Got to see / talk to some seasoned salt water hunters

[Dancer]

Visiting (imposing) in Ft.Myers Fla. Big change from PCB Fla this time of yr. Got squeezed off the beach, too many people. But, got to watch a few pros in action water hunting. Was waiting for my ride near where they stripped wet suits & compared finds. This was not the time to go barging in and asking questions. When they broke up the older guy (I'm 65) came over and started talking. He and his wife have traveled far & wide, hunting gold, returning rings, etc. I didn't have time to find much on the Beach, but got a ton of knowledge from the gentleman.
Now another guy I noticed, dry sand hunting. I've seen others this style down here before. Anyway, he's using a long straight shaft, coil well out in front of him. Moving a little fast for me, but he definitely knew what he was doing. Thinking it over I bet he was just hurrying cause of the crowd squeezing in on him also.

 

[mudpuppy]

That had to have been very cool! Theres two schools of thought on beach hunting speed, and I bet it depends upon the beach, crowd, season, and conditions...some guys hunt low and slow and are after deep stuff...and some guys just flat out fly for fresh drops...the thing is to understand the purpose and be able to hunt both ways conditions dictating...and have a fast recovery speed machine, light, comfortable...

I will say up here, in season, its a flat out race to beat the other guys and scoop up all the freshies at the towel line that were dropped the night before...by noon, theres not a tab or scrap of foil left in the top 5" sand 50yds from water line..I am not kidding! Anybody that swings a coil hits it like a flock of seagulls showing up at the dump every morning! ...totally light fast hunting...early bird gets the worm type of thing...not even a hunt so to speak, a danged footrace to harvest...a guy dont even look at the target..ping, bag, run and gun! The high speed guys that can cover a lot of ground effectively is a special subset skill in our sport that is not appreciated and often bemused...thing is...anybody that can flat out fly across miles of powder sand is in some amazingly good shape....I've had guys come up to me and tell me to slow down...I've had guys follow my wake and not find dink...every year theres a new crop of coil swingers out there...luckily, most are old and out of shape, the really good fast flyers are few...a fellow dont work a grid, he works the visual signs of activity from the day before in the sand..cooler prints, chairs, cigarete butts, bottlecaps, bobby pins, even footprints, a guy can tell a lot if the area holds some merit just visually...smoke jumping from one spot to the next, always on the lookout for those telltale marks where somebody was down on hands and knees raking their fingers through the sand for a super valuable item lost....

Then, after peak season, all alone, a fellow can work deep targets and cuts to his hearts content, after the wind and waves take off a foot of sand, its a good way to hunt, very relaxing and not strenuous...
Mud

 

[Goldstrike]

I always enjoy reading Mud's very descriptive post's and he always make's me smile.....probably because he's right-on with his observation's!!!
He's right, there is a motley assortment of metal detectorists on the beach's, from the one guy circling around the spot where there is a hidden pull tab....or is it a gold ring???? It takes a good 10 minutes in recovery time with his small hand held plastic scoop to the other extreme that struts across the sand at lighting speed swinging his coil like a clock pendulum. Its hard to tell if he's a professional or just out there for the exercise!!! Then there are the die-hards who you will never see because they are on the beach when no one is around. They are the ones that have the head mounted light and who knows, maybe night vision equipment?
That's one of the fun aspects of this hobby, it will accommodate the newbie and the professional and everyone in between and all of them will have fun and a certain amount of success!
It is a race to recover the targets off the beach once they are dropped and I have no problem hunting a semi crowded beach. At the same time I say that, I am always respectful of the sunbathers and will keep my distance.
One of the worse things to happen is the sand from your scoop blows in the wind onto some pretty girls or worse.....some guy's!!!! That's the time to quit for the day and run for the car!!!
One of my favorite time's is when they are almost all gone at sundown and it really is happy hour for me....all alone and the first one to get the freshly dropped targets!

 

[fongu]

Do the sand fleas ever bother y'all after sundown. They used to eat us up if we went on a wrecker call on the beach after dark. You lay down in the dirt to hook a chain to some dummies car who thought he could drive in the sand and they think it's a buffett. I detect pretty slow myself because I won't last long otherwise. I do what I consider fast recoveries tho. Compared to others, I might look like Rip Van Winkle. Lol Hey, Dancer. It must be pretty warm in Ft. Myers right now. I tend to stay as far away from others when I'm in the water because I don't want anybody to run into my scoop, especially little kids.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Excellent reply mud.. very well said....

 

[Ron Lord]

fongu, sand fleas don't bite, sand fleas are use for bait to caught fish with , Now noseeum bite the hell out of you !! I can tell ya'll don't live in Fla.

 

[Ron Lord]

the local call it Can slaw beach for a reson.

 

[Gerry]

Mud, good reply. I don't know where I sit in the pack other than I do love the "sport".

Gerry

 

[fongu]

fongu, sand fleas don't bite, sand fleas are use for bait to caught fish with , Now noseeum bite the hell out of you !! I can tell ya'll don't live in Fla.

I lived in PCB, Fl four years and when I crawled under a car and something started biting the heck out of my neck the wrecker driver said it was sand fleas. This only happened at night and I don't know what the proper name for them were, I just knew I didn't want to lay down in the sand at night on the beach anymore.

 

[Ron Lord]

They are not here year round and not on all beaches.....Mostly beaches with swamp near by. skin so soft by AVON work good to keep them off you.

 

[dewcon4414]

Rons right.... those darn no-see-ums for being so so tiny eat you alive. That guy must have been a transplant and a non fisherman lol. We get them in the sea weed bad. Ft Meyers is a nice beach, crazy this time of the year and im not real keen on the river water there. Can Slaw is right..... if you find a ditch.... plan on spending some time digging.

Dew