GOING TO SAN DIEGO FOR THANKS GIVING. HOW IS THE DETECTING AT THE LOCAL BEACES ?

[streetglide]

Visiting family for Thanks giving. How is the beach detecting down there? Im up in Santa Barbara and it's very slow. If I find A buck in clad it's a good hunt. Im Staying on mission beach by the amusement park. Thanks Joe

 

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[jeepGold]

Prob the same. That area is hit by 6 or 7 retired guys nearly daily. Erosion hasn't happened yet and all the recent drops are plucked off already. Unless you wanna get into the wave crash line its slim pickens

 

[Mackaydon]

You may also inquire about recent sand importation. In North County, they placed an overburden of about 5 feet of sand (for the tourists) last year. And that sand was from the local lagoons or far offshore--not prone to include dispersing any goodies on the beach. IMO, avoid those areas and locate where the sand program has yet to be initiated--in, at least, the last five years.
Don........

 

[TommyB]

You may want to check the NOAA Tides website. SoCal is having some negative low tides later this week. First in a long time. Hitting the Low wet sand could be fun

 

[bklein]

I worked my usual Aliso - which is considerably north of SD but what was notable was that there were some serious cuts along with some black sand consentrations and target groupings. I hadnt seen this in my last 4 trips or so. I dont get it - the only unusual weather has been the Santa Ana winds. Quite a few coin targets but extremely worn. I got a couple jewelry targets but nothing worth anything. I started around 2:30 and it got dark at 5:30! It was a day that I fealt I'd find something good but didn't. Wish I had tried main beach Laguna or CDMar instead. The beaches south might be good. The wave action was low so maybe this is like the final panning for gold stage where you dont move the pan so much so things consentrate - and target groupings form.

 

[jeepGold]

Been pulling alot of fishing weights lately. On my way to a negative tide now. I'll report later tonight

 

[clv]

Start at the roller coaster and head north up the beach toward the pear, the amount of bars on and near the beach increases and so do the coins. But I only hit that beach twice a week, not daily. There are about 30+ miles of beaches that are detectable (sandy type shore) in the county.
Have been down with the for two weeks now so there should be more for you to find right now.

 

[jeepGold]

Took the ctx out on a negative tide. Stayed in the water. Three hours =4 Quarters some sinkers and a chappy old earing. Nice weather though.....

 

[bklein]

What coil did you use? The 11" moves pretty slow in the water... Am I correct that wednesday and thursday will be better days?

 

[jeepGold]

LOL, you think the 11" moves slow in the water ? I used the 17" It does move slow but you just have to grow some man forearms and not fight the current. I'll be taking the excal out today. CTX kept falsing regardless of setting. Yes the tides will be better on thurs/fri. Expect it to be about 80 until 230 or so then the temp drops FAST. By sunset (530) you'll be cold. Been getting down to the low 40's at night. (That's cold around here!). Might hit Mission Beach today. Be there around noon in the water.

 

[clv]

Thur/ Fri expected high 62, 10% rain which means about 70 and a little morning drizzle until the marine layer burns off about 11 to noon.

 

[deteknix]

San Diego is a nice place for holiday. Just know people are nice here in Huntington beach.

 

[jeepGold]

Also realize that most adults (jewelry owners) don't get in the San Diego water much.It's cold 65'ish and the waves are constantly smacking you. It's usually just kids/teens that venture into the wave line. Not that jewelry can't be found, it's just that it's not like Florida. Towel line to mid way down the tide lines are where most things are found and at this time of yr, they've pretty much been plucked dry.

I just got home from Mission Beach. 5 hrs with a negative 1.0 tide and I got a small handful of quarters and pennies and they were all DEEP. About 3 to 5 solid shovel digs down. that's about it today.... Low tide's don't mean didily squat with out erosion

 

[procali]

I was today @ Coronado for a 1.5 hr hunt, boy its bad, then you start scooping and you get some pretty stinky muck sand shell mix, targets are slim, so decided to hit the dry and theres actually plenty of clad to be found, got like 2 bucks a barrel sinker on the wet a couple crusty penies and thats about it, still a beautifull place with a lot of beautifull females to make things good. It was suny and warm so the bikinie parade was in full swing.
Gl and hh.

