found, I'm moving on. I'm moving to Sand Key beach (state park), Indian Rocks Beach, and Madiera Beach. They can't be worse than CB. I hunted there Monday for three hours; I think I got only three hits, with a nail and a screw found. I counted six other detectorists in the water with me up and down the beach, and this was early on a Monday morning. Even with the massive crowds, there's nothing to be found there.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

FYI, Indian Rocks Beach, Sand Key, and Madiera Beach are smaller beaches than Clearwater Beach, with a lot less traffic.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

FYI, Indian Rocks Beach, Sand Key, and Madiera Beach are smaller beaches than Clearwater Beach, with a lot less traffic.

True, but the greater traffic isn't equating to greater finds, as I can attest. I hunted in the water at Clearwater Beach last Saturday morning for three hours straight, in the area thickest with vacationers, and got only one hit in all that time (a rusty screw). Also, these other beaches also don't have a horde of detectorists swarming the beach like army ants, so I'm hoping that there will be something left to find.

I'm puzzled about the Treasure Coast, though. Why has the state forbidden people from finding galleon gold in the water when detecting? To preserve the gold in situ so it can slowly rot? It's not like people can admire it while it's buried in the sand, like it's in a museum. Seems to me that a hands-off approach would be better, like - if you can find it, congrats, more power to ya.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

What time of day are you hunting? If your hunting in the mornings your late to the party in off season.

It makes a huge difference in time of day, as Clearwater is hit hard in the evening and night. I have found multiple gold at Clearwater over the years, its not my favorite beach because of the parking. I have hunted Clearwater at 5am, and after 5pm many times in off seasons, during the summer time daylight hours are productive.

Best time to hunt Clearwater is sunset to sunrise, the old saying the early bird gets the worm is true when detecting Fl beaches.

The other beaches are also hit fairly often as I've hunted them many times in past and seen others there.

You play the odds, the more people on a beach the better the odds of lost gold. There is big difference in amount of gold lost between thousands of beach goers a day on a beach vs few hundred a day.

As far as Treasure Coast, the state wants their share of the 1715 treasure fleet and has state laws to back it up.

Anything illigally recovered from water without Queens approval is considered stealing . Queens Jewels has deals with multiple local homeowners to notify them and call police if they see people in water with detectors with out Queens Jewels boat being anchored there.

It is no different than owning a gold mining claim and having people illigally panning or detecting your mining claim.

Gold doesn't rot, it will lay there for a thousands of years if no one picks it up.

It is also next to impossible to try to hunt between the leases, they are such small areas, and the gold is not laying on the surface of soil it is buried. Gold is very dense, it sinks quickly in Florida's sugar sand. Take a gold ring, tie a piece of dental floss 1- 2 ft long to a gold ring with cork or some else and set it down at water's edge then check it's depth 30 mins later, you will be surprised how much it sinks in 30 mins.

 

[Gulf Coast Pirate]

True, but the greater traffic isn't equating to greater finds, as I can attest. I hunted in the water at Clearwater Beach last Saturday morning for three hours straight, in the area thickest with vacationers, and got only one hit in all that time (a rusty screw). Also, these other beaches also don't have a horde of detectorists swarming the beach like army ants, so I'm hoping that there will be something left to find.

I'm puzzled about the Treasure Coast, though. Why has the state forbidden people from finding galleon gold in the water when detecting? To preserve the gold in situ so it can slowly rot? It's not like people can admire it while it's buried in the sand, like it's in a museum. Seems to me that a hands-off approach would be better, like - if you can find it, congrats, more power to ya.

I was at Honeymoon Island for about the same amount of time and found a quarter.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

I was at Honeymoon Island for about the same amount of time and found a quarter.

Maybe our miserable results are just a Pinellas County thing. After all, a million people live in this county, and a proportionate number are detectorists combing the beaches.