What is the absolute best metal detector for metal detecting in freshwater? (lakes, creeks, and rivers)

[RandyMarsh]

I am looking for a metal detector that works well specifically in a river or creek, that can discriminate trash from the goodies, and does not false in highly mineralized soil. (Price does not matter)
I have been looking at the Tesoro Tiger Shark for awhile now, though theoretically, should the newer models such as the Minelab Manticore outperform it in freshwater with its newer features? Please answer these questions for me who have both used the Minelab Manticore and the Tesoro Tiger Shark in rivers/creeks. Tell me which performs better in freshwater in your opinion or if there is an even better option between the two I should know about.

 

[tvr]

Tiger Shark has no support now as the factory has been closed for years. I have used one (actually still have one sitting in the closet) and it is not as deep detecting as either my Fisher CZs or Minelab Excaliburs in fresh water. I have not used a Manticore. From what I've read, the Manticore will do a very good job detecting once you learn it. The Tiger Shark has a unique sound on targets ... sounds very much like a duck quacking. It would make me laugh when I used it and was kind of endearing, yet I would still go out mostly with the deeper CZ or Excalibur, just because they were deeper detecting. These days I am mostly detecting salt water beaches.

 

[OldBeechnut]

Not used the Tesoro and really don't have to ....to give you the best option. Manticore is the best. Light Years ahead of the Tiger Shark.
And the Big plus is Minelabs is still in business, Tesoro went out about 10 years ago so getting a repair would be a challenge. And one thing about water machines
there is a much high chance of issues. If your going for the best get the 9 inch coil for the Manticore, perfect for what your needs will be in a stream.

 

[RandyMarsh]

Tiger Shark has no support now as the factory has been closed for years. I have used one (actually still have one sitting in the closet) and it is not as deep detecting as either my Fisher CZs or Minelab Excaliburs in fresh water. I have not used a Manticore. From what I've read, the Manticore will do a very good job detecting once you learn it. The Tiger Shark has a unique sound on targets ... sounds very much like a duck quacking. It would make me laugh when I used it and was kind of endearing, yet I would still go out mostly with the deeper CZ or Excalibur, just because they were deeper detecting. These days I am mostly detecting salt water beaches.

Interesting, I did not know Tesoro was out of business for that long, thanks for the heads up. Also, from what you said you believe the Excalibur and CZ are better than the tiger shark in freshwater hunting. So, I gotta ask, which performs better in both salt and freshwater. The Excalibur or Fisher CZ? Is it specifically the CZ21 and Excalibur II you have?

Also which one is more sensitive to specifically small gold. (I will be mainly scuba diving looking for silver coins and gold nuggets in only freshwater) But if the CZ is better in freshwater then it will also be nice to get a bonus of having a good saltwater machine in one.



Sorry for all the questions

 

[RandyMarsh]

Not used the Tesoro and really don't have to ....to give you the best option. Manticore is the best. Light Years ahead of the Tiger Shark.
And the Big plus is Minelabs is still in business, Tesoro went out about 10 years ago so getting a repair would be a challenge. And one thing about water machines
there is a much high chance of issues. If your going for the best get the 9 inch coil for the Manticore, perfect for what your needs will be in a stream.

I am planning on scuba diving 60ft looking for mainly small gold and silver coins. Should I try waterproofing the Manticore by modding the housing? Or would it be better to just buy the Minelab Excalibur or Fisher CZ. I been looking at the CZ for awhile and heard it even surpasses the Excalibur. Though that's just what I heard from other forums.

 

[jmaclen]

I am planning on scuba diving 60ft looking for mainly small gold and silver coins. Should I try waterproofing the Manticore by modding the housing? Or would it be better to just buy the Minelab Excalibur or Fisher CZ. I been looking at the CZ for awhile and heard it even surpasses the Excalibur. Though that's just what I heard from other forums.

