The worst time to detect

[Crunchyhippo]

The other day after work, I decided to go to the beach and hunt for about two hours. My first preference is to hunt in the water, with my second preference to hunt in the wet sand. Unfortunately for me, it was high tide, meaning that the mass of people camped out almost to the water's edge, i.e. there was no significant amount of wet sand to go over (I'm not a dry sand hunter; too much trash). No worries, I usually go in the water anyway, except that this day the waves looked like something out of Hawaii-Five-O. No way would I be able to stand still long enought to dig up a target (I know, I tried). I gave it my best shot, but finally had to give it up. I tried to hunt in the dry sand, but after about ten bottle caps/pull tabs in a row, I decided to come back another day. It pays to read the tide and wave reports before going out.

 

[Digger54]

I discovered the worst time to detect was on my wife's birthday.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I discovered the worst time to detect was on my wife's birthday.

....or your anniversary.....

 

[mtdoramike]

Or both, which I have done because I live by the old adage "It's easier for me to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission, that and a nice piece of store bought jewelry doesn't hurt either.

 

[xr7ator]

He who digs the most trash finds the most treasure.

 

[surfnturf]

He who digs the most trash finds the most treasure.

He who digs the most targets finds the most treasure😂🏴‍☠️👍🏻

 

[ncsuwolf]

Unlike wife’s bday/anniversary, for me it’s usually any time I’ve made a plan/taken off work/driven 100+ miles……the detecting gods say…..not today

 

[surfnturf]

Unlike wife’s bday/anniversary, for me it’s usually any time I’ve made a plan/taken off work/driven 100+ miles……the detecting gods say…..not today

Oh my wings get clipped often. I’ve been extremely creative lately.😜

 

[OBN]

Happy life, No Wife. Single since 1995...............
Worse time to detect for me, at 74.. Making it out that 3rd day of detecting, after two days of 4 to 5 hours my body says rest, rest, rest.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

The other day after work, I decided to go to the beach and hunt for about two hours. My first preference is to hunt in the water, with my second preference to hunt in the wet sand. Unfortunately for me, it was high tide, meaning that the mass of people camped out almost to the water's edge, i.e. there was no significant amount of wet sand to go over (I'm not a dry sand hunter; too much trash). No worries, I usually go in the water anyway, except that this day the waves looked like something out of Hawaii-Five-O. No way would I be able to stand still long enought to dig up a target (I know, I tried). I gave it my best shot, but finally had to give it up. I tried to hunt in the dry sand, but after about ten bottle caps/pull tabs in a row, I decided to come back another day. It pays to read the tide and wave reports before going out.

Most beaches around me have been reporting flat (0-1 ft waves) for the past week and this week as well. Despite the monsoon like rain, conditions are terrible right now. No wave action, so the sand is building up. Adding on to that, there's a sargassum outbreak. Several layers of sargassum on the beach, even buried in the sand, which prevent erosion, and make it less inviting to get in the water. Been busy with work, but decided to go out against my better judgment this weekend due to boredom. Zero targets in the water, soft bottom. I did get to see 2 dead adult white tip reef sharks washed ashore on the beach, but left my phone in the car. Towards the last 30 minutes, it started down-pouring like crazy with thunder and lightning. I could hear my detector falsing with the lightning strikes, so I retreated very quickly. 6/10 experience. I predict that conditions will continue to be terrible for the most part for the next month at the very least, save for some very small windows of freak weather. For now, I just want the beaches to be clean of the sargassum. The sargassum creates hydrogen sulfide when it decomposes, which can be bad for your health in large quantities.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

Most beaches around me have been reporting flat (0-1 ft waves) for the past week and this week as well.

It seems that Clearwater Beach always has high waves - too high to be able to stand still and dig a target. Probably only 1 trip out of 4 gives me waves low enough to detect in the water. But it's kind of a moot point anyway; no one comes here with real gold jewelry. I've found one gold item after 15 months of searching.

 

[Knight_of_Excalibur_II]

It seems that Clearwater Beach always has high waves - too high to be able to stand still and dig a target. Probably only 1 trip out of 4 gives me waves low enough to detect in the water. But it's kind of a moot point anyway; no one comes here with real gold jewelry. I've found one gold item after 15 months of searching.

