Site Selection for The Rich Stuff

[ohmygato]

Hello All,

I have been reading some of Clive Clynick's books that have really changed my perspective on site selection and reinforced the concept of, "If it's not under your coil, you're not going to find it." I live in a tourist beach town of about 50,000 people with a few beaches that get a ton of traffic during the peak tourist season. Most detectorists in the area spend most of their time at those sites. I understand why they do this but I would like to branch out. I have never once seen another detectorist out at sites where I have made several great finds and also plenty of old coins, which tells me that there is a lot of potential outside of the main beach. The historical sites in the area typically do not date back more than 100 years of heavy activity, so I am planning on spending more time searching for modern lost jewlery. I have a Whites DFX and I feel I can hunt most sites equally well. I do have a little trouble in high trash and high iron but I have been getting more practice in these areas and am doing better.

My questions for you are: What types of sites do you focus on for modern lost jewlery and how do you decide where to hunt? I have been going by # of people, amount of activity creating a mechanism for losing jewlery (sports, horseplay, hills, etc.), amount of jewlery worn by the people who attend a site, and presence of adequate ground cover to hide lost items. If you were in an area like I have described, what types of sites would you be looking for?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[mudpuppy]

I try to follow the regional beach events and whatnot...a guy can get pretty deep into the research/strategy involved, like is there a wedding party booked at a specific hotel location? Where do the rich necklace wearing college kids book for spring break and the like...then I hit the dry main as fast and hard as I can as soon as the particular event is over, but like you, I find myself going to the off the side areas for better and more finds. This truly is a thinking game, and the detector tells you if you are thinking right..even when I'm satellite surfing for a decent looking playground or park or totlot in a town I've never been, if you can see a lot of backyard pools in a particular neighborhood, most likely is a wealthier section of town...so I just plan a hunt in that area. .I follow Craigslist as well in the lost and found...it gives an education on where rings and bracelets are lost, and an idea where to hunt...not for that particular posted item necessarily, but a good idea of where things are lost...I'll stand on a beach and look for an area downstream of the main with a little privacy from the night lights or some beachgrass dunes or something, within walking distance of a bar is good...good stuff usually there.
Up here in Mich, its a little differrent..if the big lake is real cold, but the sun is hot, sweep the dry..if the big lake is relatively warm, hunt the wet. The finds one encounters on the dry, lets you know who may have been at this spot and if its a place that needs some special attention.
Mud

 

[scubadetector]

I hit the main beaches a little. However, I seem to find a lot where people have been and are not now. That is one of my secrets. You never know where in the water your going to find something. And if you miss by an inch, you missed by a mile. Always something missed where ever you have been.