fresh water lake hunting...need advise:help::detecting:

[JOHNMARKHAM]

OK all some of you know Ive moved back to my hometown of Columbus Ohio from Florida,I'm still using my Excalibur 2 1000 i have great success in the salt water conditions and beach, OK here's my questions
what settings are best for lake hunting in fresh water when sand base ranges from about and inch to maybe 4 inches then clay and rock beneath.. i tried using my beach scoop that's large for beaches in Florida, i just didn't seem to be getting enough into scoop at most times trying to locate target seemed to be more difficult for me,now i know Ive not hunted for a few weeks in water but something doesn't seem right is there a certain scoop used for fresh water and lakes that some of you use?? please let me know..

didn't do to bad i guess for a few hours on Saturday,about 29 cents in clad 1 matchbox car and the usual junk,caps,tabs,foil...but i was able to get out for a bit,i did meet Jim whom Ive talked on find mall before,he did give me some nice pointers and some nice local places to try out,thanks Jim was great to meet you..
hope to run into more to make new friends and hunting buddies..
I'm looking forward to the incoming advise
good luck to all
hh
john

 

[Frank in NH]

John i use the Nuttall Diamond Head for fresh water hunting, with the pointed head it digs into rocks and clay as my other rounded lip scoops will not do the job.

 

[OldBeechnut]

Nuttall is excellent for these types of conditions, also one other scoop that would work is the old Miller, I would say of all my scoops, and I have 5 including a Nuttall knock off, the miller takes the biggest bite out of the sand, Amazing a scoop build and designed over 30 years ago would pull more earth then the new scoops...And it is designed for easy lifting with the hoop.......my first choice would be the Nuttall, but if you can get a miller......joe

 

[seeker41]

well, i had a "pointed" tip scoop and i didnt like it! would not dig into the clay very well and the surface area scooped is less because of less of the scoop making contact with the surface of the area being scooped. JOHN!!!! you went hunting and didnt ask me to go???????
i was out in the water saturday morning from 7 am till 11 am and didnt see another hunter in the water.very unusual!
chuck.

 

[OldBeechnut]

Seeker, so what scoop works...which do you use now...Maybe I'm wrong on the Nuttall? always will to learn...thanks joe

 

[Finderskeeper]

John, the scoops that are great in the sand in Florida usually do not work well in the fresh water lakes of Ohio.

Seems the big scoops have a hard time getting into the mud / gravel/ rocks that are so common in Ohio's freshwater lakes. It is just a different type of hunting.

I have found that a good heavy smaller stainless steel scoop seems to work better in the mud. Mud being mud, is tougher to find things in as it does not easily sift out like sand and small shells. So I use a floating sifter and dump all my mud into that. Seems to allow me to get a whole lot more finds.

I am now of the opinion that saltwater hunting is easier than freshwater hunting. There is less steel and aluminum pull tabs in the salt water because they do not last long there. In freshwater, those tabs and other junk lasts for almost ever. And the sand in the sea is just deeper and easier to dig in.

That being said, I would think that because freshwater hunting is tougher, there isn't as many hunters. When I am in Florida, I see several hunters out on the same beach. In freshwater here in Ohio, I have yet to see another water hunter while I was hunting. Most metal detectorists that I know in Ohio do not even hunt water.

So it is very possible that there is more to find in most freshwater hunting areas than in saltwater, but the saltwater seems to attract a whole lot more people.

 

[metalfun]

I started 2 years ago using a sunspot stainless steel with a pointed basket & never got the hang of it. It seemed out of balance in the lake.Never used it at the beach. I purchased a stainless scoop from Metaldetector.com in MA. These people are super nice&very helpful.They only carry a couple of long handle scoop scoops so it want be hard to choose.They also offer free shipping on all orders $100 or more.This is a family owned business and they spend talking to u if u have questions.This I couldn't find anywhere else.ask for Moe if u decide to call them.I cant remember the other dudes name.This new scoop seems to do a lot better in the lakes I hunt.Good Luck and HH
Anthony

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

hey chuck
i didnt get there till afternoon...looking to go this sat am early tho....i gotta get excalibur set right for these shallow depths...
i meet up with jim likes sat afternoon,call me if you wanna meet up just pm me and ill give you my cell number
let me know
john

 

[Critterhunter]

I'm also in Ohio and in four days of hitting Lake Erie and a local freshwater beach in the mornings we saw no other water hunters, other than a total of about five land detectors hitting the dry sand over those days...and those guys weren't using scoops with poles on them and I'd say at least three of those people were swinging WAY above the ground or had very poor hunting skills (like leaving trash next to the hole in the sand). That's a good way to get us kicked out because now you've dug up a ragged shard of metal and left it on the surface for somebody to step on.

So far the sand is plenty deep enough at a total of about 5 different beaches on Lake Erie, with also a local lake thrown in. No problem scooping targets, other than me being out of practice having not water hunted in years. My friend is using a large scoop. The one I'm using has a smaller scoop, but neither one of us are having any issues with mud or rocks for the most part. Well, we did hit one cut where it was down to some rocks but it wasn't a major hassle. Still, I'd like to hear your opinions as well on the best freshwater scoops. Stainless or aluminum. What size and shape, etc. I'd like to go to a larger scoop.