From what I hear, Clearwater is heavily hunted. Morning, day, and night. I recommend spreading out to beaches on the periphery. Every time I've found gold, there's been serious wave action on that day or the cycle immediately before. You can find gold in the wet if the waves were strong enough to push it onshore, or pull it from further up the beach. The wave energy here isn't like the Pacific or the northeast though, so it's rarer for things to be pushed up, especially since we have smaller, steeper beaches.

 

[mtdoramike]

Happy life, No Wife. Single since 1995...............
Worse time to detect for me, at 74.. Making it out that 3rd day of detecting, after two days of 4 to 5 hours my body says rest, rest, rest.

Listen to your body brother, you can't find it all. Metal detecting is the best exercise us old guys can get. Better than going to the gym.

 

[cudamark]

I discovered the worst time to detect was on my wife's birthday.

Or when she's in labor. Worst water conditions......sewage spills, jellyfish season, and heavy surf with rogue waves.

 

[Sand Swinger]

Listen to your body brother, you can't find it all. Metal detecting is the best exercise us old guys can get. Better than going to the gym.

Amen to that. Wife and I previously had a beach house, I'd be out hunting the beach every weekend and a full week during summer. When I first started hunting beaches with my Sovereign about 15 years ago, I hunted mainly in the dry since my Sov isn't waterproof, then with more experience, I gradually migrated down to the wet and into knee deep water. For those who've never hunted dry sand, try walking & detecting on the dry for 4-8 hours and see how your legs feel, lol.

But hunting the dry paid off, as one day, I happened to look down at my bare legs and noticed my calf muscles were bulging and were very well defined, kinda reminded me of the calf muscles on those professional bicycle racers. Walking on wet sand is much easier, but walking and swinging a coil in water is back to being tough due to the added resistance of the water.

And since Joe hunts in the water, usually waist to chest deep, he's constantly facing a lot of resistance, not only trying to walk through the water, but I'm sure his swinging arm feels every bit of the water's resistance trying to move that coil back and forth for several hours.

 

[Sand Swinger]

Or when she's in labor. Worst water conditions......sewage spills, jellyfish season, and heavy surf with rogue waves.

If a guy did go detecting while his wife was in labor, or on her birthday or anniversary, worst possible outcome would be coming home skunked, with just a few coins and some pull-tabs. She'd be like: "So, you missed the birth of our child to find 46 cents?". Ouch!! Hard to recover from that situation.

But I think it would be a much different and better outcome if the guy came back and put a gold ring with a diamond in her hand. Just my opinion based on experience, but after you put that gold ring w/diamond on her finger, I think she'd quickly forget how p*ssed off she was that you missed her special occasion to go detecting. Guess her reaction would be based on the outcome of your hunt, lol.

 

[Digger54]

Or when she's in labor.

"Dear the doc says you still have to dilate more, and the city park is right next door; you can holler for me".

 

[Crunchyhippo]

From what I hear, Clearwater is heavily hunted. Morning, day, and night. I recommend spreading out to beaches on the periphery. Every time I've found gold, there's been serious wave action on that day or the cycle immediately before. You can find gold in the wet if the waves were strong enough to push it onshore, or pull it from further up the beach. The wave energy here isn't like the Pacific or the northeast though, so it's rarer for things to be pushed up, especially since we have smaller, steeper beaches.

Yeah, it's because Pinellas County, where Clearwater is, is the most densely populated county in all of Florida. And there's about a 1/4 mile strip between Pier 60 and the jetty where the vacationers congregate, and detectorists are all over it like army ants. You'd think with the mass of people that have to be dropping stuff that it wouldn't matter too much, but after a year of detecting there, I've found that it does. I may drive to a beach out-of-town somewhere this weekend to see if things are any better at a normal beach.

 

[Luckyjinks59]

It seems that Clearwater Beach always has high waves - too high to be able to stand still and dig a target. Probably only 1 trip out of 4 gives me waves low enough to detect in the water. But it's kind of a moot point anyway; no one comes here with real gold jewelry. I've found one gold item after 15 months of searching.

Probably because there are 20 others hitting it every day. I would go there early, like at first light, and there are 12 people there. Stopped going because it's over-hunted