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Need some help

Bayoutalker

Elite Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
3,048
Location
Highlands, TX
I keep going back to the local beach and I just can't seem to figure it out. I find a few coins and other junk but not much else. I have tried dry sand, wet sand and shallow water. A couple of days ago I tried going about knee deep and still no success.

Here is what I need help with. When you go to a beach you don't know much about, how do you decide where to start? The beach I go to most often is on the Gulf coast of Texas and doesn't get a lot of rough surf. It is several miles of basically flat sand and on busy weekends it is wall to wall people. I can't see any particularly busy spots. With those conditions in mind, what do you look for?

Here is a pic of part of the beach.
e32c5a1d5c0145c633fe610d393cdd60.jpg


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When I hit a new beach? Go to the spot where people are the most, usually in front of the parking lot. If your machine can handle wet sand, head straight for the waters edge and create a grid pattern directly in front of parking lot (a big rectangle, 50-150 yards parallel to the water and up to the towel line). If tide is going down, work it down. If tide is going up, work it up. Grid it meticulously, overlap swings slightly so nothing is missed. Dig everything, especially the little blips. There are always treasures at frequented beaches. If you notice a wash out, put particular effort in that area. If it's very soft sand, maybe not as much effort. If there are ZERO targets in 5 minutes of swinging, find another area because someone else may have gridded it before you. I always prefer the wet, but occasionally I'm relegated to dry sand when there are zero targets. Also, compact beaches usually produce the most, miles of sand with occasional visitors is usually tough going.

Timing is key. Monday's are best for recent drops but a cut can develop anytime. Keep persisting and get out there early.
 
When I hit a new beach? Go to the spot where people are the most, usually in front of the parking lot. If your machine can handle wet sand, head straight for the waters edge and create a grid pattern directly in front of parking lot (a big rectangle, 50-150 yards parallel to the water and up to the towel line). If tide is going down, work it down. If tide is going up, work it up. Grid it meticulously, overlap swings slightly so nothing is missed. Dig everything, especially the little blips. There are always treasures at frequented beaches. If you notice a wash out, put particular effort in that area. If it's very soft sand, maybe not as much effort. If there are ZERO targets in 5 minutes of swinging, find another area because someone else may have gridded it before you. I always prefer the wet, but occasionally I'm relegated to dry sand when there are zero targets. Also, compact beaches usually produce the most, miles of sand with occasional visitors is usually tough going.



Timing is key. Monday's are best for recent drops but a cut can develop anytime. Keep persisting and get out there early.

Well....2 problems with that. First, there are no parking lots on this beach. You can park anywhere on the entire length so there are people down the entire length with no real congested areas.

Second, the gulf beaches don't get much in the way of wave action except from hurricanes. Normal waves are 12-18" high with some days much less so not much sand gets moved around. Cuts are a rare thing here and there is very little change in the contour of the area. If you look at the area in a satellite map you will see what I mean. The picture I posted is a small part of it. Search Bolivar Peninsula in Southeast Texas to see the whole thing. It's just east of Galveston.

Here is a link to some live cameras of the beach. https://www.bolivarpeninsulatexas.com/Webcams

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I like the Web cams !!

I would try and find the beach closest to the port as I could get..
I would think that the sailors coming off the boats would more than likely be on foot and would want to go to the beach as close to the port as they can.

It is also likely that foreigners (sailors) could be wearing more Jewelry and are less likely to "leave it home".. just my 2 cents..

thanks for sharing the cam's it is always nice to see the locations of Others
 
I like the Web cams !!



I would try and find the beach closest to the port as I could get..

I would think that the sailors coming off the boats would more than likely be on foot and would want to go to the beach as close to the port as they can.



It is also likely that foreigners (sailors) could be wearing more Jewelry and are less likely to "leave it home".. just my 2 cents..



thanks for sharing the cam's it is always nice to see the locations of Others
The ships going into Galveston dont dock anywhere near the beach. There are a lot of tourists on the beaches in Galveston that drop some things but there are several MDers that hunt it regularly. To get there it is about 45 minutes more drive for me and parking during the summer is difficult because of the crowds.

No ships dock on the Bolivar Peninsula.

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Well....2 problems with that. First, there are no parking lots on this beach. You can park anywhere on the entire length so there are people down the entire length with no real congested areas.

Second, the gulf beaches don't get much in the way of wave action except from hurricanes. Normal waves are 12-18" high with some days much less so not much sand gets moved around. Cuts are a rare thing here and there is very little change in the contour of the area. If you look at the area in a satellite map you will see what I mean. The picture I posted is a small part of it. Search Bolivar Peninsula in Southeast Texas to see the whole thing. It's just east of Galveston.

