Newbie to the water. Any pointers!

[voorhees231]

I have been detecting for about 6 years and have had some great finds but I thought I would try something new this summer. Last Friday I bought a Whites MX Sport package with the waterproof headphones and a RTG pro aluminum scoop with 5/8" holes. When I got home I fabbed up a 24"X24" floating sifter box with noodles secured to the sides with stainless hardware to help me find my treasures. I got out yesterday for the first time and was slightly successful. Found about 30 pull tabs and 78 cents in clad at a small county park. Definitely a different style to water hunting. Have a few questions for the seasoned water hunters. First what do you do about small targets getting through the holes in your scoop? Next what areas seem to be the most productive "I live in a small town surrounded by fresh water lakes and streams?" Then how many scoops until you give up on the elusive targets that you can never find, I had a couple of those. Any other pointers that could serve me well would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

From what ive read the mx is incredibly sensetive to small targets which can be both beneficial and taxing... i use a homemade scoop when freshwater hunting... im the guy that gets all the stuff that goes right thru 5/8 holes of others scoops.. i dont miss much.. i often find super small stuff such as shotgun bbs,earing backs,foil,etc .. [attachment 341885 20150111_0810072.jpg]

 

[rottonr]

My scoop has lots of 3/8 holes. I still have targets that go thru but not many and even if they were gold they be sure small. I also wired a rare earth magnet in the bottom of my scoop, it is a great help. The most productive for me is swimming beaches (be sure to back fill your holes) but with all the competition there is timing and lots of luck involved. As to how many scoops it all depends on so many things for me. How tough is the digging, am I getting worn out, is this place producing old stuff....

When I first started in the water I was not happy with the blind scooping, I told my buddy who talked me into it I did not like this!!! Then I found my first gold ring and it's all history now.

 

[thE-TRACker]

I've found that gold and good targets are pretty easy to scoop as opposed to light trash . If you find yourself" chasing "a signal odds are it will be a pull tab. They seem to float off the scoop. I have found thin pieces of gold that float off but it is rare. Don't leave the target that seems to lay in the middle of the hole . These are usually your heavy targets like gold rings and sinkers and are falling deeper each unsuccessful scoop.

 

[scubadetector]

The way I feel, if it is small enough to go through the scoop holes, it is too small to bother with. I don't scoop a lot and mostly dive however. Lots of 22 bullets and 30 cal bullets will go through the scoop. There is a chance an ear ring will also go through but how much gold could you possibly miss?

Best advice is to stay safe out there and know the bottom where you are hunting. If you find yourself in trouble., ditch your gear. After you get out of trouble you can either retrieve it or buy new, Nothing in the water is worth your life.

 

[WaterHound]

All these guys were right on ! Be safe I was water hunting a nice lake michigan state park , and it looked clear and a sandy bottom , I hunt out as deep as I can with waders in calm water, and the depth was even for a long stretch , but when I tried to com back to shore it got deeper their was a long trough , it only takes a few inches or a wave to fill your waders. I panicked for a little but then steped back turned around and headed back the way I came. What I did wrong was not paying attention more and I should have worked the shore first and gradually moved out farther. Even fresh water changes during big storms, as for places to detect I've found more gold away from the big beaches, like older camp grounds on rivers where canoes launch, public access sites people do swim their , a lot of detectorist will hunt the main bigger beaches where lots of people swim, And thats good! Somtimes! But good places can be over looked , by detectorist because a place was overgrown , and my biggest help was being consistent in my bottom coverage , I guess the drunken sailor technique works in a huge area but small sites I try to cover all of it, and right when I was gonna crawl out of the lake I did one more sweep and found gold, I found 3 gold rings in a lake my buddies missed , of course they said it was fresh drops , whatever .think out side the box, be creative, use Google earth to find spots its cool . and remember the pull tab you don't dig might be the one you should have. Waterhound

 

[voorhees231]

Thanks everyone for the pointers! I wish the snow would stay gone and the rain would take a rest so I could get out and find some treasure.

 

[compass]

As WaterHound said, many hunters are attracted to the "official" main swim areas that are usually marked with buoys or roped off. However, don't forget those areas around the lakes where boats and jet skis pull in or launch from. People usually spend a lot of time wading in those areas and will lose a lot of coins and jewelry when doing so.

