Best detector for freshwater??

[itsaawgood]

Looking for advice on which waterproof detector to purchase for freshwater detecting. I recently purchased a White's V3i and love it.I live in Southwestern Michigan a block from Lake Michigan and also have to many inland lakes around to count...so I have decided I need to also purchase a decent waterproof detector....NOT a top of the line model such as the Excalibur II...just a reliable mid range model. I am not brand loyal so it could be any brand. Currently looking at models by Garrett, Tesoro, and Whites...looking to stay in the $550 - $800 range.........any advice??

 

[Jim Bob]

I have been using the Whites Beach Hunter ID for 3 years now in the fresh water lake I live on. I have had great results with it and would recomend it to any one. I bought a Whites Dual Field PI at the end of the summer as some say the PI is deeper. I wanted to try it in the same area I have been hunting for 3 summers with the Beach Hunter to see if I had missed anything. I don't think I missed much. I dug coins and rings 12 to 18 inches with the BHID and for fresh water the dis mode works great and IMO the BHID is best for fresh water. I sold over $2,300 in gold and silver that I found with the BHID so that paid for both machines. Hope this helps, Jim

 

[Craig-PI]

Jim gives good advice... the BHer is a good machine... If price is a concern why not look into the Detector Pro Wader if they still make it or the Tereso Tiger Shark they are mid-priced detrectors... I think the Beachhunter is out of your price range as well... one thing though if you are serious about waterhunting then buy the best machine you can afford or wait until you can afford one... most high end machines will not lose value like lower end machines can...

 

[Joe Kononchik]

n/t

 

[therover]

Just wondering if you are using the big coil in the freshwater.

Thanks.

John

 

[itsaawgood]

I just talked with a local dealer here in Michigan...actually the one I purchased my V3i's from and he highly recommended the Garrett AT PRO. He was saying it is a screamer and even though he has the ability to run any detector out there including the Excalibur II...that he was going to be personally running an AT PRO himself this summer. A few things he noted were that it has the ability to change coils and there is an new waterproof headphone jack adapter coming out very soon that will allow the user the ability to use any waterproof headphones...not just the optional pair that Garrett sells with the special end on it right now. The price is definitely right were I would like to be with just starting out in water detecting and I'm not into diving so the limited 10' waterproof depth will not be an issue. I see there is an AT PRO forum here so I guess I will start hanging out in that forum and see what people are saying. I will not be making my purchase for about another 2 weeks so would still like to hear peoples recommendations as nothing is set in stone as of yet. Thank you for the input everyone and wish everyone a very lucrative detecting season!!