Here is a link to some live cameras of the beach. https://www.bolivarpeninsulatexas.com/Webcams

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Interesting, different hunting conditions for sure. But you still have that low tide and the people should congregate in some places more than others. Those beach cams are great and it appears to be prime hunting conditions if enough people frequent it. If it's jam packed on the weekends, the goods are there! And with a Nox 800 you should be finding the goods!
 
Interesting, different hunting conditions for sure. But you still have that low tide and the people should congregate in some places more than others. Those beach cams are great and it appears to be prime hunting conditions if enough people frequent it. If it's jam packed on the weekends, the goods are there! And with a Nox 800 you should be finding the goods!
Here is a pic of busy weekend on Bolivar. There is really no reason to congregate at any particular spot.
474c4316d210ff15621f299e7b46a8a3.jpg


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Here is a pic of busy weekend on Bolivar. There is really no reason to congregate at any particular spot.
474c4316d210ff15621f299e7b46a8a3.jpg

The photo helps. Some people take off jewelry in their car, then drop it as they get out. Others lose it after taking it off and laying it on a beach towel. Some lose jewelry in the water and some lose it while rough housing / playing sports. Bottom line is it can be anywhere.

I have a local beach like the one in your photo and it is mostly locals that visit. Of the 75 or so people that I know that detect the beach, it is rare for any of them to find more than a coin here or there. IMO, that is because it is a locals beach and locals leave most of their valuables at home. That might be what you are experiencing too?!?

I have another beach that is about 45 minutes away, but it gets a lot of tourists. There are always finds being reported, but there are always competitors out there ... day and night .... high and low tide. So even with good equipment, solid swing techniques, and ideal conditions, you still have to be the first one over the target to find it.

I'm sure you've heard it before, but the majority of folks in the his hobby aren't finding $20,000 rings or even $200 rings on regular basis. Most of us hunt for 4-6 hours, find a buck or two in clad and leave the beach a little cleaner than we found it. So if you keep your expectations low, that random good find (like a winning lotto ticket) will be a day to celebrate! :D

Perhaps you can avoid hunting the entire beach. Instead pick an area and grid it. Maybe something about 50 feet wide and grid from the dune to the water. Make sure you thoroughly cover every square inch of the section. On the next trip, move to the next 50 foot section and grid again. IN this mannor, you'll know what areas have been searched and what havent. Also, if there is a change in beach conditions, like an eroded spot, that will give you a signal to go back over the area.
 
A while back I tried a spot that had a few shallow holes with water in them at low tide. I found several clad coins but nothing else. The next time I came back same thing. The third time there were no low spots and no coins. I've tried several spots like that along the beach with no real success. There are quite a few beach houses that are rented during the summer and I've tried in the area where some of the larger ones are hoping for some tourists but so far no bueno. It just doesn't make sense that with that many people there isn't a reasonable amount of clad at least. I'll keep trying when I can to see if anything happens. It's a little over an hour drive so I don't get there very often.

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.... The beach I go to most often is on the Gulf coast of Texas and doesn't get a lot of rough surf.

How do you figure it doesn't get a lot of rough surf ? Well ... maybe the operative word here is "lot" :wow:

Because as you know, there's been many storms over the years and decades that have pounded and eroded your gulf beaches.

Anyhow, your lament is the exact reason I do not hit beaches (the wet anyhow) except if there's been erosion. Otherwise, I've seen conditions all the time where: The wet is simply completely sterile. And it WON'T MATTER how well trafficked the beach is in the days and weeks prior . If the sand has been "coming in", then .... all you'll get is silence. Even though perhaps the beach is super trafficked . Aside from a drop that was in the immediate 24 hr. or whatever.

Same for off-shore wading: The underwater world is JUST as susceptible to being sanded "in". So that it won't matter how many people swim and frolic there : If it's sanded in, the you are probably in for total silence (or extreme random flukes at best).

So my suggestion is to study for when and how your beaches erode. I can't help with criteria for when that happens (eg.: tides, swells, directions, winds, etc...). Since your gulf of Mexico beaches will have their own set of "rules", that are different than CA beaches.

As for the dry sand : I am rarely ever a fan of dry sand hunting. It's invariably all new drops, and no groupings by mother nature. Unless you were in a spot that no one ever detects, yet is heavy high-end tourism.
 
How do you figure it doesn't get a lot of rough surf ? Well ... maybe the operative word here is "lot" :wow:



Because as you know, there's been many storms over the years and decades that have pounded and eroded your gulf beaches.



