Percentage of finds wet vs. dry

[Silverhorse65]

I've never hunted in the water before. However, the sustained heat waves we've had both this summer and in the past few has me thinking I'm going to have to add it to my skill set. Here in landlocked Iowa, I would be hunting beaches along rivers and lakes. Just wondering for those with experience hunting freshwater beaches. What is your percentage of finds, both coinage and jewelry in wet vs. dry?

 

[KOB]

As a GENERAL rule : quantity in the dry. Quality in the wet.

 

[SeabeeRon]

As a GENERAL rule : quantity in the dry. Quality in the wet.

Perfect way of putting it! Never hunted fresh water beaches, but I guess they are the same as to results.

 

[itsaring!]

Talk to the old timers about their old swimming holes. Also go to the old aerial view sites and use an overlay. I have a vintage post card collection from where i live. Sadly our beaches on the ocean get pumped with sand. Inland look for the old waterslide parks, rv swimming holes, etc. Some lakes are drying up. You don't always have to get wet to be where they used to swim.

 

[SeabeeRon]

Talk to the old timers about their old swimming holes. Also go to the old aerial view sites and use an overlay. I have a vintage post card collection from where i live. Sadly our beaches on the ocean get pumped with sand. Inland look for the old waterslide parks, rv swimming holes, etc. Some lakes are drying up. You don't always have to get wet to be where they used to swim.

DANG! More great advice!!

 

[SilverLegacy47]

SilverHorse65.... Did you know there is gold in Iowa and Northern Missouri too. Creeks and river beaches.
http://www.onlinegoldmaps.com/gold_map_iowa.htm

 

[Beachhunt1]

I hunt an ocean beach and NEVER go into the dry sand unless called upon to.

 

[OBN]

Here in the water is best, drysand mostly coins and trash. Where you are I would imagine a lot of places have come .....and now gone, that were once on the water. Old phone books, is a great resource for places that once were. Hotels, restaurants, parks, amusement parks, landings, markets, once were... now gone but use to advertise, thru the yellow pages or even there listed phone number.

 

[Silverhorse65]

As a GENERAL rule : quantity in the dry. Quality in the wet.

I like GENERAL rules They make life so much simper.

Perfect way of putting it! Never hunted fresh water beaches, but I guess they are the same as to results.

My wife keeps reminding me that Midwesterners are much more practical than our American counterparts on the Coasts and in the South. So, unfortunately, probably just not as much of the good stuff to find. I just have to get out there and get my share!

Talk to the old timers about their old swimming holes. Also go to the old aerial view sites and use an overlay. I have a vintage post card collection from where i live. Sadly our beaches on the ocean get pumped with sand. Inland look for the old waterslide parks, rv swimming holes, etc. Some lakes are drying up. You don't always have to get wet to be where they used to swim.

Never thought of old waterslide parks and RV swimming holes, interesting ideas! We do have a lot of lakes that were created by damming up rivers and creeks. Many of them are a part of State Parks. Luckily, we can hunt those beaches here in Iowa, but the beach is the ONLY part of State parks that can be hunted and can't be hunted after 11AM during Summer. They are notorious for losing more water than they gain so the State tends to shut them down and dredge them from time to time. I've heard that's a great time for detecting them.

SilverHorse65.... Did you know there is gold in Iowa and Northern Missouri too. Creeks and river beaches.
http://www.onlinegoldmaps.com/gold_map_iowa.htm

Shhh...don't let them know our secret! Actually, I did know that, but the quantities are so low that it should only be considered as sport/hobby.

I hunt an ocean beach and NEVER go into the dry sand unless called upon to.

I've hunted the dry of a local beach twice in the past four weeks. It's a very small beach in comparison to ocean beaches. Two hour hunts each time that yield about 40-50 bottle caps, a handful of other trash, and a couple bucks in change. The first hunt did score a .925 Pandora ring that retails for $55, so that's something

Here in the water is best, drysand mostly coins and trash. Where you are I would imagine a lot of places have come .....and now gone, that were once on the water. Old phone books, is a great resource for places that once were. Hotels, restaurants, parks, amusement parks, landings, markets, once were... now gone but use to advertise, thru the yellow pages or even there listed phone number.

I have researched a few that are close to the rivers in my area, just need to get out there and find out if there's anything left. Also, am wondering how much the banks of rivers have shifted over the last century and a half.

 

[OBN]

Also, am wondering how much the banks of rivers have shifted over the last century and a half.

Here things can be totally different from 100 years ago. Up the rivers (which are not real long), if its up a cove no movement, but the open river, the whole beaches (sand) can be gone. But most of the stuff/treasure remains close. Here are some cool river hunt video's/..not mine..

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4yLniERekWqAXh0NwOqaqw/videos

 

[DaviDs]

I've never hunted in the water before. However, the sustained heat waves we've had both this summer and in the past few has me thinking I'm going to have to add it to my skill set. Here in landlocked Iowa, I would be hunting beaches along rivers and lakes. Just wondering for those with experience hunting freshwater beaches. What is your percentage of finds, both coinage and jewelry in wet vs. dry?

Water movement often determines the quantity of finds. Strong tides or swift rivers will carry off the lighter items and leave the heavier stuff, e.g., coins, fishing weights, iron debris and jewelry.

Party areas with little to no movement are a cesspool of unwanted targets, as well as, laceration hazards for those that don't wear shoes. You'll probably find more garbage here than the combined dry-sand of 10 beaches combined. Here, the cans, bottle caps, pull tabs, foil wrappers, fishing tackle, broken bottles, and other junk congregate and patiently wait for nature to take its course. You'll fill countless bags of trash before you find one darn penny. Once you do find that penny, you'll jump up and down with excitement, thankful it wasn't another dang pull tab. However, after a few weeks of cleaning, you'll have a good chance to find whatever goodies may be comingled amongst the garbage.

Raft-off events, like the one shown here in Michigan's Lake St. Clair, are a perfect example of what I described above. One of our FMDF members, who recently passed away, would hit this every year. He made a few good scores, but word got around about him using a metal detector. From there, he literally made thousands of dollars doing recoveries for peoples phones and watches. So maybe look for some events and plan to detect during and after.