Winter Beach Route Question

Brizors

Full Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2014
Messages
172
Location
Southern CA
Are you guys finding it lucrative to stay in the wet sand this winter? I unfortunately haven't. All my nice jewelry finds are located in the dry since winter has begun. I still try to wet but after 30mins to an hour of really absolutely nothing I resort to dry for 2-3 hours.

I do have a question which may be my problem with the wet. What I do is locate a pier to a beach, which I figure will have the most traffic, and I grid back and forth from the waves to where the dry sand stars. I do this for about 100-200ft from each side of the pier. This takes a very long time.

I figured this was the best way to wet sand hunt, but it has actually not brought me anything here in southern CA, at all this winter. My question to you guys is... how do you walk the wet sand... do you zig zag, straight line and cover great distances, or do you just spend all your time in one location like me and grid out the area not missing anything in that specific area.

I want to try something new, because my grid technique isn't working for me.

Please let me know how you search the wet and if it has been worth it this winter! Personally I have resorted to the dry sand and volleyball courts and I found a nice 14k white gold 5 diamond ring in the dry, nothing from the courts yet. That is all for this winter, kind of sad. I see people posting 2-3 gold pieces every other day and from this month! Granted they are not from Southern CA, but still I have no idea how they are doing this!
 
I usually only do wet sand if I can't get in the water because its too rough. OR if I notice erosion in the wet sand that makes it worth working for me. This year I followed my instincts a few times and purposely worked some wet sand that I noticed was unusual for that beach (some erosion). The targets that I dug - greenies, sinkers let me know to keep working it and I did and it led to some yellow.
 
I had to retire from dry sand hunting. Most success comes from wet sand grid search. During winter if I find even iron I know its possible some other stuff is there. I usually throw down a grid there running north and south. If its a good area I then cover it east and west. Most my finds come out of areas the area of one or two city buses. You have to also read sand color change here since we don't have shell or rock since they pump in clean sand.
 
Well, all beaches are different and they change constantly, so therein lies the deal..A guy sort of gets to 'know' one, and starts to recognize the similarities on conditions that resulted in former finds. Then at least you can replicate former success or try anyway...

Theres a few I hunt here that have produced in the past, yet half the time I hike into them and take a look and I just turn around and walk back out on account of I know from past efforts the conditions are not favorable for finding anything!

When I'm out, I zigzag and look for any changes in the sand or water or even the topography up on the land that tells me this could be or might have been a travel zone...like a big valley between the dunes...I know people travel through those cuts and out to the beach and have for a long time...its the path of least resistance, and we know how lazy people are...

I also try to hunt in the Non Obvious places, off to the side or out of the way, or downstream from the prevailing winds and wave action.........Not a big fan of the Main beach, since those get slammed by every coil swinger in a 100 mile radius...I do hit it at the perfect appropriate time and sweep up the fresh drops from a Big Holiday Weekend but thats more of a Easter Egg race than a hunt...

Hunting a big beach is tough duty! Especially if theres no obvious little cuts or sign and just miles and miles of non descript surface...so I zig and move from wet to dry keeping in mind the travel zones...Its boring and tough and a lot of walking...the one year I kept account, in July alone, I figured I walked 100miles barefoot in the sand swinging stick for about $30 in clad and another $10 in empty cans...:laughing:

On the time you Do find a cut, as small as it may be, some little 'change' in your beach that you know so well, in the right place, thats when I slow down and work it hard...else I just wander around an look for the right little washout or cut pretty much...Thats all I got...Its just real tough duty and getting to know a place a little, or else Luck....

I will add, Gold is a cruel Mistress and NO respector of Effort or Intelligence!:laughing:
Mud
 
I usually only do wet sand if I can't get in the water because its too rough. OR if I notice erosion in the wet sand that makes it worth working for me. This year I followed my instincts a few times and purposely worked some wet sand that I noticed was unusual for that beach (some erosion). The targets that I dug - greenies, sinkers let me know to keep working it and I did and it led to some yellow.

