How to dig those trashy inlet beaches.

[FLauthor]

Those beaches that line the causeway and are usually used by jet skiers and wind boarders. People swim there for years and will sit out in a lawn chair and a cooler full of beer. Naturally they'll toss the pull tabs into the water and the beer cans as well. I've tried hunting those areas with scoop and sifting box and you'll dig 20-30 pull tabs for every coin that is found. That's great if you give them to the Ronald McDonald House but its a lot of work.
Here is a better way: look for a 1.5 inch to 3 inch suction dredge like they use for gold mining with pontoons. Can't use them on inland lakes but coastal is okay because the tides wil fill in the depressions. Use a hookha system usually found on the dredges, put knee pads on and SCUBA boots. If you are hunting shallow water, you won't need any fins since you'll be crawling across the bottom. Place a large deep sifting box and the out flow of the sluice box for anything goodies that might bounce out of the riffles. Hunt till its time for a gas refill and check your finds. Hang a mesh bag on the side of dredge for trash, and a separate one for coins and naturally jewelry finds are kept on your person or handed to your safety buddy for safe keeping.
Anybody raises a fuss, show them the broken glass and other trash items and tell them you are cleaning the area for FREE so go fly a kite. If they have kids in the water, the broken glass will change their tune. then they'll probably bring you a cold drink during one of your breaks.
Just a thought for some of you enterprising TH'ers who are looking for ways to increase you Gold/Silver finds.

 

[Tank69]

sounds like a good idea

 

[deepsix47]

This is a good idea and it does work well. However, I highly recommend a slightly different approach. DO NOT use a gold dredge!!!! The salt water plays total hell with it no matter how well you wash it down. It is far easier and a lot less expensive to build a unit specifically for this purpose. It will be a lot lighter, no sluice boxes and if you can't find a hookah compressor you can afford, just use Scuba. It also helps to use a quite engine. Mine is a Honda and is super quite. Build what you can afford. If I get really ambitious, I'll dig mine out of storage and bring it along to display at the Beach Party.

You can even run a couple of Scuba tanks off of the raft with a "Snuba" type set up (that's what I have done). You will also want to over weight yourself for more control on the bottom. You will find this setup frowned on in some areas so don't be to blatant about it. Dredging often requires permits in coastal waters so if you are asked to leave, just play dumb, apologize and pack it up. It works, trust me.

This has worked well for me in certain special areas but in these cases, pick isolated areas with very few or better yet, no beach front residents. They seem to be the ones that cause the most problems and WILL report you in a heartbeat.

The surfline is a very productive area along certain beaches when it is calm. DO NOT be tempted to channel into the beach or convert the pump into a wash out hose. The resulting trench into the beach becomes massive very quickly and does not readily disappear.

Remember, it doesn't matter if a regulation is BS or not, it is still a regulation.

Deepsix

 

[JoeSWFla]

The only caution I would have here,is to not do it anywhere
that there are kids or people who can't swim.We had a group
of young hispanic guys wade in the water here,and one stepped
into a hole or depression and drowned.There wouldn't be
enough gold at the beach to make up for that.Why anyone
who could not swim would go past ankle deep is beyond me,
but it happens.I've known of fisherman who waded out a ways,
but couldn't swim-go figure.Just a thought,not to be a wet
blanket.HH Joe