Most of my hunting is done along and near rivers. That's where the history is. I mostly come home empty handed, but that's fine by me. I still find it relaxing just looking for stuff. It takes a lot of persistence. In 2011 I actually found a site with many fur trade items from the mid 1700's. The site was about 50 ft square and took me over a year to recover all that I could. It was about 30 feet from the river bank near a well known indian crossing. Here's a tip: river erosion can either cover items with silt and mud or the erosion can expose stuff by removing layers of dirt. Obviously you want to look for the latter. You'll know when you find smaller stuff near the surface that the ground has been washed away. If you find a beer can 12 inches down then that's the wrong spot. Another tip: start by looking for places where a creek or old run empties into the river. Lots of times water was not taken straight from a large river, but from a smaller creek that emptied into it. A small run from a natural spring would be the best.
Good Luck!
Swartzie
