Dry Sand VS. Wet Sand VS. Water

[Dig]

Hey Guys!! I have a noob related question (at least I think I still qualify as noob...I've only been doing this a little under a month now). I have made finds in the dry sand (a 10k ring and a silver chain) and I have made finds in the wet sand (a silver ring) but I have not as of yet really found anything other than pocket change in the water (well I did find a pirate hooker earring loop but it was crap). SO I have to ask...are most of your good finds made in the water like I read in books and magazines?? Or do you think its a split? I go out a low tide a lot but really I will go almost anytime I can. I dont feel like im doing too badly but, I also dont feel like im being overly productive either. Let me know what you think and as always thanks for your huge base of knowledge.

 

[Chi Town Bruce]

Don't get frustrated Dig. One month and you have doubts already? What do your mags & books say? Never mind.......I don't want to know.
Keep swinging your doing fine. We all told ya so. Right? You have some of the best looters and clubs in your area. Have ya joined them yet?
Keep POUNDING!!

 

[Crash620]

I prefer LT wet sand/ shallow water. Surf here is usually too rough for deeper hunting. Plenty of gold in the wet....

 

[thinkin2]

[quote Crash620]I prefer LT wet sand/ shallow water. Surf here is usually too rough for deeper hunting. Plenty of gold in the wet....[/quote]

I agree with Crash620. In my area the surf is usually too much to fight. Not that it's huge surf or anything but the breakers are very frequent and large enough to keep you off balance most of the time. Plus my area is notorious for rip currents. I thought I might try the water this year but at my age I think it would tire me out pretty quickly so I'll keep to the wet sand for the most part. Maybe some very shallow wading. If I could still dive then that would be another story. Anyway, to stick to the point, yes you're still a noob and I say that with affection because I remember when I was and it was a great time. Everything excited me back then. I still have the first ring I found thirty years ago. A junker man's gold plated with the stone missing. I never threw it out and never will. Sometimes you can't measure value in dollars. You're doing great, just stay with it.
Jerry

 

[TONE JUNKY]

My 2 cents. I have found goodies in dry, wet, shallow & deep water. The theory is, most of the jewelry is lost in the water & therefore, harder for the loser to recover it. Most detectorists like to stick to the dry & wet sand & that leaves all the good stuff for those who are willing & able to fight the currents, waves, sharks, etc. LOL. It is always best to hunt at low tide. This will put you in the area where waders were during high tide without having to fight the water. Also, suntan lotion, cool water & wave action cause jewelry to come off very easily, therefore, most of jewelry lost is in the water. Of course, that doesn't mean that people don't lose jewelry in the dry sand. Simply, that most people lose jewelry in the water. And, there is usually less trash in the water as compared to the dry sand. So, you can easily dig every signal, (making sure you don't miss the gold) & not get too tired out.

When you do find jewelry in the dry sand, its usually because somebody took it off before entering the water, placing it on their towel or in their pants pockets, forgetting about them & as they leave the beach, they drop out of pockets, off blankets, etc.

 

[PaPa-Joe-Fla.]

Digs, When you go to the beach, or in your area just driving by the Beach check out where in the water most of the people are hanging out. If they are in chest to neck deep water at high tide that will be knee to waist deep at low tide. That is where I find most of my nice items knee to waist deep at low tide. I feel if I am in neck deep water at low tide that would be over most peoples heads at high tide, so fewer amount of people in that deep of water. I like hunting in the water vs. dry sand unless it is just to brutal. I can hunt 6 hrs. in the water with no pain, about 3 hrs. in dry sand and I have to head to the house. Plus allot less questions when you are in the water. Have you tried going out to the shallows and sand bars around Egmont Key? HH

 

[Dig]

I havent gotten out around Egmont yet...its funny we were just talking about that. I have a boat but I am doing some electrical work on her right now. I think when I get things together a trip out there might be interesting. The old Spanish fort is out there. It is under water...(esp the old moorings for the ships) and it was used in the Spanish American war, The Civil War, and WW2. I have a pretty good knowledge of that area having grown up scouting that area for tarpon. Lots of underwater ruins and quiet places there.

 

[Waterbug]

I would say it is equal,sand and water for coins,but more jewelry in the water.Here is a photo of a set of earrings I found at a lake.One was found in 2

 

[Gulf Hunter]

HMMM, dry is OK, but not much there, scraps, no thanks, the dry sanders can deal with it. The wet sand is OK, but better in areas where the wave action is knarley and hurls the stuff onto the beach. It can be very interesting here on the right conditions, especially when the sand is sheared off the beachface. Most of my loot comes from the water. If you get out there and you are sinking into the sand, then by all means, don't waste your time Dig. In the water finds of value, are most often recovered when the bottom is firm. The hard stuff, is the good stuff and the goosh is time to move on, savvy? Yeah, you are still a noob, a rookie, but you are picking up fine, stay on it mate! You will win the game, if you faint not, savvy?
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[dieseldust]

My girlfriend sometimes drags me to beaches I would not normally hunt. One time she took me to a lake beach that never gave me any better then a silver toe ring but that day she pulled a 3/4 carat, 1.5 total carat wedding set out of it one day.
I would have said she planted it but I knew she didnt..it just happend.
I really believe that given here newbie status she was digging every signal no matter what it sounded like.
That is the problem many of us face as we grow more gold hungry. We ignore iffy signals , broken signals and I too am guilty.
Some call it beginners luck, I call it the way to detect.
Good luck out there.

 

[willia in tex.]

most of us who beach hunt, and all of us who metal detect weren't very successful when we first started out, there is what is called a learning curve. you can read all the books, talk to all the pro's. buy all the right equipment ect...but the only way to be succesful is to go out and hunt, and when you hunt pay attention to the conditions you are hunting in and make a mental note or right it down. you have to hunt often to be come successful, the more you hunt the more you learn about the beaches you hunt. pay alot of attention to the sand, this stuff moves alot each day, just because you don't find anything in a certain area one day, doesn't mean you won't the next. and visa versa. norm garnish ( the golden olde ) had a excellent web site on the beaches of galveston. and when i got serious about beach hunting I would read his writings about beach hunting over and over untill I had them memorized. then I would go to the beach and hunt. you would think with all of this knowledge that I had gotten from the master of galveston beach hunting i wolud have found something. but just coins and silver. I went to galveston every other day for 3 months before i found any gold ( I live 90 miles away ). But I also learned what he was talking about in his writings. and he was right on. i wish i could have hunted with him but he died. hang in there to be successful in anything it takes alot of work. beach hunting is no different. hh willia