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KEENE COIN/JEWELRY DREDGING IN MIDWEST LAKE

S

swanie1

New member
Here are a couple of my best finds that I sucked up with my Keene Coin Dredge in a midwest lake swimming area several years, ago. One is this heavy(13.5g) man's 14k gold ring. It is quite ornate as the picture shows. The other is a 14kt, white gold, engagement ring with a beautiful 1/2ct diamond. I sucked up a lot of other stuff, also, but these are the best from that lake beach. As much as it upsets me, I am going to have to sell my dredge, in the spring, due to health reasons as I'm unable to use it, anymore.
 
Some real nice treasure......:thumbup:.......... Sorry to hear about your health, hope you get to feeling better.
 
Sorry to hear about your health, but heres a question about dredging...do you detect an area then move in with the dredge when you hit a target rich environment, or do you just suck up everything in a swimming area?
Mud
 
We have dredged both ways, just pick an area and open up a hole and start sucking down the sides to clay or pea gravel and keep checking the sluice box, or use an underwater detector and suck only targets Sometimes it's a pain in the xxxxxx to manipulate both the detector and dredge hose at the same time so I just start sucking. I have found a lot of stuff, that way.
 
I was told dredging in Michigan lakes is illegal. BUT have never looked into it. It would be good for lakes and rivers with 0 visibility.
 
Sorry to hear about your health. I hope you can return to doing what you like. I do have a comment about the operation..... seems to me that (in a lake), you would get about 2 minutes of clear water, after that, 0 vis. How do you overcome that? I dont need good vis to operate, but that silt would be awful to deal with, with nothing dispersing it. Do you have issues with knowing where the end of that hose is (where to place it on the bottom)?
 
Scuba, where did you hear that? Is it in actual writing somewhere (that actually says "no dredging")? Or was that just someone who went in and asked if they could do it, and got told "no" under something else that the desk-bound morphed to fit the question? Perhaps hobbyist dredging is addressed, d/t dredges can stir up silt? But if not, if it weren't a specific prohibition, then why would someone "need permission", to do something, if it were not specificially prohibited? I mean, no-more-so than thinking you'd "need permission" to fly a frisbee (afterall, that might poke someone's eye out). But as I say, if there is an actual rule, then .... well that's different.
 
Dredging is illegal in Michigan Here is the rule:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/02LUOD2009_-_Recreational_Panning_Sluicing_of_Gold_271261_7.pdf Rule number 5 prohibits power dredges.

Also another rule in Michigan is its illegal for divers to disturb underwater weeds. I really don't know how that could ever be enforced. They have weed harvesters that clear weeds and they clear weeds out of every swim area. Nobody has ever seen me disturb the underwater weeds yet!
 
Scubadetector,

These rules do not seem to apply to private lakes. Am I correct in that? I did read the link you posted, and it specifies Public, but says nothing about Private Is it a safe assumption that if the one of the landowners doesn't mind me dredging in their area, that this law would not apply? Or is there somewhere else I would need to look to find that out?
 
Good question. Private lakes each land owner owns a Pie shapd piece of property to the middle of the lake. What he does on his piece of the pie is probably his business. Anybody can use the surface, or anchor BUT as soon as you phisically touch the bottom you are trespassing UNLESS you have permission from each land owner. In order to recieve a citation the landowner has to tell you your tresspassing and you refuse to move AND he has to see you touch the bottom.

This is one of the reasons I refuse to wade with a detector. As long as I am on the bottom and not in sight nobody really bothers me in 99% of the lakes I go to. And I have found access to a lot of private lakes. But I have taken wading friends along and they have been yelled at.

Association parks and public beaches are umm maybe ok if you have permission. However I doubt many people want to listen to a dredge and I am sure you will not be welcome.

I have studied the laws over and over. Have been harrassed in one lake 9 times by multi million dollar home owners and police, twice in another lake BUT I will stand my ground as a former police officer. I pick up all the trash, and glass. I talk to a lot of very nice people and I find myself being invited to lots of other lakes around the same area by great folks including doctors and other very wealthy people. I think if I even tried a dredge I would not be welcome.
 
