How many of you blokes have ever hunted Florida's famous Treasure Coast???

[digitrich]

Taking a trip to the eastern shores of Florida to do some beach hunting between Christmas and the New year, any advice on what's good and bad?? Gonna take the kids to Disney and Sea World which should be lots of fun. We are going to stop in NC at a public gem mine and do some treasure hunting on the way down. Hopefully, we'll find something to help defray the costs. That would be incredibly cool. I'll just tell the kids "You want to keep going on to see Mickey, get to panning" "Shamoo's got a gold tooth you know!!" That'll get em hopping Maybe someone there in Eastern Florida might want to get together and do some detecting, I have a list of battlefield, fort, camp and skirmish sites and loads of ghost town listings. Finding them is another story all together though Anyway, happy and healthy holidays to all.

 

[mattockman]

n/t

 

[John LA]

I went down there a couple of years ago. Didn't find anything from the treasure fleet. I take the trailer when I go. It probably wouldn't fair very good during a storm. You need to be there after a storm.

 

[digitrich]

I have had my Excalibur just about 4 months, used it twice, so you know I am just a master with it And in all honesty, I'd rather find a nearly worthless 1744 coin then a 3000 dollar diamond ring. My wife may claim a different opinion, but that just makes her consistent. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like her, I just seem to feel better when she's not around. We have excellent oral sex, almost everyday. She stands at the top of the stairs and yells "%#@$ YOU" and I stand at the bottom yelling "%$^# YOU harder". Yeah, I think I need to get out of this house for sure, who cares if there's nothing on that beach, I think that's the nicest thing about it.

 

[alton]

If you are using the Explorer on the dry sand, you should do pretty good. If you have a water detector and are on wet sand or in the water, surf and wind conditions will dictate how well you do. Of course location will also. South Beach is rated the best and probably is because of all the traffic. However, I had my best luck and enjoyed it more at less congested Jupiter beach.

What I did was to stop by Reilly Treasure Gold in Pompano and talked with the dealer there and the guys that seem to hang out there. They gave me a good tip on where to hunt, and also allayed my dispair at not finding much. The reason was because the weather and wind conditions had the beach sanded in and none of them were finding much either. I did manage to come away with one nice gold item before I left.

There is a book or two that you can buy from Kellyco and probably a few other venders before you go that gives all of the information, restrictions, etc. You can also get them at Reillys. I studied those books before I went and had a pretty good idea where I could hunt before I arrived, and had a real good GPS in my vehicle to make sure I could drive there without knowing the area. I had a great time, and next time I'm hoping the conditions are better because my water detecting skills have improved.

Of course, I was mostly using an Excal 1000. I used my SE and F75 on the dry sand, but had the best luck with the Excal. Using pretty much any detector, you are going to find a ton of beer bottle caps there if you are going to hunt in the gold range. You just have to deal with them at first to make sure you are not missing the gold. After awhile, you can usually tell them apart.

Another tip you might consider if you are going in the surf is a wet suit and diving boots. This will protect getting stung by jelly fish, man-o-war, etc. and the boots will also keep the gravel from under your feet. I didn't get stung, but I was worried about it. I had wore Crocs on my feet, but had quite a bit of trouble with the surf washing gravel in them. So that might be something to consider.

I hope this helps!

HH Alton

 

[Tony in SC]

I asume you're stopping around Franklin NC. You'll probably find a Gem of some kind. As far as the Treasure Coast, I hunted down there 6 times. Finally found a cob last December during a North Easter, but the resorts are always good for a little jewelry. Tony

 

[JW]

If there is a Nor'easter the Treasure Coast can be OK for cobs and such, otherwise stick with Cocoa Beach or Daytona.
Good Luck,
JW

 

[hbeaton1]

Sure, I'll bite. I agree with digitrich. I'm not even married and I'm only 24 for christsake but I have a similar "oral" battle with my significant other. She'll yell at me, why the #!%#! would you pay 1500 dollars for all this @*#^!@# to find some corroded pennies in the park when you could have spent that money on me! I try to explain to her that with this piece of !@&@#& as she likes to call it, i could find such items for free. It's like bashing your head against a brickwall.

I look at this way, this same person will pour hot wax on their inner thigh or facial area to remove some unsightly hair but will cringe and scream at a ladybug that got into the house. Go figure.

Keep on detecting!!!

 

[Holedigger]

n/t

 

[digitrich]

Any ideas on a good web site for weather predictions in that area. I am assuming a Nor Easter is when the storm comes down from the NE? Ignorant question I know but in Iowa we just get wind chill and it doesn't matter the direction it sucks from every direction. I'm planning to maybe pop in KellyCo while I am there for some last minute stuff, like a suit, so I don't freeze me potatoes off or get em wrapped up in some lovingly, soft man o war tentacles. "what's wrong with him??" "Oh' he has tentacles of the testicles Wowwy Owwy. I am hoping KellyCo sells waders and wet suits??

 

[digitrich]

I've been jamming up on my reading 1715 Fleet, Detecting SE Florida and etc. Now if the weather will all just go to hell in North East hat Basket, I'll have a blast. One question.. Everything I read says the area is a kind of a shady hoodlum kind of place. "don't leave your valuables in your car" "people get mugged on the beach" etc. Did the treasure coast seem that way to you or is that just kind of people giving conservative advice??

 

[mattockman]

n/t

 

[alton]

I went alone almost everyday. I never had the first bit of trouble. I have heard of problems in some areas with gangs and other problems but I didn't see any of that. Everywhere I went seemed to be fairly tourist friendly. The area is "different" in some ways. While it was great for a treasure hunter, for instance, South Beach might not be the best "family" outing. The people there wear more jewelry (the reason why I was there) than they do clothing. Enough said.

That being said, I also did not go when it was dark. One tip I received was for an area that came with some warning. When I arrived there seemed to be an element of transients in the area and there was one place that I noticed where the homeless were camping out in the underbrush. I didn't stay there long although there was no incident, I'm a Vietnam Vet and I still have a scent for danger and I didn't feel safe or in control there. For more about that location PM me.

Overall, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Lifeguards are usually on duty every 100-200 yards, and people everywhere.

As far as your vehicle goes, just maintain good sense about locking everything up and keeping valuables out of site. I usually parked right on the street and the police patrol the place constantly. Parking can get expensive, but I really lucked out because I have DAV handicapped tags which is free parking everywhere I went while there. Expect to pay $8.00 or more a day for parking depending on where you hunt. Some of the parks like at Jupiter Beach have plenty fo free parking.

HH Alton