underwater finds questions

[xentrik1]

Where doe you guys find most of your loot underwater? Is there something to look for or do you just go in past the shorebreak, or is it something else?

 

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[The Beep Goes On]

Hi,

There are a few things to look for...first, where do the people hang out? Where do they play in the water? Second, what is the beach geology like...are there deeper regions parallel to shore, does it have any ravines, what is the seasonal sand deposition/excavation like? Basically, look where the people are, then see if there are any places more likely to be hiding any goodies. In my area, sand is deposited in the summer and removed in the winter. So, the summer is good because of more people, but the winter can be good because some sand is being removed from the beach.

Another aspect is difficulty. Searching the wet sand or shallow water is pretty easy and you can cover a lot of ground whereas searching in the surf (depending on wave size/action) can be a demanding task. Most casual detectorists don't venture into the deeper water, however, so I tend to water hunt on beaches that have been hunted a lot. I do search the wet sand and shallow water too in order to get a feel for the beach.

The weather, wind and tides also play a large role. If the tide is high, or there is a stiff offshore breeze blowing in, the area you want to hunt may be too deep or too rough. Best bet here is to use a tide calculator on the web and check the weather. If you get a low tide and have a wind blowing from shore to sea, you can sometimes go out really far and hunt without much difficulty...I live for those types of days.

Hope this helps, take care and HH!

 

[xentrik1]

Well i live in south florida so we don't have too many days where waves will be a big problem. The beach where I go has a reef fairly close to shore and a dropoff close to where the waves roll up on the beach from there it is a gradual slant to the reef.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Sounds like I'd hit the dropoff...if the waves are cresting there then that's the most likely place to lose things...unless the waves are really small. I'd hunt the whole beach until you had some statistics to point you to where the most finds were.

 

[xentrik1]

ya the waves there are usually small and its really close to shore. I'll probably just need to do the whole thing. Thanks for the info

 

[Sandman]

Whole books have been written on where & how to hunt a beach. As has been said before, go where the people go. Even where they used to go. I would suggest the web site www.thegoldenolde.com/ Old Norm is gone, but he left a ton of information on detecting ocean beaches, water and dry sand. I suggest everyone should check it out.

Don't waste money on a cheap scoop. Get a big mouth and I prefer a covered stainless steel bucket for ocean water.

HH,
Sandman