Well, it was worth me asking - we have a place we go in the summer, and the land owner lost a Black Hills Gold ring - that used to be her grandmother or great grandmothers - in there more than 40 years ago when she - the land owner- was a teen. The muck is thick. I can, and have, gone diving there, but haven't found the ring. Gold sinks fast in this kind of muck, and I bet it's three feet or more of it. But if I can rent a dredge, the landowner can be working the top-side of it while I'm working the in-take hose. The pie shape part of their property - work would be in a very limited area because she knows it was lost between the dock and the floating dock. That doesn't mean it hasn't moved around from weather, etc. But I bet is hasn't moved too much due to the size of the lake and dominant wind direction. I will have to think about this more before talking with them about it though.

Thanks for the input though - good info on the link, and on the posting.
 
Gold in inland lakes DROPS and doesn't move at all. Even in muck it doesn't go that deep really, UNLESS it has been stepped on. I found a ring in 2006 that was lost in 1954 in the muck. I find rings in muck all the time actually. The key is to get your detetector down in it and when you get a beep dig in it and wave the handful in front of the coil. Once you have the muck and target in your hand you put it all in a mesh bag. Hold the top closed and swish it through the water. Then open the bag and get your target. Since I dive I can hover above the muck also. One of the reasons I find as much gold as I do. Hope this helps.
 
It does help - and I'm pretty good at hovering above the bottom. It won't be until July or August that we go there this year - but I will work on your method in other areas closer to home this summer too.

Thanks much,
 
Hi Tom,

I am sure you have heard of the EPA and the Clean Water Act. Suction dredges are defined as point sources of pollution under the Clean Water Act requiring regulatory permitting. I am somewhat of an expert on the subject actually, having been deeply involved in it for almost 40 years. I live in Alaska, land of the free and all that nonsense, and a dredge cannot be operated anywhere in Alaska for any reason without a permit. There are strict rules and regulations regarding there use. I would never set one up anywhere in the country without seeking not only permission but the proper permits. The fines are astonomical and can include prison time.

If a lake does not have a stream flowing in or out and is on private land or state land it may escape EPA jusisdiction. All flowing waters are defined as "waters of the United States" and so are subject to EPA rules. Private lakes of course reguire permission of the property owner. State regs vary by state. The take away is know the rules, do not assume they do not exist.

Steve Herschbach
 
Thanks. For sure KNOW the rules. The POLICE don't even know them!!! I have been given tickets in THREE lakes for STUPID things and ALL have been dismissed. I keep a copy of most the rules I could find in my truck now.

First ticket. Diving in a lake without a flag. Illegal but with a flag boats have to stay 150' away. This lake the beach was only 53' wide. NO boats allowed with motors. So if I had a flag , all canoes, and rafts couldn't touch the beach. Cop was out of line and dismissed by the judge.

Second ticket. Boat not having anchor light on at dusk. Cop gave me that because I was in one spot underwater for a very long time and they thought they had to pull out a dead body. Fact. ONLY on lakes CONNECTED to AND navigable to the great lakes do you need an anchor light. This was in a lake in the middle of Michigan. Also dismissed.

Third ticket, Trespassing. Lake has a stream going into it. Stream goes under the road. Right of way along roads is 18' from center of public road. Put my canoe in stream along right of way. 6 times the cops said I was fine. One time they said I was illegal. Demanded a ticket. Dismissed by prosecutor. Cops were called 2 more times. Home owners were told if they get called again, the homeowner will be ticketed for harassment.

NEVER assume the police know the laws. LOL also never assume they will treat you right if a multi million dollar homeowner calls them on you!! I PROMISE they will try everything in their power to get you to leave!! In one lake an officer threatened to tow my truck. I said go right ahead and I sat on a log. About 5 minutes later he called me over to his car, apologized and we had a good talk. He was an absolute snob at first and threatened me with everything he could think of. I was parked on a public street. I had permission from the real estate agent that was selling the land to be there. He had my name and all my information. House was bulldozed and nothing left on the property. The agent said if the owner had a problem with me being there he would call me. Never did.

I am not saying this to draw negative attention to our hobby BUT I for one will NOT be pushed around by rich folks. To be fair there are a lot of wonderful rich people also. BUT there are a few that believe they own the whole lake!

I had another experience in a lake where I told the rich homeowner to go play with himself. LOL 4 cops showed up that time. We had a pretty good laugh and that was the end of that. But they came out twice because of the same guy. If you were never an officer, I wouldn't suggest what I do unless your absolutely certain the law is on your side, AND you have the rules with you to prove it!!!
 
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