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

Ok well here we go, I'm packed and ready to try a local lake again I have my Excalibur on charge and stainless steel scoop in trunk of car along with other goodies so early start in the am let's see which works better for me, I do know this lake hunting is interesting but I do like a good challenge and hey with oil looming on the coast in fla this might just be the new wave for awhile !I'll update more later

 

[ridgerunner]

Hello Johnmarkham, I used to do a lot of water hunting "30 years ago" The scoop I used was just A grain scoop with holes drilled in it and a long wooden handle. My detector was a whites coinmaster hip mount. I would float the control box on on innertube and just tow it around with me when i got a signal I would slide my foot under the coil and just bring the scoop back under my foot. it rarely took more than a couple of trys to get whatever was there. we didnt have all these water detectors to choose from or all these fancy scoops. we also didnt have any competition. A small ROUND bottom scoop will work great at the beaches in Ohio. Good Luck-have fun, Russ.

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

hey Russ
thanks for the info, I'm just so used to hunting at the sanded beaches of Florida this fresh water hunting is allot different,i went out again to local beach and did try again meet seeker41 from Columbus and did some hunting with him on Saturday,he clued me in on some techniques he uses and as to when to hit the beach,still trying to find sweet spot on excal 2 for correct depth as i don't need to go very deep but still can pick up the gold and silver..i did try my stainless steel scoop this weekend and it was a better choice than my big sand scoop but still having problems getting targets..i did lose a few targets cause i just couldn't scoop them,i think they were just junk but never really know till you see it in the basket.but i do appreciate all the advise from my fellow detectors here on this site,ill keep all posted,i only found about 69 cents worth of clad and a few toys and junk but beach is what it is i guess,its not Florida beaches tho..lol..lol
good luck to all
hh
john

 

[Crenman]

Hey there John.
Welcome to fresh water hunting.
I hunt several diffrent lakes and a few of them are like beaches.Verry fine sand eazy to hunt.The problem is all the old guys hunt them for that reason..
The others are a challange, lots of iron ore, big shells,mucky like clay, and some times you cant heardly get down more than 2 inches on the first attempt. I use 3 diffrent scoops depending on the area.
Smaller is better in the rocky stuff in the sells and in mud i use a flat style scoop about 7" wide,4" tall, and 10"deep. In the hard to hunt areas i just scoop about 2" up at a time mainly because its hard to sift shells and rocks and rettieve them out of the scoop with so much in it.

Your biggest challange and frustration will most likley be pull tabs... I HATE THEM they sound good but many times i lose them when pulling my scoop up or if they are on the top they will kinda float off when i go to scoop them many times falling in the hole i just dugand i cant just leave them there because then they have won...

Any ways best of luck to you!
The fresh water can be rewarding just like the beach.. so far in the Last 4-5 hunts i have found 3/4oz worth of gold. and 3oz of silver.
Good luck and HH
CHAD...

 

[seeker41]

old beechnut, i have found the large pointed diamondhead or other simmiler scoops do not work well in my local lake and the reason why is..... when you go to recover/scoop the target you are not digging in deep and pulling up a large volume of material(sand, clay, pebbles etc you are actually scrapping off a layer of sand about 3 inches thick from a clay base. a scoop with a broad digging lip is better for this type of lake. that old saying....."you need the right tool for the job" holds true!!!!!

 

[OldBeechnut]

So do you think the old miller scoop would work? Tell you why, I just started hunting the Bay, Sandy Point, there is a thick layer of gravel in some places, then there are the places were there is sand {small sand bars} on top of the gravel. The gravel is a tuff one to penetrate, the miller does do it but it is a struggle on the deep targets. Plus I have another place in the bay i hunt, I do have the sand, muck, clay shell mixture..the miller hits deep, but trying to pick it up is almost impossible......getting one scoop to work at every beach is like a trial and error thing....any suggestions ..on what works at pebble Beach's. thanks guys.....joe

 

[sandman256]

Since I am stuck inland now I only hunt fresh water. I have used the old Sunspot and the new Stealth, but would love to have a Miller with the holes of the Sunspot. I just love that handle and the closed top for a basket

 

[seeker41]

no advice!, except to say you may need a arsenal of scoops.

 

[deerman]

john to help keep the smaller targets in the scoop add a peice of 1/4 inch wire mesh to the bottom and back of the scoop just cut to fit and use some zip ties to keep it in place !!
cost about 3 bucks and saves the small stuff in the scoop

 

[grumpyolman]

For the fresh water hunter there's only two to consider IMHO. One's the Diamondhead and the other is the one made by the gentleman from the Ukraine. Both have their place in the arsenal. The scoops the hunters use on the sandy beaches in Florida, the Gulf Coast, California, etc, just aren't gonna cut it for the nasty stuff we have to deal with in the lakes and rivers. Just to many people have explained that one needs more than one (scoop) for that learning to be ignored. jim

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

hey jim
thanks for the info im gonna try out some scoops this weekend from a friend up here and see what might work best then next week ill just have to brake open penny bank and spend some and get a new one..
especially since ill be hunting more fresh water lakes then salt water for awhile now..thanks for info.
good luck
john