Techniques used to dig targets in 3 ft.+ water

[kirk01]

Techniques used to dig targets in 3 ft.+ water


Posted this message here and at AT PRO forum.

My wife and I have been hunting a freshwater beach with good success for about three months.
In the late fall this small body of water is partially drained, exposing old beach area man made in 1952.
Merc. dimes are common!

As you would expect this opens up all kinds of goodies for MD at the new shore line and in the very shallow water.
Bad news is in the spring they add the water back covering up the good area with three to four feet of water.

I am considering buying a AT PRO to get to this area.
I now use a X-70 and a X-705 which is only safe to use in water up to 20 inches max. with the waterproof coils.

My question is what techniques, tools etc. do you guys use to recover your targets in 3 to 4 ft. of water?

Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated!

Good Hunting

Denny

 

[Gonehunting]

I haven't hunted shallow water( 3 to 4 foot) in a long long time but I used to put the highly reflective tape like on fireman suits or semi trailers right on the tip of my coil. The sun, even shining thru murky water, would cause the tape to reflect. It took some getting used to but it worked for me. And I could pinpoint. I'm just now getting back into water detecting so I'm sure there are a lot better ideas out there.

 

[tomcatpl]

pin point to the back of the coil then i put my foot just a little behind the coil and then i dig in front of my foot

 

[Finderskeeper]

I use exclusively a Minelab Excalibur II modified with Peltor headphones and a WOT coil. In the winter I hunt only salt water. In the summer here in Ohio, I hunt only fresh water.

That being said, I detect till I hear a signal, check it out with discriminate and then with my foot, mark the area where my coil is. I then take a long handled scoop (the biggest you can handle) and with my feet push the scoop into the sand, clay or whatever is on the bottom. It may take 2 or three scoops, maybe more to get the target in the scoop. I scoop and then re check the bottom to see if I got it. No signal means I got it in my scoop. I sift out the sand/shells or whatever is on the bottom till I find the target.

Now for fresh water, things may be a bit different. I have tried using just my scoop to dig and sift, but I found that a floating sieve works really well for all the mud and such that are so common in fresh water. I use an old round floating life preserver with some plastic door screen so it will allow for me to scan the sieve without it setting off the detector.

 

[OldBeechnut]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUI0_XB2zdE

 

[biglry]

pin point to the back of the coil then i put my foot just a little behind the coil and then i dig in front of my foot

Yep, I do it the same way in the surf.

 

[kirk01]

I will try the reflective tape idea and the foot behind coil one to.

Thanks guys

Good Hunting

Denny

 

[bdahunter]

n/t

 

[kirk01]

Finder keeper

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.
Good info.

Old beach nut

Great video, very helpful.

Biglry

Should I save $ and go with the AT PRO or buy an Excalibur, quit my day job
and get high with you?!

Your drug of choice is rapidly becoming mine.

Good Hunting

Denny

 

[bdahunter]

n/t

 

[kaptainkosmic]

I place my foot beside the coil, instead of behind it the reason being that I was going thru water shoes too quickly because I kept putting the scoop right on the end of the shoe which cuts the tip off. And right below that are my toes!!!!

I use a big scoop, makes it easier to get target on first try. It is heavy when its full of lake bottom for sure and seems to get heavier as the day goes on!

[attachment 193944 bellyofthebeastresizedRevC.jpg]

It gets more complicated if you have to make multiple tries for the same target. Not saying it doesn't happen, just like to avoid it as much as possible. If I do have to make multiple tries I rotate around hole 90 degrees with each try because there is a good chance that the target is in the side of the hole not the bottom. So each rotation has the scoop tip scraping another face of the hole.

I also use a sifter. It's mostly non metalic.If you do a search here on the forum you will find many variations to chose from and they don't cost much.

[attachment 193946 revcfloatinginsifter1resized.jpg]

I originally wanted the sifter to float the scoop on because it gets really tiring during a long hunt. I quickly figured out that I found more stuff using the sifter because I spent more time looking for targets in the bottom instead of looking for them in the bottom of my scoop. A bonus was that I started finding small targets, the ones that will drive you crazy like algae covered round sinkers that look exactly like a small pebble. Fish hooks no longer pose much of a threat because they are usually identified before I handle them. My scoop will catch most post earring,s and the other small stuff but it sure can be a bear to spot in amounst a bunch of rubble. To speed up the recovery of the small stuff that doesn't leap right out at you in the sifter

[attachment 193953 sifterwithtoeringandclad1resized.jpg]

I use a vibra probe pinpointer. Its water proof and homes right in on the small stuff. The sifter will float with a couple of scoops of bottom, my scoop, my detector my trash bag a water bottle and me in an emergency. I jokingly tell my friends that if I don't return look for the bait hanging under the big black bobber.

I tether (6 ft. of nylon rope) the sifter to my finds belt/pouch with a clip so it is only a tug away. I also use a small decoy anchor tied to the sifter (cupajoe's great idea) and throw it overboard. It drags on the bottom keeping the sifter from "crowding " me when working down wind, down wave or down current. If you're in clear water you can see the drag marks to kind of keep track of where you've been. I wouldn't consider going without it, but it is strickly for water hunting,

I clip it to my scoop and put them both on my shoulder when transporting to and from the water so it is really no harder than taking your scoop.

[attachment 193949 straighthandledscoopwithsifteronshoulderresized.jpg]

Hope this helps, or atleast gives you some ideas. Everybody does it a little different. I like to get everyones pointers and then pick out the ones that I think will work for me. Regardless how simple it may seem it usually takes some practice to get the hang of it.

I tell everyone if it looks real easy, its because the guy doing it is real good at it!!!

HH & Good luck!

Steve

 

[kirk01]

Thanks Steve for the info and great pictures!

Good Hunting!

Denny