Going to start this hobby

[Jon Stewart]

Guess I am going to start doing this hobby,like I need another one. It just looks interesting and relatively inexpensive.

So where do I start? Are there many outlets for the magnets needed? Any tips on how to get started and what to look for?

Thanks in advance,
Jon

 

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[bowwinkles]

you can just look in the previous posts here and all your answers should be there.

 

[sprailroad]

Guess I am going to start doing this hobby,like I need another one. It just looks interesting and relatively inexpensive.

So where do I start? Are there many outlets for the magnets needed? Any tips on how to get started and what to look for?

Thanks in advance,
Jon

Good morning Jon. I had my first magnet fishing try out with a friend last week. After reading a number of post and asking for any advice on the mag. fishing forum, here is what I ended up with for what I thought might work for me. I bought two 400lb. pull (round) magnets from "Brute Magnetics". 400lb seems like a lot, and it is when it comes in contact with "clean" metal, but when you take into account silt, mud, moss etc. not so much. That is apparent when the magnet is back in it's box with the 1 1/4" styrofoam bottom. The rope?, I settled on 1/4" Poly type rope from a Home Depot store, that is rot and mildew resistant at 100'. (Better to have way to much then come up a little short I would think) What I found out about the rope is that the breaking strength should be a little more than the magnet strength, but I could not find any that would match that, I was seeing something like 157lb. working strength, thought what the heck? UNTILL I looked up ropes, cables etc. on the inter-net and learned that the "working" strength is always 1/3 that of the "breaking" strength. Pretty sure anyway, so have the poly type rope rated at 157lb working which should then be 471lb's breaking, good to go then. The knot, again on T-Net, a video on the best? type of knot to use, something called a "Palomar" knot, a fishing knot actually, and finally, the two magnets I bought came with a "plastic cone" to fit over the magnet. I did the magnets two different ways, one with the cone, and one with the rope tied to a "spring clip", there is another name for it, escapes me for the moment, rated at 500lbs, that way can unclip the mag. when hanging up the rope. Both worked well. Again, I am so VERY new to this magnet fishing stuff, and ya know, I kind of like it. Hope this helped a little bit at least, it's all I can offer. One more thing, I did not cast out the magnet, to many unseen obstacles, it was more the drop down sort of thing. Good luck with it all. One more small thing to add, do not underestimate the strength of the magnet when it is "uncaged", when I first had it in hand, I passed to close to an open drawer in my desk and it sucked up a pair of scissors like "right now", had my finger been in the wrong place.....prior to this about the only experience I had with magnets was the little ones that you stick to the refrigerator, just saying......

 

[Jon Stewart]

Sprailroad. Thanks for your response..

 

[Jon Stewart]

Sprailroad. Thanks for your response. I read thru most of what has been posted but thought I would ask for some more first hand info on how to get started. Sounds interesting. I do metal detect now using a Whites DFX and bought an AT Pro but haven't used it yet. I thought detecting and using a magnet would be a fun mix. Where do you find the magnets to purchase?

 

[Stringtyer]

I purchased my magnet from Amazon and purchased rope locally.

My rig is a 330 pound magnet on 550 paracord. I attached the rope with a Palomar knot and did a whipping to keep the loose ends from getting hung up on obstructions. I keep the rope on a reel that was once used for storing Christmas lights. The bitter end of the rope has a carabiner tied on so I can hook it into a belt loop or onto an attachment point on my kayak. There is also a 6" piece of pool noodle on the bitter end just in case it gets away from me while working piers or on my kayak. That makes it easier to retrieve.

I like my setup but would ... and will ... change a few things the next time I order a magnet. First, I will get a more powerful magnet because, as Sprailroad noted, a 330 pound magnet sticks to everything on the surface but, with silt and mud, tends to lose some strength. I'll likely step up to a 500 pound magnet. I think much more than that could be potentially too dangerous (for me, at least). While I like the 550 paracord, it can be a bit difficult with retrieval because of the small diameter. On the plus side, it is very strong and dries quickly. I'll likely get a braided poly rope next time.

 

[Jon Stewart]

Thanks for all the great tips.

 

[bowwinkles]

Guess I am going to start doing this hobby,like I need another one. It just looks interesting and relatively inexpensive.

So where do I start? Are there many outlets for the magnets needed? Any tips on how to get started and what to look for?

Thanks in advance,
Jon

I have caught up with my things to do and doctors appointments now so I will try to give out some data. First off I am in favor of the magnets being in the 400 range and I also like the poly rope. I see many with the brute heavy duty and even though it will pull a bit further it can also adhere to a flat metal surface to the point that you cannot pull it off without some kind of tool. Some of the vendors (just google magnet fishing magnets) offer a new plastic cone to place in front of your magnet to prevent snags. Many of us just use a plastic coke bottle with the bottom cut off. As you mentioned the knot is very important and lock tight on the threads of your magnet is very necessary. Some good gloves (ones that will take the mud and water) are very important. I made myself a long reach hook out of a rake handle and a old hook off a old pickup truck tail gate chain. This is because many times you can bring some very heavy items to the surface but not up out of the water because of the lack of the buoyancy of the water. From the dock you can just reach down and hook the item in most cases and retrieve it. I use a home depot 5 gal bucket to toat every thing in and I put what they call a bucket buddy with many pockets for all the small things. Well this is enough for this trip, get it all put together and have a time of your life. good luck

 

[sprailroad]

Sprailroad. Thanks for your response. I read thru most of what has been posted but thought I would ask for some more first hand info on how to get started. Sounds interesting. I do metal detect now using a Whites DFX and bought an AT Pro but haven't used it yet. I thought detecting and using a magnet would be a fun mix. Where do you find the magnets to purchase?

Jon, I bought mine from "Brute Magnetics", seems many guys recommend them. Just type it in on the lap top, and everything is there. And there is always good advice from "bowwinkles". I've detected for 30yrs.? now, and thought this mag. fishing might be a "fun mix" as well. It is.