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Cold Water Detecting - BDA is headed to Lake Michigan - Advice Requested:please::cool:

B

bdahunter

New member
I'm headed to the shores of Lake Michigan this weekend for a week long vacation of working on my classic wooden boat. In between working away on the refit I will be getting into the frigid waters of Lake Michigan to do a little bit of good old fashioned Looting!:thumbup: I just checked the surface temperature of the lake at Grand Haven, Michigan and it is hovering around 50 degrees F, BRRR!!! That's too cold for this Bermuda hunter, I'm used to 80 degrees F.
I'll be taking a 3 mil wetsuit and neoprene dive boots but I'm thinking I may need to take my two-piece 9 mil wetsuit. To think that I grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario and thought nothing of going swimming in those temperatures in a pair of shorts.:lol: I guess that Bermuda has made this pirate soft.:sad:
Any advice from the Northern Pirates would be greatly appreciated including tips on hunting with an Excal in Freshwater.

Many Thanks in Advance,

BDA:cool:
 
No real advice since I didn't detect when I lived in that area as a kid - but I'm jealous!!! I really miss the days of climbing around in the dunes along that shoreline and swimming in the big lake.

If you think of it, take a few pictures for me if you would!! I used to go to Warren Dunes every chance I could get and haven't been there in 20 years or more - I'd love to see some photos!

Good luck hunting there - I'm surprised the water is that cold there already - I'd take the thicker wet suit if those are correct temperatures!
 
That isn't cold... why not come visit me in Connecticut this winter when the water is in the low 30's.. ;)
 
water temps in the 30's.......and you will be on the next plane to Bermuda!...........Have a safe trip to Michigan and come back with some loot.
 
I posted this back months ago ,but here it is again, with winter comming you can't be to safe. HH
http://www.westpacmarine.com/samples/hypothermia_chart.asp
 
Cubfan - I'll be sure to take some pics but I'm told that Warren Dunes is the Gay Beach now so serious censoring may be required - :puke:
It's amazing how quickly the body becomes aclimatized, only 3 years here and now everything under 60 F is cold to me. I used to love to take my Scout Troop on winter camping trips, build a quincy out of snow to sleep in and wake feeling completely rested. I guess those days are gone now.:surrender:

Thanks for the advice so far,

BDA:cool:
 
And I didn't find anything worth posting. However, I will admit that you can expect it to be very similar to hunting in Saltwater, with a few exceptions. No tides, it's fresh, not salt, water, and there's no coral under the sand. You can expect surf, depending on wind direction, and even rip currents. Definitely wear a wetsuit. I've never used one, so I don't know if a 3 mil suit will be warm enough for you or not.

Also, take care. A couple years ago, a fellow pirate, somewhere on the east shore of Lake Michigan, stepped off into a 10 - 12' deep hole and drowned. If you keep any equipment strapped to your body, make sure it's got a quick-release buckle to you can ditch your gear and swim at a moment's notice.
 
I agree completely with Joe and Allen, SAFETY FIRST! We often get caught up in the excitement of the hunt and we must all be careful not to let the potential dangers of our hobby be forgotten. I've personally hunted in less than ideal conditions and felt the sand slipping out from under my feet because of a rip current.:surprised:
This is a great hobby but you have to be alive to enjoy it.

Be safe out there Pirates,

BDA:cool:
 
BDA lots of beaches from warren dunes north, southhaven both north and south beach. oval beach in saugatuck, state park in holland. beach in muskegon, lots of smaller beaches that are county & township owned. get a county by county map book available at gander mountan it lists all of the smaller parks. most are now closed for the season. if you hunt the state parks check to make sure you're hunting in designated areas.
LOTS OF SUGAR SAND beach if the water is to rough. the temperature is dropping fast. Here are a couple of links to help with water temp/wave height.
Just because there aren't any sharks doesn't mean this isn't dangerous water rip tides, claim lives every year in this inland fresh water sea. You've already mentioned the water is cold, hypothermia will kill you in short order. 50 degree water about 15 minutes. Pay attention to the forecast the lake can turn nasty in a matter of minutes!
This first link is to our club which has a link to the dnr for restrictions in state parks
http://swmss.org/
this link is for wave ht.
thttp://www.weathermichigan.net/marine/waveheight.html
this link is for water temp
http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/twomichigans.html

On most beaches there will be a trough that is aprox. 3-4' deep varying in width from several yards up to 25 to 30 yards, followed by a sandbar that can be as shallow as 12". Lots of targets in trough, also on sand bar. Also pay particular attention to wave break zone usually has gravel right on edge followed by a 6-12"
drop off right near shore targets tend to get hung up is this gravel area.
While working the trough pay attention because if the return water breaks thru the sand bar it doesn't take long for VERY STRONG RIP to form!
Also on some beaches the first 10-20' of trough will have rocky bottom, followed by sugar sand all of the way out to the sand bar. Most hunters pass this area by because its not nearly as easy to hunt as the sand. I recently found a girls class ring in one of these areas that had been there for 12 yrs. It was on very popular state park beach that I know gets hunted quite regularly. The gal that lost it was delighted to get it back. I had told my hunting partner only a 1/2 hr earlier that wasn't going to hunt in the rocks because it was to difficult. Then after thinking about it I thought how many other hunters had said the same thing. In the next 45 minutes I recovered 3 rings and a couple bucks in clad and I only had time to hunt about 100 yards of shoreline.

I hope you make some great finds and I hope you have a safe and great trip to our GREAT STATE!

hh steve
 
I new there was a reason for buying a dry suit. Here on the west coast Vancouver even the lakes are glacier fed normal water temp is low 60s in summer the ocean temp is
mostly in the 50s twenty feet down. Dan:canadaflag:
 
n/t
 
Good Luck to you Mat. Plenty of Loot for Everyone.:thumbup: You'll probably do better than I do but, the loot is only half the Fun.

Cheers,

BDA:cool:
 
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