Advice for newbie freshwater searcher

[Tagamet]

Our streams/rivers all seem to have fist size rocks and larger. Even wading in water where I can touch the bottom, how do you get a hold of the targets?
OBVIOUSLY I've never tried this before, but I do now have a Minelab Excalubur and live right ON a river, so this summer I'm set to go. I'm also near the old Penna Canal, portions of which are now just very long pools with no current at all. I'm guessing that anything in there will be under FEET of muck and mire. The water in the canals is REALLY murky, too.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Tagamet

 

[padigger]

Tagamet,

We are both going to be experiencing something new in the same river this summer although I still need to decide on a detector.

Know what you mean about the river muck, I rent a river lot down by the Antlers, just waiting for the weather to warm up a bit so we can get the docks in!

About the rocks, I don't have a scoop and I don't think the sand scoops they use on the beach at ocean will work for us, it might work in the muck! As long as the water is not too swift I plan on moving the rocks out of the way of the target, if there is some current a 1/4 screen down stream like when catching helgramites with a net should work if the target happens to roll off!

John in Muncy