Life of a River Pirate

[TheInspector]

Me and the family spent a few days tubing the Frio River in Texas.
Had a great time being a River Pirate, collecting lost sunglasses and jewelry.
I found three James Avery silver rings, a few junk earrings, a YETI cooler, a Garmin VIVO fitness tracker.

There was one waterfall that quite a few people would crash against the rocks and turnover in their tubes, losing their stuff.
One of the rings and several of the glasses came from this spot.
I did manage to return a watertight bag with an Iphone, cash and a credit card that I found diving the falls right after a big pileup of tubes.
We had a great time!

 

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[against the wind]

Nice pictures,, looks like a great time.
Congrats on the silver rings and the return.

 

[dirtdigginfool]

Inspector, great stuff!!...as a 100% landlubber, I am drawn to the art of water hunting...and have a week's vacation in September and I have a river hunt planned. It is a river that we have camped along several times and is FILLED with rafters, canoers, kayakers etc. all summer. The river is not very deep and is only over your head in a few spots, as the hidden rocks, logs and stumps are forever tipping over the river-goers...emptying their pockets of valuables, their heads of Ray Bans and their fingers of rings...I plan to snorkel, hunt by detector and by sight...I use a waterproof ATP and would thoroughly appreciate any suggestions, recommendations or advice you would care to offer. ..thx for sharing and thx in advance for any input...sincerely...ddf

 

[trapperart]

Looks like a good time congrats on your finds

 

[TheInspector]

dirtdigginfool - Actually I learned a few things this trip.
In hindsight, I wish I had strapped my AT Gold to my tube and taken it down the river to the waterfall in the pics.
One of the silver rings was a sight find, jammed under a boulder in a swift current near the waterfall. The other two were found with my AT Gold at the base of a smaller waterfall closer to our cabin.
I am sure I missed a bunch of gold, due to the many pulltabs that are down the river gravel having a signal close to small gold rings.
Next time, I will bring my underwater flashlight to shine under the rocks and into the dark crevices.
Also a flexible, shapable tool to dig in and extract objects from tight places would have come in handy.

Enjoy and be safe!

 

[Gridwalker306]

Oh man I want to jump into that water and cool off right now! And you made some cool finds as well. Looks like a fun few days.

 

[Deft Tones]

Looks nice and refreshing on a hot day. Good hunt!

Stay frosty.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Looks like you had the best of both worlds; a great time relaxing and sneaking in a little hunting!

 

[A2coins]

Id love to be there Great pics and finds Thanks for sharing

 

[austin]

I had moved back to San Antonio and retired about 5 years ago, but I got a phone call the other day and was offered a teaching job back in Uvalde, Texas. I start next Monday and will be tubing the Frio next weekend. Don't worry, I don't detect or water hunt anymore, but will be out walking a friend's ranch looking for arrowheads to show the students. I'll leave all your future finds for you. Sure is good to see water in the Frio again. Wasn't too many years ago you could hike from Garner to Leakey and carry your tube with you, unless you wanted to sit in an isolated pool. Can't wait to get home...

 

[ScubaDetector]

That looks like a blast!! Looks like you cleaned up also. Very nice.

 

[dirtdigginfool]

dirtdigginfool - Actually I learned a few things this trip.
In hindsight, I wish I had strapped my AT Gold to my tube and taken it down the river to the waterfall in the pics.
One of the silver rings was a sight find, jammed under a boulder in a swift current near the waterfall. The other two were found with my AT Gold at the base of a smaller waterfall closer to our cabin.
I am sure I missed a bunch of gold, due to the many pulltabs that are down the river gravel having a signal close to small gold rings.
Next time, I will bring my underwater flashlight to shine under the rocks and into the dark crevices.
Also a flexible, shapable tool to dig in and extract objects from tight places would have come in handy.

Enjoy and be safe!

Inspector, thank you very much for the added advice, I am so pumped for this trip so the extra information certainly helps...thx again. ..ddf

 

[TheInspector]

I had moved back to San Antonio and retired about 5 years ago, but I got a phone call the other day and was offered a teaching job back in Uvalde, Texas. I start next Monday and will be tubing the Frio next weekend. Don't worry, I don't detect or water hunt anymore, but will be out walking a friend's ranch looking for arrowheads to show the students. I'll leave all your future finds for you. Sure is good to see water in the Frio again. Wasn't too many years ago you could hike from Garner to Leakey and carry your tube with you, unless you wanted to sit in an isolated pool. Can't wait to get home...

We have been tubing the Frio for more than 25 years, only missing a couple of years when the stream flow was below 20 cubic feet per second.
I tell everyone that the Frio Canyon is the most beautiful area in Texas.

Enjoy your arrowhead hunt, but stay hydrated.

 

[TheInspector]

Inspector, thank you very much for the added advice, I am so pumped for this trip so the extra information certainly helps...thx again. ..ddf

I forgot to mention my Garrett Pro-Pointer AT - AKA The Carrot was super helpful.
The vibration mode made it a lot easier to locate things in the moving water.
Enjoy!