CZ and Excal can handle 60 ft depth. Manticore is 16 ft max depth. XP Deus 2 can handle 60ft max depth and can do submerged small gold nugget prospecting, micro jewelry and silver coin detecting

 

[tvr]

Interesting, I did not know Tesoro was out of business for that long, thanks for the heads up. Also, from what you said you believe the Excalibur and CZ are better than the tiger shark in freshwater hunting. So, I gotta ask, which performs better in both salt and freshwater. The Excalibur or Fisher CZ? Is it specifically the CZ21 and Excalibur II you have?

Also which one is more sensitive to specifically small gold. (I will be mainly scuba diving looking for silver coins and gold nuggets in only freshwater) But if the CZ is better in freshwater then it will also be nice to get a bonus of having a good saltwater machine in one.



Sorry for all the questions

Neither the CZ or Excalibur are very sensitive to very small gold. Running in discrimination mode, both will identify some pieces of small gold as low tone (CZ speak for iron) or null (Excal speak for iron). Both are good in saltwater. The lowest discrimination setting on the Excal identifies slightly less tiny gold as iron than the CZ does.
As noted by jmaclen, both CZ and Excal are rated to more than 60 feet deep in the water for diving while few other detectors can dive that deep.

 

[jmaclen]

As others have said CZ and Excal are not known for their micro target abilities or for small gold prospecting. Being great in saltwater often means not so great on small targets by default on deeper dive capable detectors.

XP Deus 2 is excellent for diving to 66 feet and is a very versatile detector in water and on land. If you get one buy the accessory water/dive shaft.

 

[OldBeechnut]

As others have said CZ and Excal are not known for their micro target abilities or for small gold prospecting. Being great in saltwater often means not so great on small targets by default on deeper dive capable detectors.

XP Deus 2 is excellent for diving to 66 feet and is a very versatile detector in water and on land. If you get one buy the accessory water/dive shaft.

One thing I always liked about the D2 was the warranty.. 5 years.. and sometime ago I seen you could buy the 10 year warranty?

If I were a diver or someone who hunted in adversed conditions that would be a Big Plus.

I love the Excalibur but a 1 year warranty is down right robbery. And I think the Manticore is 3 years?

 

[vito]

As others have said CZ and Excal are not known for their micro target abilities or for small gold prospecting. Being great in saltwater often means not so great on small targets by default on deeper dive capable detectors.

XP Deus 2 is excellent for diving to 66 feet and is a very versatile detector in water and on land. If you get one buy the accessory water/dive shaft.

Jeff, the CZ's are.

 

[RichW]

I am planning on scuba diving 60ft looking for mainly small gold and silver coins. Should I try waterproofing the Manticore by modding the housing? Or would it be better to just buy the Minelab Excalibur or Fisher CZ. I been looking at the CZ for awhile and heard it even surpasses the Excalibur. Though that's just what I heard from other forums.

Not all CZ's are created equal. My 1st CZ-20 was really hot. I had one 21 that was fair. I had 2 that were terrible. I have never been lucky enough to get a 21 that was really deep. I have a friend who has a deep one and he's done very well with it. Good luck if you go that route.

 

[jmaclen]

Jeff, the CZ's are.

Sorry Vito but I believe the CZ-21 is always in salt mode so any low/mid conductor much smaller than 0.5 grams is going to be missed. The CZ-3D had a way to turn off salt mode by using normal mode. It was capable of more sensitivity on small low and mid conductors but it isn’t fully waterproof. However neither of the CZs operate at higher than 15 kHz which is below the 19/20 kHz that is the industry minimum frequency right now.

I personally know a lot of USA gold prospectors and none of them is using a CZ for gold prospecting.

This is what makes Deus 2 so versatile for the OP’s stated uses with its 66 ft max depth, fully waterproof and 4 to 89 kHz FMF multi frequency operation with higher single frequency available depending on the coils used. It has excellent land and water use preset modes including a dedicated gold prospecting mode.

Is Deus 2 the top of the line gold prospecting VLF made today? Absolutely not. Is it the only gold prospecting/ micro gold jewelry VLF that can go down to 66 feet depth and run at or above 40 kHz frequencies in salt or fresh water, YES!

