River Hunting Help

[jeramme]

Hoping you guys might throw me a bone ( of advice )...I'm up in MN in the frozen tundra...been walking rivers looking for artifacts, but so far haven't found anything...I try to search the high, or eroding bank...but also check out the edge of the water.....It is an area of habitation going back 5000 plus years, so I would think something would be eroding out of the banks...but like I said...so far nothing. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks all!

 

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[kansa54]

Be sure to check all the gravel or sand bars along the rivers edge. You'll get tired of staring at rock and sand but eventually you will find something.

 

[jeramme]

Thanks K54....i'll keep at it...appreciate the advice

 

[GaRebel1861]

I all can say is to keep looking. You could just be on a dry spell. Good luck and be safe!

 

[Jon Stewart]

I went to the gold show in El Paso a couple of years ago and while looking for a new detector I was speaking to a rep that was from Wisconsin. I asked him about detecting for copper artifacts in Wisconsin and he told that he detects areas 100 to 200 feet before rivers edge because hundreds of years ago the rivers may have been much wider or even Lakes. So give that some thought when looking for camp sites.

 

[Rawhide]

Not letting the waterproof atp's have all the fun, I hunt the rio when the water is shut off. You may want to look for old trails and follow those to the river.

 

[Twitch]

jeramme - are the rivers you're hunting dammed or free flowing? What size river? Generally I look for sandy areas, not clay or silty areas. Straight stretches aren't generally as good as bends. The outside bend is errosional vs the inside bend. Stick to the outside bend if you have to choose a side. If it's a navigatable river, the confluence of any large or fairly large feeder creeks should be good. Obviously you'll want to have some vertical movement of water if possible. Always better to hunt right after the water's dropped. If you wanted to go so far as to post your actual hunting location we could look it up and satellite images and offer some specific advice. MN has a long history of occupation, there should be plenty to find up there. Good luck.

 

[old digger]

If you are not finding anything in the creeks I would check any worked ground along the creeks. Also check any high ground just above the creek. Hope this helps out, and happy hunting.

 

[monsterrack]

It is true that most streams and rivers are not in the place that you see now. In my area you will notice that you will see the creek bed and then you will have a higher level of 10 to 15ft are so and this is the ancient creek bed. In this zone you will find indian artifacts and extinct animals bones. Rivers do the same thing, the flat area around a river is the old river bed, for example the Ms. river at one time was at the door steps of small towns and now it is over 10 mi. from there, just in the last 150 yrs it has changed so much that steam paddle river boats have been found over 4 mi. from the modern river. Just keep looking you will find an artifact the odds are with you, every time you don't find one, you are that much closer to finding one. One thing to remember water levels where much higher 1,000 to 10,000 yrs. ago, landscape that may be holes and washes may have been flat grass land at one time.

 

[painterx7]

Long flat land on river were a campsite would be banks and edges of the river along these spots is great I like to look for a good place for a house on the river is a good place for a camp

 

[rock]

We have a river here but I look in creeks after a good rain. Look for high spots in the creeks where the artifacts will travel and get stuck in the gravel. I dont find many in sand bars but do find most in gravel bars. Look at the current and most will be in the current flow when the water goes down a bit.
To me the river would have too much current to find anything and its so wide it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

 

[jeramme]

Awesome! Thanks for your help, I appreciate it! This should put me in the ballpark

 

[fongu]

Do any of you artifact hunters use a sniping tool when looking for artifacts in the water or just snorkel? Even when the water is down, there are spots that are deep.

 

[bci101tractors]

Most importantly, be sure to check the benches above the river... a lot of river bottoms around here are "new" from agriculture. Campsites were established in areas with good drainage and not prone to flooding.
Good Luck..