Anyhow, your lament is the exact reason I do not hit beaches (the wet anyhow) except if there's been erosion. Otherwise, I've seen conditions all the time where: The wet is simply completely sterile. And it WON'T MATTER how well trafficked the beach is in the days and weeks prior . If the sand has been "coming in", then .... all you'll get is silence. Even though perhaps the beach is super trafficked . Aside from a drop that was in the immediate 24 hr. or whatever.



Same for off-shore wading: The underwater world is JUST as susceptible to being sanded "in". So that it won't matter how many people swim and frolic there : If it's sanded in, the you are probably in for total silence (or extreme random flukes at best).



So my suggestion is to study for when and how your beaches erode. I can't help with criteria for when that happens (eg.: tides, swells, directions, winds, etc...). Since your gulf of Mexico beaches will have their own set of "rules", that are different than CA beaches.



As for the dry sand : I am rarely ever a fan of dry sand hunting. It's invariably all new drops, and no groupings by mother nature. Unless you were in a spot that no one ever detects, yet is heavy high-end tourism.

Like I said earlier we don't get much real waves except in hurricanes. They do have a way of rearranging the beaches but we haven't had one in a while, thank God. Summer is normally a pretty calm time here so there is not a lot of sand movement. The depth is fairly shallow for quite a ways out so a lot of the wave power is lost before they get to the actual beach. The ocean beaches are subject to much larger surf and there can be a lot of difference day to day.

Bolivar has a fair amount of tourist activity but it appears most of the people are from this general area and I guess they have learned how not to lose valuables. It is definitely a different type of usage than Galveston gets.

On the Galveston beaches with a lot of tourist activity most of the good finds are recent drops and the guys that do the best get in the water. There is less competition there. Dry sand produces some coins and occasionally a piece of jewelry.

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During warm months the finds are fresh drops and can be found anywhere. During winter it takes a little skill using a W pattern to locate different weight targets. I don't care much when i find dime lines. But if you find, quarters, nickles, dimes, copper pennies, zinc pennies, pulltabs, fishing sinkers, they all tell you something.
 
All of the responses are correct. But in your case where you have a crowded beach and many people wading in shallow water , you need a deeper machine than the Nox. A pulse WILL work better at low tide in that 24-48 hours after the crowds have left. Timing is everything and you want to be the 1st on the beach , no matter what time of day or night it is. It's ok to go fast on your first pass , covering alot of beach. Then go back over that same area a little slower at a slightly different angle. GL...
 
Looks similar to my spots, no REAL wave action. I would personally go out at least waist deep and check here and there up and down the beach looking for lower spots, little troughs do form even without massive waves, more due to cross currents. I often zig zag out to shoulder depth and back to waist deep in and out as i move down to coast looking for the right spots.
 
.... Bolivar has a fair amount of tourist activity ....


.... the Galveston beaches with a lot of tourist activity...

It sounds like you are still hung up on the "tourist activity" aspect of trying-to-hone-down good hunt zones on the beach. And as I've said:

1) That doesn't do any wet sand hunter a bit of good, unless he has an angle on mother nature's input (erosion times), and

2) As for random drops on the dry, you're a) into "random" and b) at the mercy of those who came before you , and c) cursed with modern drops, foil & tabs , etc....

Study for erosion. Pure and simple.
 
It sounds like you are still hung up on the "tourist activity" aspect of trying-to-hone-down good hunt zones on the beach. And as I've said:



1) That doesn't do any wet sand hunter a bit of good, unless he has an angle on mother nature's input (erosion times), and



2) As for random drops on the dry, you're a) into "random" and b) at the mercy of those who came before you , and c) cursed with modern drops, foil & tabs , etc....



Study for erosion. Pure and simple.

I am not hung up on the tourist thing. If I was I would be hunting Galveston. I was simply explaining the difference between the two beaches. They are only a short ferry ride apart.

Until we get some stronger weather erosion is going to be at a minimum. It's going to take a better eye than mine to spot it. That's what I was really looking for help with.

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From the picture that is a tough beach. I don't see the normal of what they look like around here during the summer. The little bit of water I do see......... I see no one in it. Looks more like a hang out and party place..which would mean the chances of finding anything besides trash is the only opp. All I can do is wish you luck. What do other hunters say..do they find much?
 
Here is a pic of busy weekend on Bolivar. There is really no reason to congregate at any particular spot.
474c4316d210ff15621f299e7b46a8a3.jpg


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Judging from your picture, the people activity is at the high-tide line and the low-tide line, with a 'highway' in between. I'd prospect in a W pattern going down the low-tide zone first, coming back along the high-tide zone. Although the beach is now 'flat', past depressions may be buried within detecting depth and contain some targets. If no joy, then no return. It's definitely a crapshoot. Good luck!
 
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