Massive sand movement on Lake Michigan!

[mudpuppy]

We've had a gale for the past few days, last night the wind switched and knocked down the high surf enough to get in a hunt...40ish degree air, water level in the Big Lake is up 19" from Last Year! Lookat all that sand gone![attachment 299021 sept1214-3.jpg][attachment 299022 sept1214-2.jpg]

See this goofy black sand strata? makes for some strange signals when it layers like this...[attachment 299023 sept1214-1.jpg]

I figure I covered a good 5miles of beach, down and back, sweeping the base of the dunes, and into that little trough, 4hrs hunting...once the waves drop a bit, I'll sweep the riffle...got 124 coins for 11.66 and the usual junk...no light foil or aluminum tabs though, so that big surf swept all the fines away..[attachment 299024 sept1214.jpg]

Anyway, I figured you salties would like a look of the beach up here in the fresh.. Shoulda been some gold in here...or silver...I'm Way overdue on both counts!
Mud.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Mud I hit a place like that last winter. After every above normal high tide there were more coins to be dug. It was a one city block long area and It was always good for eight or ten dollars in clad. It also produced two small gold rings and one gold charm off a bracelet. Now all I have is miles and miles of Sand. My beaches are badly sanded in. It appears that you have an excellent area that should produce some good stuff. Good Luck on getting the gold/silver out of that area.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Thats alot of targets there mud. i suspect if the lake wasnt 19 inches higher this year you probably would found that elusive gold... i intend to take my excal for a few dances in the Atlantic later next week... better luck next time... my end of summer lake finds arent even worth posting so hopefully our luck will change..

 

[Rainyday101]

Hey Mud, nice job on the boat load of clad. Too bad there wasn't any gold in that stretch. I guessing you got quite a bit of exercise on that beach hunt. Keep at it, the gold will come. I have been finding most of my rings between waste and nipple level in the water.

 

[tvr]

Mud,
Nice cut! Hope it doesn't fill in too quickly and you get a lot more time to work it.
Cheers,
tvr

 

[Goldstrike]

Great collection of clad Mud! What's the history of that lake? Has there been that many people over the years paddle, swim, sun bathe around the perimeters? and how do you determine what spots to detect? I would imagine you would use old maps to see where boat ramps, beach side property and such used to be? I would imagine it would take a lot of homework to get the big payoffs and of course, a lot of co-operation from Mother nature to shift sand away from the prime spots. Good luck and keep swinging for those old gold and silver targets!!

 

[Stix]

Ya I remember just a few years ago we could walk out almost 600feet in lake Superior when we were so low. Of course I could not make it to the house up there at all that year. Now we are way up. Good hunt and the gold will come

 

[mudpuppy]

Thanks guys..Geo, i'm hurting this am from a bad case of scoop elbow and stompfoot!

If the waves are short Ill wade out 'nipple' deep in your honor Rainy, as long as my knees count as nipples! Goldstrike, This is old ground on the edge of lake MI...I find old silver here occasionally...i look at the dunes, and if theres a saddle in them, then you know that was once a travel path to the water for somebody...after a big gale, the dune grass tells you which way the longshore rip current was running, so a guy hunts the downstream side of a prime location...theres a lot of empty sand in between!

I read a local weather article about how fast and high the lakes came up this year, now its above average, like Stix was saying...unprecedented..trillions of gallons of water added to the Great Lakes in one year...it generally fluctuates in what we call a 7yr tide, so this is indeed strange to have it come in all at once....bootyhound, we had about NO beach traffic this year...very cold rainy weather all summer, no days above 90 degrees, which has only happened once before in 120yrs...all this loot was waiting and buried..very poor fresh drop year...

Tvr, These blowouts dont last long, couple days tops...they sand right back in, and sometimes a guy only has a few hours to get into one before the wind shifts, or the dune collapses and slump back in....I've pulled a lot of gold and a pile of silver from these locations in the past...all those nickels aint saying nothing...

Well, good luck fellows, i'm a gonna limp on out and try to make due with a busted wing and swooled up foot...time and gold wait for nobody!, so its out the door, and down the road, searching for silver, gunning for gold..
Mud

 

[mudpuppy]

But there was a rainbow, so a feller has to hunt it! I didnt go in the water...too cold and rough..picked up 22 coins for 2.12 and a junk medallion on the slope and called it a day.
Mud

 

[goldnugget]

Thanks for sharing mudpuppy.Nothing like a pocket full of coins. You sure GAVE away alot of Free information if the readers didn't catch it. -goldnugget-Charlotte,N.C.

 

[Rainyday101]

Good job Mud, I spent all day on water treasure hunts. Been in the water with my waders for about six hours. I found tons of bottle caps, pulltabs, and only about $2 in clad. These were what I thought would be great places and I had to take my boat to these spots to access them. I am convinced there are rings deeper. Just need scuba to get at them. The thing is, you never know unless you try. Also had the owner of a local marina in that area mark up my map with more good spots to check. I would go hammer them tomorrow but I got to the Green Bay Packer game with the kids.

 

[kapidr]

So THAT is where all our sand is coming from! J/K that is amazing! we have so much sand moving IN here in St. Augustine it's choking off waterways and burying everything! Wish I was there, sorta, almost, a little