The depth of how deep to go, well that is a loaded question! if you have a small scoop and the target is say a foot deep. It might take you 5 to 10 attempts to get the target. If the surf is moving sand may fill in your hole faster than you can dig it out. If you do a little research on here you will find out most have good size scoops. Just look at my avitar, my scoop is called ScoopZilla! 9 1/2 inches across 9 1/2 height, 13 plus inches deep, stainless steel that I designed myself. With the handle it weighs over 13 pounds, now add the sand matrix to that and the weight to get it off the bottom is around 30 + pounds. I'm a big guy, there are many of the detectorist in the Tampa Bay area that have held this monster. Not none have ever tempted to try it, except me. What am I trying to say is that you have to find a scoop that will work for you. There are good scoops out there that are half the size of mine that do as good as mine. Most targets at the beaches are new drops, you know lost yesterday or today, so they can be shallow on top or down to three inches. There are lots of variables, like how loose is the sand, how heavy the object is, what shape is the object? Is it a coin, ear ring, pull tab, ring (silver, gold, platinum copper), bracelet, watch, beer can. As far as the trough, if you find a good cut yes. People hunt at low tides because they can go out further and detect where people were once playing in the surf and ocean. Some people detect primarily up to their knees, this is where all the Mothers are playing with their children. Others detect in waist deep water, comfortable to hunt and not have to fight with some waves. Some of us hunt past the surf up to our shoulders (wave line) so we don't have to fight the crashing waves and the pull of the surf going in and out. But when you hunt that far out you now are probably going to find more men's rings, watches and sunglasses. Others hunt next to the bottom of the incline of the sand bar as items are sometimes dropped when people run into the sand bar trip and loose their balance. On the sand bar most people avoid this area as the sand bar tends to move, thus objects tend to sink deeper and faster where you can't dig deep enough to recover the object. Be careful of sand bars and pay attention to the tides you don't want to get stuck on one and have to leave your detecting gear behind and have to swim to shore. It's happened more than once and people have lost their detecting equipment. It's not worth loosing your life over a buried object.
If you have read several posts on here one recently from Les he pulled out a beautiful (put your sunglasses on) diamond ring, it took him more than one attempt and he had to dig down an estimated 2 feet. I know that takes tons of effort and hard work to recover a target that deep. Les West Central FL. is a pro at recovering targets. This has probably made you think of more questions and that is good, keep asking, go out and see how others are detecting, check out their gear. I would almost venture to say that no two are alike. We have all modified and customized our gear to work for us. Heck I've been detecting the Tampa Bay area for 13 years and I'm still updating and modifying my equipment, and I'm still learning from everyone. Good luck and keep us updated.
