I went out on Friday evening for a short lake hunt. The lake bottom varies from impacted gravel/sand/rock to nice sand. I have a Pro/Scoop revision C from Michigan that has the small 3/8 inch square punch outs. I also have a Nuttall with the round punch outs. Booth scoops made in the US.
Pros of the Pro/Scoop revision C .
Digs great in the sand and catches nearly everything including small sinkers and bobbie pins, great scoop.The thing sifts out very fast, many times when it reaches the surface it is completely sifted out! Also the wood handle stays upright in the water, which is a nice feature. It is much less weight than the Nuttall and easier to carry around. All in all it is a great scoop and built to last!
Cons on the Pro/Scoop,
Does not punch into the gravel /rock as well as the Nuttall The geometry of the handle makes it harder to put my weight into it. Also the size of the foot pad felt a bit awkward with less overall control when punching into the bottom. I am going to try and remount the handle at bit of an angle and see if that helps.
Don't get me wrong it is still a great scoop and my favorite in the sand underwater, I would not part with it.
Pros for the Nuttall scoop.
Does a fine job of breaking through the gravel/rock armoured bottom. I think the pointed end helped a lot a in this and also the geometry of the handle and the push plate for the foot. It just felt better and with less effort pushing in then the Pro/Stock. More natural for digging. (This may be just my own anomaly having arthritis) Well built!
Cons for the Nuttall Scoop,
Did not catch the small stuff. Much heavier than the Pro/Scoop. Stainless handle that does not float. (the latest model has a fiber handle that floats)
I found myself using the Nuttal in the armoured bottom areas of this beach, and when losing the smalls grabbing the Pro/Scoop to retrieve the smalls. If I only had 3 arms and hands! A floating sifter solves that problem.
I think they are both great scoops for the right situations and would not part with either one of them. I worked the dry and wet sand area of the beach a bit with both. The Pro/Scoop was hands down the best scoop for this. In fact it was kind of fun giving it a quick kick into the dry sand and almost instantly seeing the find, leaving no hole to fill! (Sand drains back into the hole.) Again, all things said I think I am a 2 scoop man! I use a floating sifter so doing that is not out of the question. Just throw both scoops on the sifter! By the way the Pro/Scoop nabbed a 10K ring with 4 sapphires during this short episode, if I had been using the Nuttall at the time it would have retrieved it also.
Next I would like to get my hand on a Reilly's aluminum scoop with the stainless bill and also Sandman's (Babb's) scoop in the same configuration so I can give them a try and compare.
Hope this is helpful for some of you and you have taken something away from this. Have fun!
Best regards,
Steve
Pros of the Pro/Scoop revision C .
Digs great in the sand and catches nearly everything including small sinkers and bobbie pins, great scoop.The thing sifts out very fast, many times when it reaches the surface it is completely sifted out! Also the wood handle stays upright in the water, which is a nice feature. It is much less weight than the Nuttall and easier to carry around. All in all it is a great scoop and built to last!
Cons on the Pro/Scoop,
Does not punch into the gravel /rock as well as the Nuttall The geometry of the handle makes it harder to put my weight into it. Also the size of the foot pad felt a bit awkward with less overall control when punching into the bottom. I am going to try and remount the handle at bit of an angle and see if that helps.
Don't get me wrong it is still a great scoop and my favorite in the sand underwater, I would not part with it.
Pros for the Nuttall scoop.
Does a fine job of breaking through the gravel/rock armoured bottom. I think the pointed end helped a lot a in this and also the geometry of the handle and the push plate for the foot. It just felt better and with less effort pushing in then the Pro/Stock. More natural for digging. (This may be just my own anomaly having arthritis) Well built!
Cons for the Nuttall Scoop,
Did not catch the small stuff. Much heavier than the Pro/Scoop. Stainless handle that does not float. (the latest model has a fiber handle that floats)
I found myself using the Nuttal in the armoured bottom areas of this beach, and when losing the smalls grabbing the Pro/Scoop to retrieve the smalls. If I only had 3 arms and hands! A floating sifter solves that problem.
I think they are both great scoops for the right situations and would not part with either one of them. I worked the dry and wet sand area of the beach a bit with both. The Pro/Scoop was hands down the best scoop for this. In fact it was kind of fun giving it a quick kick into the dry sand and almost instantly seeing the find, leaving no hole to fill! (Sand drains back into the hole.) Again, all things said I think I am a 2 scoop man! I use a floating sifter so doing that is not out of the question. Just throw both scoops on the sifter! By the way the Pro/Scoop nabbed a 10K ring with 4 sapphires during this short episode, if I had been using the Nuttall at the time it would have retrieved it also.
Next I would like to get my hand on a Reilly's aluminum scoop with the stainless bill and also Sandman's (Babb's) scoop in the same configuration so I can give them a try and compare.
Hope this is helpful for some of you and you have taken something away from this. Have fun!
Best regards,
Steve
If your father is really as nice as he appears to be from his posts, the ring should be yours.