 

[WaterHound]

Good one compass! I forgot about that one , when I first started water hunting a friend came over to give me some pointers , he's a 30 year metal detecting veteran , mostly water, he brought a nice sample of his fort Knox collection of big lunker gold men's rings , that got me stirred up ! Some were class rings , and some were just big beautiful beastly diamond-encrusted sweeties ! He does watch where the big boys swim , wrestle around and throw frisbees out in the water . and I also realized that my friend was only five foot five and can't swim and doesn't hunt deeper than 4 foot or less ,so he found all his stuff closer to shore , in fact he will hit the shore line area first, that's what drives me out deeper , he can't reach that far , and I have found rings out their . I think men and some women will brave deeper water , and when their out their they automatically move their arms back and forth to tread water the water's colder and the Rings pop off bingo paydirt , it sure is good to keep an eye on swimmers and veteran water hunters .

 

[voorhees231]

So I have been hunting some of the inland lakes finding some stuff but the last few weekends as the temps started to drop and the inland lakes started freezing over again I moved to Lake Michigan. Still being very new to water detecting, I have had very little success in the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Water-Hound do you have any pointers for when you get in the big lake? Not sure if the targets aren't there, or if I'm looking in the wrong spots on the surf. Do you want to be deep or shallow or both? How do you veterans read the beach? It just seems as I am walking miles in knee to waist deep water I would get at least 1 signal. Hell I check my detector with my scoop just to make sure it is still working! LOL Any pointers again would be greatly appreciated.

Troy

 

[stephenscool]

Another possible safety tip is put lots of noodles on your sister. Set it so it sits in the water at the depth you want. Then load up the noodles.
You will be able to put more spoonfuls on it and if anything ever happens in the water, such as a severe leg cramp, you can hold the softer for safety... even almost rest on it.

 

[scubadetector]

Another possible safety tip is put lots of noodles on your sister. Set it so it sits in the water at the depth you want. Then load up the noodles.
You will be able to put more spoonfuls on it and if anything ever happens in the water, such as a severe leg cramp, you can hold the softer for safety... even almost rest on it.

LOL I think you meant sifter where you have sister and softer!! Gave me a laugh!!

 

[Elton]

Seriously..It has happened in the past.. Always be safe .............

 

[WaterHound]

Voorhees 231 don't be discouraged I to have walked miles in the water in all depths and dint get a beep on anything , and checked my machine on the coil to see if it was even working, lol, you were just in a clean area, if you want noise stay close to shore , but you will dig alot af pull tabs and junk . What I like about deeper open water is when you do get a hit it can be something good many times. I detected a state park in grayling in water, and did alot of walking but found 3 nice rings , and I'm glad I dint give up, finding small swimming holes is nice to, targets are more concentrated. I've noticed lake mi is much different. than small fresh water lakes ,you can feel the general under tow on your
waders. I'm going to try and hunt lake mi in the morning hours when it's calm.

 

[voorhees231]

I hunted some this summer while taking the kids to the beach but didn't get out as much as I would have liked. I am now going frequently hitting the outlets to Lake Michigan as they change direction/routes. I have found some gold and some silver this last year so didn't do all to bad. I believe that the term used is sanded in, when you go to the big lake and have total silence. I know a guy who can read the big lake and does very well. I'm still always looking for the pointers and tip/tricks if anyone has them!

 

[beachbandit]

Hold your head up high and look out for the Deep holes and if you fall in one get back up" and keep on trucking son.

 

[beachbandit]

Go for the Gold and look out for the holes!

 

[WaterHound]

Sanded in ! Sounds about right , I'm glad you found some gold this last year. In two years hunting slowing way down in winter up here in mi. I've found maybe 25 gold rings a cross and pendant , but over a hundred silver and cheap rings plus coins. The gold items are more rare up here , even the guys with minelabs get about the same amount of gold to silver and cheap rings. I'm looking at satilite maps of lakes and rivers in upper mi, that helps me get a birds eye look at sites, also have been thinking about getting a small boat to apprach sites on lakes where the water is open to the public but the shore is not. Like in front off resorts , in the spring , before busy season. These could be virgin sites , of course in these areas someone might think they own the lake. But before memorial day would be a good time. And after they take the docks out in fall. I've had good luck in rivers as well .I'm glad you know someone that can read lakes , what a big help, I came apon a detectorist named. Man alone , on u tube out of Indiana ,he has some cool things to say about metal detecting . Good luck.

 

[WaterHound]

It is all about the gold ! Beachbandit , I am so close to just digging aluminum targets and quarters only. But where do you find a fair gold buyer,? It's better to sell on craigs list or ebay next time .