 

[bklein]

Good point Jeepgold. The MD books seem to focus on Florida conditions and techniques and usually fail to say this. There is a whole science, luck, skill, experience, and the time needed to do well on So. CA beaches repetitively. I wish a few of you would write your own so I can get a better handle on it. Effects of tides and weather are worth more focus here. Wow,17" in the water - that would be a monstrosity. I would think it would find targets deeper than I'd want to dig in the water. I'd think even the 6" would be justified to pinpoint and move around better. I have all three but still mainly use the 11" as it seems to be dialed in and goes as deep as I care (24"). The 17" would cover more area but so does being able to swing faster. I need to use the pro harness or my elbows hurt for days. The crap useless change I typically find will not pay for gas it takes for each trip. Thats another thing about out here - the coins - even 2015 ones - get all junky quick. The old ones stay pretty decent but arent being replentished so we're finding less and less. Ive never found anything old at Aliso like I have in Laguna and Corona del mar. Its like in Aliso stuff just goes out and never comes back.

 

[jeepGold]

I use the ProSwing 45 harness also. With the Excal it's not so bad, but with the CTX it's a must. Until a strong storm comes and kicks some of this sand out of here or brings stuff forward, I may have to start hitting parks again. I WISH I could get farther out at places like Laguna and Carlsbad. You can see the trough. Where the steep banks into the ocean meet a drop off point. That HAS TO BE where most things are kept. Unfortunately, it's also where 6 ft waves coming at twice the normal speed LOVE to take you out. The waves at those two beaches alone are super sneaky. You'll think that you can get out to about knee deep only to have a rouge wave annihilate you. At the same time thats honey to a bear because that's what makes those geriatric vacationers wipe out and lose their goodies.
It rained last night so I think I'm gonna get the AT GOLD out and go hunt a park.

I've read all of those "How to read the beach" and how to properly, "Beach Hunt." It is true that the play book was written for warm water beaches with sets that aren't choppy. Beaches where the WATERS are flooded with tourists. I agree, someone does need to write a book about West Coast beach detecting. HMM,, now you got me thinking. If I wrote it I think the 1st thing I'd say is, " COVER YOUR HOLES!"

 

[clv]

Well it is raining, and the lows in the AM did start at the mid 40's
You should have the beach mostly to yourself hit pacific beach near the pier and in front of the bars.

 

[jeepGold]

You sure picked the wrong time weather wise unless you don't mind windy, rainy, cold hunts. Happy Turkey Day regardless. Dress warm to hot and expect to get wet. I was on a hunt yesterday in a 4/3 half wet suit with a hoodie and have to give it up cuz my hands started to freeze up. Low tide is around 4 something pm and sunset is only 45 minutes later...

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....Low tide's don't mean didily squat with out erosion

Correct. If there hasn't been any storm/swell/seas erosion going on, then the only thing that the super minus low tides do, is simply reveal more sterile sand to walk around in and find nothing in.

Sure, there's always fluke spots on any given days of calm seas. As bklein shows, there's anomoloies at various beaches at various times of years. But the mere fact of "super minus tides" doesn't tell you anything about where those fluke spots would be.

There's only been a few minor NW bumps so far this winter. And all the So. CA beaches primarily face S and SW. So unless there's S or SW swells, or longer term (multiple days back-to-back) NW swells, I don't think your beaches will have the predictable type erosion yet so far.

 

[cudamark]

That's where knowing your local beaches gives you a leg up on other who don't know what's happening on any given day. Even though we've only had some minor storms, there has been some dramatic sand movement lately. Most of our local beaches are still pretty sanded in, even with the movement, but not all. In the last two weeks, I've found over 20 wheats, 2 war nickels, 3 buffalo's, 2 "V" nickels, 4 silver roosie's, 10 Mercs, and 1 silver Washington......all at the local beaches. Add 7 rings to the mix and it's been a decent time to detect. Going out today to hopefully add to the booty!