My machine isn't waterproof and the southern CA beaches I hit waves(though they are short and low) comes in too hot and fast. So even if the water blasting up the sand ends only in about an inch of water, it will shoot up your boot all the way to your waist! So I really can't wade into the water, the back and forth of the water is too strong for my metal detector shaft as well, you can't swing in that force unfortunately even if it's shallow. :/

I find even where there had been erosion and there are low and high hills in the wet sand, the lows aren't deep enough to find anything good. There was recently an INSANE cut about a foot or so tall, and abrupt cliff-like 90 degree cut going all along the beaches. I turned my detector sideways and detected into the cut, on top of the cut, and all into the wet sand leading to the waves that may have deposited into the wet, but that day I found nothing after 2-3 hours of searching that. It was strange, only a few coins, it was a much worse day than normal. I usually hit the dry though and find a good amount of coins. I know if I commit to the wet I will find only pennies and not much else. In the summer I found a gold bracelet and a gold ring in the wet in the same day, that has been all I found in the wet, all my other gold earrings and rings have been in the dry.

99% of the time I just cannot find anything in the wet... Due to this I have been conditioned to find the wet to be a waste of time.
 
I had to retire from dry sand hunting. Most success comes from wet sand grid search. During winter if I find even iron I know its possible some other stuff is there. I usually throw down a grid there running north and south. If its a good area I then cover it east and west. Most my finds come out of areas the area of one or two city buses. You have to also read sand color change here since we don't have shell or rock since they pump in clean sand.

Maybe that is my issue.. I am gridding east to west, maybe it is time to grid the other way, which is alongside the beach, then go back above or below that line instead of quick short ones from the dry to wet and so forth. I am going to try that, that way I will cover more distance initially instead of quick back and forth to slowly make up a greater distance.

Well, all beaches are different and they change constantly, so therein lies the deal..A guy sort of gets to 'know' one, and starts to recognize the similarities on conditions that resulted in former finds. Then at least you can replicate former success or try anyway...

Theres a few I hunt here that have produced in the past, yet half the time I hike into them and take a look and I just turn around and walk back out on account of I know from past efforts the conditions are not favorable for finding anything!

When I'm out, I zigzag and look for any changes in the sand or water or even the topography up on the land that tells me this could be or might have been a travel zone...like a big valley between the dunes...I know people travel through those cuts and out to the beach and have for a long time...its the path of least resistance, and we know how lazy people are...

I also try to hunt in the Non Obvious places, off to the side or out of the way, or downstream from the prevailing winds and wave action.........Not a big fan of the Main beach, since those get slammed by every coil swinger in a 100 mile radius...I do hit it at the perfect appropriate time and sweep up the fresh drops from a Big Holiday Weekend but thats more of a Easter Egg race than a hunt...

Hunting a big beach is tough duty! Especially if theres no obvious little cuts or sign and just miles and miles of non descript surface...so I zig and move from wet to dry keeping in mind the travel zones...Its boring and tough and a lot of walking...the one year I kept account, in July alone, I figured I walked 100miles barefoot in the sand swinging stick for about $30 in clad and another $10 in empty cans...:laughing:

On the time you Do find a cut, as small as it may be, some little 'change' in your beach that you know so well, in the right place, thats when I slow down and work it hard...else I just wander around an look for the right little washout or cut pretty much...Thats all I got...Its just real tough duty and getting to know a place a little, or else Luck....

I will add, Gold is a cruel Mistress and NO respector of Effort or Intelligence!:laughing:
Mud

You know... maybe that's what I need to do... as you say, maybe if there is no distinct patterns.. to do go along the beach and zig zag from wet to dry actually making good distance and covering good ground. That way I still have my chances to come across a wet sand ring or jewelry find and will cover enough ground to see different beach areas to locate or scout for a pattern or erosion or something different. Yes, I will do this! I have been so focused and tunnel visioned on gridding thinking it was the best way and therefore only hunting small, very small sections of beach.. This MUST.. it HAS to be my problem!!! Not enough distance traveled. Thank you! :)
 
