Any Success Hunting Lake Erie Beaches?

[Sridge]

Anyone here have any success hunting Lake Erie beaches or in the water? I'm more interested in water hunting. Since there aren't any tides like the ocean, I'm wondering how to hunt and what to look for. There is a lot of stuff on the Internet pertaining to hunting the ocean but very little about the larger freshwater lakes. I do know that when I've hunted the Lake Erie beaches, I find a lot of slag. Does the stuff in the water settle or move out towards the center of the lake or move in towards the beach? Should I try hunting the beach as soon as the spring thaw comes and see if the winter winds, waves and ice pushed items towards the shore? I figure since I find a lot of slag on the beach, there must be a chance of finding some valuable metal that has washed ashore.

 

[WaterWalker]

Check out this site for changing water levels. Looks like the water levels are changing over 3 feet in 8 hours...almost like a tide.

http://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ofs/leofs/now_wl.shtml

I would head for the lowest water level as 90% of the jewelry lost is lost in 4-5 feet of water. If you only went at high water, you would never get out to some of the targets you are looking for.

I do not know about Erie, I have been in Michigan once and did not have much luck. I hope your treasures found are better then mine. But then again I was in the water for only a few hours and knew nothing about the beach.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Success on any beach is dependent on how many potential donors use the beach and what type of activities they participate in. Concentrate your efforts where many thousands of people go swimming, sun bathing, etc. Success also is dependent on whether the water moves enough to get sand moved from time to time. You will occasionally find a recent drop on the dry sand where the ladies sun bathe but most of your better finds will be in shallow water where fingers shrank a little due to the water being a bit colder than the air temps.

You will have to research and see where the most people spend their beach time. How hard other folks detected those beaches will also play a role in how well you do at a particular beach. You may get lucky or you may do as I did in January. Hit seven salt water beaches in SW Florida in three days. Found one sterling silver ring and about five dollars in modern clad coins. Even without a lot of luck I had an enjoyable trip.

 

[mudpuppy]

Take the time to read some books from some guys that have been waterhunting for a long time...it will really shorten your learning curve...theres a new book out from Clive Clynick called "The Gold Jewelry Hunter's Handbook" which is great for what you intend to do, fresh water...theres also a website called "The Golden Olde" that was written by a guy who water/beach who hunted the Salt...fellow named Norm Garnush..he's dead now, but I learned a lot from that as well...
Its really a thinking and paying attention to what the site is telling you kind of game...so if you want to be immediately successful, pattern your mind (hunting strategy) after the others who have gone before you and had to learn the hard way...
I hunt Lake Mich, and the surrounding fresh water lakes, and we sort of have a "tide" like every 7 years or so! A guy has to get really good at reading a beach, hunting after the big blows and thaws in gold bearing sites..it can be there one day and covered right back up under 3' of sand the next, so in that way it is similar to ocean hunting...Good Luck!
Mud

 

[Sridge]

Interesting about the changing water levels. I've studied a lot about reading the beach and agree 100%. The problem with hunting the beaches is that they are cleaned during the season. I'm trying to get set-up to hunt in the water in the 4-5 foot range as WaterWalker suggests. I've lived on Lake Erie my entire life and see very few water hunters. Everyone hunts the beach. I'm thinking that a great time to hit the beach would be after the spring thaw because the winter weather could have changed the "beachscape". I could be way off, but won't find out until I try when the snow and ice finally melts. I'm wondering if the wave action of the lake acts like the ocean, or is it different? I wonder if I can find low spots that hold good coin and jewelry targets? All things that I need to investigate. I can't find the Golden Oldie site. It seems to be down. I would like to read it.

 

[mudpuppy]

Yeah, its hard to find the "GO" site anymore...hopefully one of our brothers with exceptional interweb skills will repost it for you, alas I do not have those skills......you go and find Clives book...seriously...you have to try to wring the valuable lessons these old boys learned, or you will be wasting your time hunting the non productive zones...if water hunting is your intent...let me warn you, its a tough danged deal! I can honestly say I hate it! (Really!...dread it every year, but whats a guy to do?)

That said, you get really good at it and it is a subset specialty within our sport...after a while reading a beach becomes second nature...you are up super early and watching "windfinder.com"...running your route of the beaches/water...traveling light and fast...finding those blowouts and staying in the gold...Lake Erie is some old water buddy...lots of history and old stuff went on that shoreline...and, theres only maybe 10 perfect days out of the year to hunt it...

Dont worry about the beaches getting groomed in season...those sand rakes dont scoop up rings or chains...you gotta get strategic though, and really smart about what your detector is telling you on a given stretch of beach...it is some grueling work...miles and miles of walking and wading...competing with every coil swinger hitting that stretch..and dont kid yourself...they are some guys that hunt it, you just never see them, and they dont post and are not telling!...probably do it at night like most of us...you got a good scoop? It is some seriously strenuous work with no guarantee of anything, in fact, I would be remiss if I did not try to discourage you from this painful experience, just work the sod..its way easier and a lot more fun!...No?..OK, lets toss up some pics to maybe keep you interested!
Mud

 

[Sridge]

MudPuppy: I see you are displaying an AT Pro along with your gold. How do you like the machine? How is it's depth? I'm due for a new machine and have been heavily leaning toward an At Pro because of its versatility.

 

[Wandering Yoda]

Mud, man that's SWEET, that Pro sure looks nice all dolled up in gold!!! Hurry up spring thaw, I want more Great Lake's Gold pics

 

[scubadetector]

I have seen a lot of gold and silver come out of the water from Lake Erie. So yes it is out there.

 

[Sridge]

That's what I'm talking about! Keep me motivated. I know it's there....just need to find it. Got a lot of homework to do. What do you hunt with, scubadetector? I'm going to use my old trusty 1280x in the water, Sovereign on the beach and shallow water. Then if things pan out and I find a couple of nice trinkets, maybe I'll upgrade to an Excaliber. Although, an AT Pro might work well too.

 

[scubadetector]

I exclusivly use a CZ-20 with a 8" coil or a CZ-21 with a 10.5" coil. The person I know uses a AT-Pro. I never touched one, I am impartial to my CZ's.

 

[Sridge]

The CZ's look like a 1280x with a few more features. I've always liked the 1280x in freshwater. They are well built machines. One of the members of my detecting club has a CZ. I'll take a closer look at it. I can see why you like the CZ's.

 

[scubadetector]

The 1280X is a fine machine. Works GREAT in fresh water. I owned one for a lot of years before I bought a CZ-20. Its sensitive and deep. I like the three tones of the CZ-21. You can't go wrong with either machine. Now that I am used to the tones its hard to want to go back. Learn the machine and have fun. Thats what matters

 

[Sridge]

Exactly! That's the whole idea. Boy, I have spring fever so bad this year, I wish that I could hop in the car and drive south to where the ground and water isn't frozen. The way things are going, it seems like spring may not get here until June!