Floating Water/Sand screens

[dano91]

I went beach hunting with my partner, and he used these floating screens tied to his belt in waste deep water.
You just get a signal, scoop it up, dump it into the screen and keep on going, the waves wash the sand out, and you see what you've found by the time you come around with the second scoop.
They are what we were using when we found the ring I posted earlier.
Dano.

 

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[Ocaliman]

Nice screens. I built one like the one on the left a few years ago, and it worked great. The only thing I did different on mine was used sheet metal screws w/ rubber washers on mine, but by drilling into it, I had some leakage issues on the screws that didn't seat properly. I like the zip ties better.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Screens are nice, but unfortunately here with the ocean surf like it is they don't work very well.

Good luck.

 

[Functional]

Looks like a good idea, but I can see where rough water could be a problem. Maybe some tight weave nylon netting with a draw string on top would work? I have a couple of military surplus laundry bags that are made of nylon and have press'n release tabs on the draw strings. Or, I could do what I've been doing. Throw everything in my pockets and wade in.

F.

 

[Sandman]

We used to use these years ago and I found them to be a pain to carry back and forth. Rough waves sometimes were a problem too, as was stated before by others. Now however the crowds on the beaches would make even more of a problem with attracting kids to see what's going on. It attracts more attention to yourself by the greedy type that figure you for a easy income. Todays scoops have more holes to sift the sand fast and you reach in and grab the goodie to slip it away without anyone seeing you studying it.

 

[FLauthor]

While hunting the Gulf shallow water areas, I wished I had my floating sifting box. Many finds were found in the heavy crushed shells that you frequently find at Gulf beachs and they clog up the sand scoop and making it difficult for a recovery especially when its the tail from a pull tab or a dime. I've had problems from kids but I periodically check the box for quarters and rings. Never had a problem with anyone about being greedy and attacking me. Who in their right mind is going to attack somebody in waist deep water who is armed with a long handled stainless steel scoop with a sharp edge. I keep a small mesh bag around my neck where my ring finds go. Most beaches have Police or Marine Patrol on them so if I ever have a altercation with a beach goer claiming the ring is his then out comes my cell phone and I'm dialing 9-1-1. I keep my cell phone in one of those waterproof bags around my neck. When the cops get there then they can make the decision. Stay safe out there and good hunting.

 

[China-Clipper]

Made this floater from a Walmart laundry basket and a swim noodle. A couple of tie-wraps later (and about $3.75 total cost) I had me a light-duty, poor-man's sifter. Works great in calm water...when the big surf hits, ain't no screen gonna work too good.

 

[kaptainkosmic]

wouldn't go without it!

Let me start by saying the original reason I was interested in a sifter was really just to have a place to put my scoop. Its heavy and after a day hauling it around I could scratch the back of my knees without bending over! The sifter fixed this problem 100% I don't carry it anymore it floats behind me. I quickly learned a couple of other reasons that turned out to be just as important.

First it almost completely eliminates time spent looking for targets. This increases coil swing time, thus more targets. Locate a target, scoop it, check the hole, if you got it dump scoop, bottom media & target in sifter and move on. Wave action does the rest. Every so often I simply pick out my finds.
If I'm hunting inland lakes instead of lake michigan I fill my holes. In lake michigan the holes are self filling, sometimes faster than I like! On inland lakes gravel and larger media won't filter thru sifter but spread out evenly, over entire bottom of sifter that is when I use my vibra probe (waterproof pinpointer)to quickly locate and recover targets. Also on inland lakes that have marl/clay bottoms just dump it in the sifter and eventually its gone leaving only the target. If you have ever tried to make this stuff dissolve in a scoop you will love a sifter!

Second my recovery rate on very small targets has gotten considerably better & faster. I'm talking about earrings, charms & those pesky small round sinkers. Even though the scoop that I use has small holes at the back (1/4") I believe that shaking bottom media around in a scoop just encourages the small stuff to find a hole and slip thru. I can remember having to make several attempts on small targets that made it thru the scoop, quite often never recovering them at all. Now the only time I don't recover small stuff on the first go round is if it is in bottom of scoop and falls thru b4 I can get load dumped in sifter. Also I now recover small round sinkers that quite frankly I would of never recovered while shaking around in a scoop, they look so much like small gravel, looking at them isn't enough to identify them, but the vibra probe picks them out very quickly.

It turns out that my detector (cz-20) does not like the vibra probe, drives the detector & me crazy. Well it takes about a minute for the probe to shut off after last detecting metal. I simply put the holster for the probe on my sifter. After using probe I put in holster and start hunting again because the sifter is connected to me with a short length of rope (approx. 8') I'm out of range for the probes signal. Also this makes probe very convenient when needed. I have 3/16 holes in the sifter that I use but my hunting partner has 1/4" holes. there doesn't seem to be any differance in small stuff recovered.

I also put a water bottle, a large mesh bag for junk & my camera on my little floating island. It will hold all of the above, several full scoops of bottom media, my scoop, my detector, and me if needed!

I clip the sifter to my scoop and carry over my shoulder for the trip to the water. Once in the water you won't know its there unless you're in the wave break zone on big water, in a river with a strong current, or it's very windy. All of these issues are easily overcome with some simple modifications to hunting style i.e. hunting into wind or current or removing targets b4 entering wave break zone in case of accidental sifter overturn.

I wouldn't consider going water detecting without the sifter any more than I would consider going without my scoop!

HH Steve

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Would love to be able to use one, but with the surf here it would be upside down more then right side up, plus like Sandman says kids would be even more of a problem.

Now if it attracted women in bikinis that would make a difference.

 

[Dave45]

KK
what is your sifter made with, I can see its an innertube whats in the center. Looks good
Dave

 

[Sandman]

I don't know what is in the inner tube but you can use a Garrett Gold Classifier pan. It is green and has holes that stops a dime.

As for a heavy scoop, make a belt carrier like Max uses. It has a hook that holds the scoop up away from the coil.

 

[kaptainkosmic]

pan in the middle of tube

KK
what is your sifter made with, I can see its an innertube whats in the center. Looks good
Dave

Dave its a feed pan from a local farm supply store. It is approx. 19" i.d x 6.5" deep. It is approx. 1/8" thick and is tough as nails. It has 805 3/16 holes that I drilled in it. The small holes keep the small targets without affecting sugar sand drainage. It keeps gravel, shells etc and i check thru them with vibra probe.

I hunt in Lake Michigan in waves up to 3 - 4 ft. with absolutely no problems, much bigger than that and your a better man than I!
I just got a pentax optio w30 waterproof camera and will post some pic's of the thing in action as soon as I can.

kapt. kosmic

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Good job KK.

Down here the rise and fall of the waves are not the problem, it is the crashing surf that the surfers ride that makes it impossible to use a floating screen.