Has anyone tried detecting at night before?

[EL Pirata Loco]

I am always surf fishing at night for big fish but has anyone detected at night? Im new at detecting and i never noticed anyone here in South FL swinging away when i am at the beach?? Anyone go at night where you are at? CA TX NJ NC??

Just curious since where i go, its very empty at night for miles...safe too

 

[Sandman]

I am not near saltwater anymore but there are many reasons many hunters don't detect in the water at night in saltwater. On the shore now it is OK if you are with a buddy that is close by. You don't hear someone sneaking up on you so well when your wearing ear phones.

 

[goodmore]

Going to try it tonight in NJ. Never did it before. Two of us. Going to see if we like it. If we do we can beat the parking fees beach fees, traffic, and parking a mile from the beach. We are not going in the water at night, but some wet sand hunting sounds fun.

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

Hunt at night all the time in NJ. You can't see what your going to dig in the day why would night matter. Now if your one who needs to look at your finds as you find them then don't go at night. Its like a double hunt first you dig it and then you find out when you get home what you dug. Here in NJ you need to hunt in the dark so your not seen by one of th 8 billion other hunters that DON'T DO THERE OWN RESEARCH!

 

[Daedalus]

I hunted the beaches on Galveston Island when I lived there , and I liked it quite a bit. It was quite and I hardly saw anyone around . In fact about the only one I saw was the police officer who worked that area . He would come down to see how I was doing and to make sure that I was ok .
Come to think about it he came down to check on me one night when some fool had robbed a place and was running lose . And sure enough he found the guy on the beach a hundred yards down to the East of Jamaica beach where I was .

But other than that one time it was just fine . And when I had a full moon it was almost like hunting in the daylight . Well cooler anyway lol . Another thing I saw while hunting at night was when the moon was bright you could see metal objects on the top of the sand very easily , it was something about the moon light and the shinny metal that would make it stand out on the darker background of the sand !
If you get the chance you will see this also.

And one other thing , in less you know what you are doing and where, you really do not want to get out in the water at night , that is when some types of fish feed up close to the beach . I almost learned this the hard way but lucky me as there was some other people detecting there and warned me and got me out of the water that I was up to my waist in . So you might make sure if you are not up to speed on this to ask someone about the area and what to look out for and when .

 

[EL Pirata Loco]

i would not detect at night time on the water, i always catch too many toothy critters at the surf line...i would stick to dry sand...sounds alot of fun so far, i would need to get some lighting gear.

Any ideas on your night time equipment? Other than your detector..would you attach a light source on the detector and your hat?? Has anyone ever find something great at night?

 

[metaldetectorguy]

I night midnight hunt S. Fla. all the time usually in by 4am though. When I do I am always super alert to my surroundings as you never know who will creep up on you around here. I only put one headphone on one ear and leave the other ear free to hear around me. I never use a light except if I am filming and only to see what is in my scoop then. As for water hunting..I tend not to but I have water hunted at night but only at low tide and now more then knee deep if that. I usually just hit the slope overnight as it's a lil too nerve racking for me. I have seen someone waist deep detecting at 2am before though (crazyness). There are not many people out at night so it's a great time to go since you have the beach all to yourself, well except where the bums are sleeping. Just stay alert. Good Luck!

 

[Can Slaw]

Sharks feed at night.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I would not recommend hunting the water at night, as mentioned that is feeding time.

I have hunted the wet sand at night, and ventured in up to my knees, it is nice, but much better if done with a partner as it can be very dangerous. A lot of low lifes out at night and one hunter who was mugged while hunting.....

 

[time4me]

I hunted chest deep east coast ocean beach once last summer to take advantage of a late low tide. I hunted with a partner, and we had waterproof LED flashlights hanging from our necks. All I can say was it was fun, but VERY creepy. Lots of little fish were attracted to the light shining in the water, so they kept coming up to the surface and hanging around under the light. At one point a big crab went fluttering past and scared me half to death.

I did end up finding a gold firefighter pendant that night.

Not sure I'll do it again.

Jim

 

[wildman4910]

Get a partner and LED Panther hat{well worth the $17} and hit the sand.

I wouldn't venture more than calf deep at night, and I would use a single side ear phone or ear bud so you have an ear open for dangers.

~~Happy Hunting~~​

 

[Diver_Down]

If you hunt at night during turtle nesting season, be aware of lighting ordinances. A red lens over the light is more than adequate. You don't want to be on the receiving end of a beach lighting officer's wrath. Besides monetary fines, equipment can also be confiscated depending on the judgment of the officer.

 

[EL Pirata Loco]

I know Pompano and Deerfield Beach have lights out restrictions for turtle season

AL

 

[stevemc]

When I go in the water at night, I just turn on the light when I find something-to look in the scoop. If there is any moon out, you can actually see pretty good, even with just stars its not bad, and the headlamp will kind of give you night blindness. It is best to go with another person at night, it seems that way anyway. I usually go by myself during the day. And sand hunting at night, that is the best time, no one is there.