 

[vito]

Ohh... may be I missed somethng, Jeff. I apologize as I had in mind the talk was about micro-jewelry. My fault.

 

[jmaclen]

Ohh... may be I missed somethng, Jeff. I apologize as I had in mind the talk was about micro-jewelry. My fault.

For micro jewelry especially low conductors and for really small low conductor coins on land or submerged less than 16 ft, Deus 2 is very hard to beat and can’t be beat past 16 feet submerged

 

[RandyMarsh]

Okay, from what I'm reading in this forum is I should get the D2, because of its gold prospecting properties.

The only thing stopping me from buying the Deus 2, is because it requires a cord to connect it to the coil for underwater use. The cord looks flimsy and I have heard it breaks easily and from what I've seen it can make the D2 perform worse.

I was wondering if there is a mod/alternative to that flimsy cord you get with the D2.

For context, (if it isn't already obvious) I am a Minelab Manticore owner and need a detector that performs as good if not better underwater.

It does seem like the Deus 2 is the obvious choice, though the fragile like design makes me worry. Hence why I love the design of the CZ21.

 

[tvr]

For micro jewelry especially low conductors and for really small low conductor coins on land or submerged less than 16 ft, Deus 2 is very hard to beat and can’t be beat past 16 feet submerged

For a while I was using my Fisher F-75 LTD for wet sand hunting because it is a pretty good detector and would ground balance to the wet salt sand. What made me park it when detecting the beach was the amount of very small non-iron bits it would find. It would find small sequins in the sand that took a long time to find as they fell through the scoop and the only way to get them was on my knees going hand full by handful until I got the offender. Those little 3 mm to 6 mm plastic disks with a metal film on one side were beach detecting enemy number one in my book until I put the F75 away and went back to the CZ which did not see them at all.

If the goal is small nuggets, then the Deus 2 might be the answer, but I can not talking about using one as I never have used a Deus.

 

[jmaclen]

Okay, from what I'm reading in this forum is I should get the D2, because of its gold prospecting properties.

The only thing stopping me from buying the Deus 2, is because it requires a cord to connect it to the coil for underwater use. The cord looks flimsy and I have heard it breaks easily and from what I've seen it can make the D2 perform worse.

I was wondering if there is a mod/alternative to that flimsy cord you get with the D2.

For context, (if it isn't already obvious) I am a Minelab Manticore owner and need a detector that performs as good if not better underwater.

It does seem like the Deus 2 is the obvious choice, though the fragile like design makes me worry. Hence why I love the design of the CZ21.

I own the Manticore and Deus 2. Deus 2 may look flimsy but it is a rugged detector. I don’t care for the antenna wire for submerged hunting either but if you are a scuba diver, right now it is the only VLF capable of doing what you have described in your posts. No way Manticore is detecting at 60 feet deep submerged. Deus 2 does offer a dive shaft setup that lets you run the antenna cable inside the shaft system. The Deus 2 9” coil can do a good job gold prospecting. Buying the new HF2 coil is not necessary for what you are planning to do. Manticore is way better however for gold prospecting on dry land or shallow submerged fresh water. Minelab just knows how to make gold prospecting detectors that can handle hot ground better than anybody.

Check out Calabash Digger and Carter Pennington’s scuba hunts with Deus 2 on YouTube.

Just curious, where are scuba diving at 60 ft depth for coins and gold nuggets in freshwater? Hydraulic pits???? I’m not asking for place names, just curious.

 

[kac_dt]

I enjoy the D2 for water hunting, does well. MF machines in general can false with iron rich grounds and if that is the case in your area you can always toss it into single frequency mode. Stock 9" coils swings easy in the water. Bonephones do the job but not too crazy about them. If your not diving you can always clip the control box to your waders out of the water and use the regular wireless headphones with it.
Previously I used my Seahunter for water hunting. Does very well in mineralized grounds but if there is a lot of trash and iron bits you can go mad digging it all. I have thought of getting a tiger shark but since Tesoro isn't around anymore I wouldn't want to dunk it in risk of it leaking..