Every single time can be different. Sometimes I have found depressions in the sand. Some are shallow bowl shaped, and are usually small in size. My theory about this occurrence is that during the tidal change, a vortex takes place, similar to a tornado. It digs down into the sand and pulls objects up and inward, concentrating them in the bowl. Find one of these and stay there until it is cleaned out. My best one was about 6 feet in diameter, and contained over 90 coins, including clads, seated, barber, merc, buff, indian, etc. A mixing bowl of sorts.
Other depressions run paralell to the beach. I have seen some depressions actually turn into a trench over time. You have to be ready to exploit the situation when it appears, because it can be gone overnight. One trench developed on a favorite beach of mine that ended up being about 5 to 6 feet deep, and over 100 yds long. Lots of older coins and jewelry came out of that trench, and it stayed that way for a couple of weeks, before it filled back in. Most finds I have made along trenches, have been dug from the shore side of it, as opposed to the ocean side.
When the sand is flat, you have to work a little. The best way I have found is to run a zig zag pattern from the shore to the water. Of course, I am hoping to dig targets as I work the pattern. I try to cover a good distance, and if the system is working, you should be able to line up your dug targets. You have found a line, and now you just work it! "Mine the line" ! You have to spend time on a beach, in order to luck out and find the "Magic line"
Some lines are total junk lines, while others are all coins. One line I found netted me 14 gold rings over about a 2 week period. That line started at low tide, at one of those bowls I talked about. I got 6 gold rings in that bowl, a silver ring on the edge of it, and another 8 gold rings along the line. The line ran diagonally from low tide to high tide, and was visible as a line of dark sands and crushed shells.
Hope this helps! Good luck!............HH