Wet sand , on the beach in CA , has been utterly pathetic for over a month now. Utterly no swells sufficient for erosion have hit :(
 
you might find this amusing

I think you all may see the humor in my latest tracks on my last hunt IMG_1208.jpg
I guess I got a little frustrated :laughing:
 
dude, don't feel bad. I just got home from EIGHT hours of hunting. I hit La Jolla and got 3 quarters. I was in chest deep at low tide w/my waders. Then the wet sand.... Then I went to Oceanside, then Carlsbad. I have about 3.00 in change. It just sucks right now and I'm utterly stumped. Any high tide line cuts are already to late as fresh sand has been pulled back in at least a foot or 3 to cause a waste of time trying to work the 2 to 3 ft walls ... Most everything is virgin sand from last yrs El Nino. This yr's La Nina is terrible. Some people like Eisenhower have been getting VERY lucky..... Personally, I'm on the worst slump I've ever had. It's been months since I've hit any gold and its frustrating as hell. There is no towel line to speak of, and every target that I do get is random to say the least. I may just start hitting the parks until the depositors start doing what they are supposed to do.... deposit!
I'm PRAYING for some January erosion. Last yr at this time SoCal was KILLING it. Every beach was down to cobble stone and clay. This yr it's about 3 ft of sand minimum.
Keep swinging and recognize that right now its a rough time to hunt. I to am trying to not get discouraged but it's hard.... Past 3 hunts totaled 16 hrs and I have about 10.00 in clad .... WACK!!!!!
 
dude, don't feel bad. I just got home from EIGHT hours of hunting. I hit La Jolla and got 3 quarters. I was in chest deep at low tide w/my waders. Then the wet sand.... Then I went to Oceanside, then Carlsbad. I have about 3.00 in change. It just sucks right now and I'm utterly stumped. Any high tide line cuts are already to late as fresh sand has been pulled back in at least a foot or 3 to cause a waste of time trying to work the 2 to 3 ft walls ... Most everything is virgin sand from last yrs El Nino. This yr's La Nina is terrible. Some people like Eisenhower have been getting VERY lucky..... Personally, I'm on the worst slump I've ever had. It's been months since I've hit any gold and its frustrating as hell. There is no towel line to speak of, and every target that I do get is random to say the least. I may just start hitting the parks until the depositors start doing what they are supposed to do.... deposit!
I'm PRAYING for some January erosion. Last yr at this time SoCal was KILLING it. Every beach was down to cobble stone and clay. This yr it's about 3 ft of sand minimum.
Keep swinging and recognize that right now its a rough time to hunt. I to am trying to not get discouraged but it's hard.... Past 3 hunts totaled 16 hrs and I have about 10.00 in clad .... WACK!!!!!

Oh my gosh no wonder... Thank you for sharing this helps me immensely not get myself too down. I will hunt the wet for like an hour and only get aluminum bits, that HAS to be proof the good stuff is way too deep to reach right now. It's been raining a good amount lately but not wind so I don't think it affected the beach erosion much at all. We need repeated and strong swells that dead on hit the way our beaches face and for an extended amt of time right now in order for the erosion to get us down to a level where we are finding heavy precious metal jewelry targets again, correct?
 
The ground is frozen. The air is freezing. And you have miles of beach. Need I say more ?
 
..... Last yr at this time SoCal was KILLING it. Every beach was down to cobble stone and clay....

Here on Monterey bay beaches last winter, we too had a few good zones open up, for a few days here and a few days there. And even saw coins back to seateds, a reale, a gold coin, etc... turn up.

But this year so far has been lame :(
 
Here on Monterey bay beaches last winter, we too had a few good zones open up, for a few days here and a few days there. And even saw coins back to seateds, a reale, a gold coin, etc... turn up.

But this year so far has been lame :(

Not cool man! My first year and it happens to be a dud one!! :( At least I found a few gold rings, some silver ones and bracelets and a diamond ring. That pays for my detector and all my gear plus another grand or two. :)
 
Chiming in to echo the sentiment that California beaches are awful right now, and have been for some time.
 
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