Hunting Gravel Bars (Need Help)

[DaChief]

Hey Guys and Gals,

25 plus years metal detecting and I decided to go low tech for a while and try this.

I bought a pair of hip waders for a hundred bucks and headed out this weekend. I made me a flip stick about 4 feet long our of a dowel with a point on one end and a straining spoon on the otherto scoop things out of the water with. I hunted a creek that was crystal clear near a known American Indian site and wow! Gazillions of rocks and pebbles on the gravel bars and on the creek bottom. The water was so clear I could see fine in waist deep water and these rock or gravel bars were endless.

I spent several days preparing myself for what I was looking for by looking at every post online of the examples of varied artifacts that could be found. That is where I learned about all of the other items other than points that could be found too. I don't know their names yet but the shapes and types are etched in my mind.

Two questions.

On a gravel bar that is about 20 yards long and 10 yards wide, how long would you spend looking through it? I took baby steps bent over looking back and forth slowly through the rocks. I was able to pick out some fossils but no points. Should I be on my knees looking. I have good eyesight but I feel like as much gravel was there and as close as I was to a large occupied location, I should have found a point. I must have hunted through 10 or so gravel bars of this size in two days and walked at least a mile or two in the water looking down on the bottom the whole time. I am patient though and I know I can't find something on every hunt.

Do you focus on looking more for shapes or more for contrasting colors. For example, the bulk of the gravel and rock on these creeks is a light to medium tan color and some light grey slate. I tried to pick out items that contrasted with that or that were of course a particular shape. Should I spend more time on a gravel bed.

I may have found one tool. (I FOUND A PICTURE ONLINE POSTED BELOW OF ONE SIMILAR) I will try to post a pic of mine soon. I am away from my home and camera right now. I believe it may be a crushing or grinding tool. Kind of shaped like a football with one flat end. It fits perfectly in the palm of my hand about four to five inches long and three or so around. One end perfectly flat the other not so flat. There are three v shaped grooves running the length of the tool from end to end almost perfectly spaced apart from one another. The grooves didn't look like they were for hafting. More like decorative. It may just be a natural occuring rock with wear from the water but it looks like a tool to me.

Gotta say that while I didn't find much, I sure did love the peace of the water and rush of the stream. I think I can get use to this.

Thanks,

DaChief!!!

 

[warsawdaddy]

I have a Keene sniper glass.It's 30" long and has a 4"magnifying glass.It's hollow with a handle at the top and then the glass at the bottom.It will bring a penny up to a 4" magnification.It's great to wade with and look at the items on the bottom.Any current doesn't affect it at all.Might be something to look into if you are going to be wading a lot.

 

[StevefromMissouri]

Your last sentence is really as much of a reason that I go as looking for the points!

IF the points are there, you have to train your eyes to look for the "out of place" Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it's not. You will also, over time, start to figure out which types of bars produce, what part of the bar and under water areas produce, too. I slow down for certain types of situations in the creek that are really rather difficult to explain without actually being there. Some people hunt pretty fast and some people hunt slow. Some hunt 2-4 feet out in front of them and some right at their feet. You will find a style that feels right for you and get good at it if you do it enough.

I wish you the best of luck hope I helped just a little...

Steve

 

[MarkDz]

I think gravel bars are generally a good place to look, but if there weren't ancient people around them or if the landscape has changed greatly since then, there simply won't be much or anything to find. Of course there are millions of plain rocks for every recognizable artifact (and some days I really feel that number!) I'd say just look for angular or chipped-looking stones, and check for signs like flint chips or fire rocks in the area. If you see any of those things, then hunker down and look closely. Also, you can ask around among neighbors and fishermen... a lot of them will have a "oh, I found an arrowhead down there once" type of story.
Just IMO, and I'm pretty new at this myself.
And I agree it's fun to walk a river, regardless of finding things.
Good luck!

 

[DaChief]

Thanks folks. I seem to be doing things right. I will just have to keep trying. I am looking at some topo maps this week to pic out more locations in the area.

I did adjust my hunting style a couple of times. I mainly watched from my feet to about 2 to three yards out in front. I used the flip stick to move things and pick up things that I thought had promise. Lots of natural rock that had been shaped right but no cigar. It was obvious when I picked them up that they were natural with no marks on them showing they had been worked.

I did find signs of old China in the water obviously from an old homesite somewhere upstream. Thought about trying my detector in the gravel beds also but I stayed away from that to focus on finding an artifact.

I will have to look into the magnifier. That sounds neat.

Thanks Again,

DaChief

 

[PALEOMAN]

i generally look for 3 things. shape,color, and shinyness. shape is obvious. color; a gravel-bar will mostly have a basic color so i look for colors that stand-out. shinyness doesn`t occur on all flaked materials but it sticks out like a sore thumb like shards of glass. if i`m on a bar with alot of glass, chances are good that i`ll find something because pieces of glass and flakes and artifacts tend to get sorted-out together by the water.

 

[Tnmountains]

Hello

The majority of my hunting is in or by water. The first sign or good sign is flint flakes. Knapped off pieces or something that looks like it has been worked. If its in the creek most likely it came out of the bank .If the bank is bare you will see flaked flint embedded in the dirt before it washes out into the creek or river. A little gravel gully or wash into the creek may contain flint as well. I would learn to recognise flint first or worked or knapped of pieces. I have seen many plowed fields full of great flint but nothing worked(last weekend). Also look in pockets or depressions as they tend to collect and hold artifacts in water.
You will have a blast with this hobby and we look forward to your first find. Research is great and its good to go to a site that is already known in the beginning so you can see the worked pieces and you might get lucky and pull one out. Have fun.
TnMountains