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Any tips for florida beach?

beachrumbum

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Messages
474
Location
Near the equator
Hello all,
I'm in the sarasota area, I have metal detected land quite a bit, however I'm newish to water hunting. Anyone have any tips on hunting the water on the beaches this way? I generally know to get out at low tide when possible, any tips on finding those pockets of heavy stuff? How the undertow redistributes goods around here? All help appreciated, thanks!
 
What kind of detector are you using?

A single frequency VLF detector will be OK for dry sand.

On wet salt water sand it may be too chatty.
 
Thanks for the reply, I'll be out there with a garrett sea hunter mark II. Its no excallibur but its what was in my budget.
You'll do fine with that in the water. Look for scalloped areas in the shoreline and pockets or troughs of deeper water. Any kind of feature that looks "different" from the rest of the surrounding areas that may indicate erosion. When you're walking across and you notice harder more compact sand with visible rocks an you notice and increase in targets, - especially greenies and caked coins or maybe even sinkers, slow down and hunt carefully.
 
As Felix said, look for low spots, any drops or cuts to the sand. As the tide recedes, look for pools of water. I've had good luck there hunting the slope, and high tide towel line. Even try the dry. Good luck.....:yes:
 
Funny story...... i had a guy with an Xcal who was obviously new to detecting come up to me and ask if i could help him. So i showed him how to set it up and off he went in the water just ahead of me. 20 min. later he came up to me again...... and said i dont think my machine is working. So i took it for a few back and forth runs ..... and said its working perfectly in both disc and PP. But its not finding anything........ i laughed and said that because theres nothing there to find except iron in PP mode. I hunted one local beach for 4 hours....... a dime and a penny. May is never my best month...... more people with detectors..... less people on the beach except weekend who get in the water.... and right now you have no idea how much sand has been pushed in. With the sand people are able to go out a long ways.... that means recent drops can be anywhere so you have a lot of water to cover. Deep targets are well beyond both a PI and VLF right now unless you find a wind cut area. That takes knowing these beaches and where that happens. Nice thing about the beach is...... conditions can change in just a couple of hours. If you find any concentration of targets .... even iron, grid and work it.
 
You'll do fine with that in the water. Look for scalloped areas in the shoreline and pockets or troughs of deeper water. Any kind of feature that looks "different" from the rest of the surrounding areas that may indicate erosion. When you're walking across and you notice harder more compact sand with visible rocks an you notice and increase in targets, - especially greenies and caked coins or maybe even sinkers, slow down and hunt carefully.
Thanks, thats some great advice. Went to siesta today and had fairly poor luck, I couldnt get into much of that heavy stuff you are talking about. Found a lot of hoop earings and trinkets but no yellow. Did manage to make that beach about a pound cleaner though.

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Funny story...... i had a guy with an Xcal who was obviously new to detecting come up to me and ask if i could help him. So i showed him how to set it up and off he went in the water just ahead of me. 20 min. later he came up to me again...... and said i dont think my machine is working. So i took it for a few back and forth runs ..... and said its working perfectly in both disc and PP. But its not finding anything........ i laughed and said that because theres nothing there to find except iron in PP mode. I hunted one local beach for 4 hours....... a dime and a penny. May is never my best month...... more people with detectors..... less people on the beach except weekend who get in the water.... and right now you have no idea how much sand has been pushed in. With the sand people are able to go out a long ways.... that means recent drops can be anywhere so you have a lot of water to cover. Deep targets are well beyond both a PI and VLF right now unless you find a wind cut area. That takes knowing these beaches and where that happens. Nice thing about the beach is...... conditions can change in just a couple of hours. If you find any concentration of targets .... even iron, grid and work it.
Haha, I almost felt like that guy today. I was at least finding slaw and clad. This is also great advice. Thank you much!

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Haha, I almost felt like that guy today. I was at least finding slaw and clad. This is also great advice. Thank you much!

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I would be curious to learn more about these "wind cuts" and how they form. Would you mind explaining?

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Right now we have a lot if pushed in sand. A good tide swing and wind in the high teens will cause wave lines and a long shore drift that cuts the front of these build up down to shells which can hold targets.
 
I would be curious to learn more about these "wind cuts" and how they form. Would you mind explaining?

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Best bet is to purchase a few beach hunting books. They will provide plenty of info on how to read a beach. Here is an example: Http://www.garydrayton.com/New_Sovereign_book_.html

Most beach hunters hit the beach on the daily so they know what is normal and can quickly identify anomalies that may contain valuable targets. If you can't make it to the beach on a frequent basis. Consider taking photo. You can compare them each time and that may give you an edge on deciding what spots to search first.
 
Best bet is to purchase a few beach hunting books. They will provide plenty of info on how to read a beach. Here is an example: Http://www.garydrayton.com/New_Sovereign_book_.html

Most beach hunters hit the beach on the daily so they know what is normal and can quickly identify anomalies that may contain valuable targets. If you can't make it to the beach on a frequent basis. Consider taking photo. You can compare them each time and that may give you an edge on deciding what spots to search first.

Thank you for another great tip. Maybe I will be proficient in successfully geting on the yellow stuff with a consistency, with all these great tips from you guys and gals!
 
Felixthecat is correct, I might add if you find light metal like pop tops, fishing spinners, move on until you find the objects that Felixthecat described. The tides, waves and currents are like a conveyor belt and generally moves similar dense metals in the same spot.
 
get ready to get wet,,,,and not just from being in the water,,,,,rain, rain, and more rain,,,,surf is kicking also,,,,,aside of that, if you manage to get in the water, don't expect much,,,,our beaches are hunted hard,,,,not trying to be negative, just being realistic,,,but good luck,,,,GL HH
 
I have thought that this rain may be stirring things up some. Got to get away from work and head down to the water, gold fever is making me itch. Overhunted for sure, everytime I go it seems I run into five or more other treasure hunters. They cant snag it all though!!

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I have thought that this rain may be stirring things up some. Got to get away from work and head down to the water, gold fever is making me itch. Overhunted for sure, everytime I go it seems I run into five or more other treasure hunters. They cant snag it all though!!

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Only 5? :laughing: Come to the Atlantic side, there are more MD's than beach blankets. :shock: :lol: :yes:
 
Only 5? :laughing: Come to the Atlantic side, there are more MD's than beach blankets. :shock: [emoji38] :yes:
I have plans too! Add one more to that long list. Lol
Would love to meet with a seasoned local when I'm there. Could maybe turn me on to the least but still productive area. Lol

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Don't waste too much time over analyzing all of the variables. The best thing you could do for yourself is to get in the water and start looking. In this hobby, experience truly is the best teacher. Hunt water that people congregate in. Do not be deterred by other detectorists. I used to have a tendency to rush and try to cover more ground when there were other detectorists in the water. Now I just ignore them, I don't care what they do. I concentrate on hunting thoroughly and methodically. I recently found three gold rings in the water in a spot that was hunted by two detectorists just the day before. Just keep plugging away, and the odds will catch up to you. Play the long game, and just enjoy it. Learn how to use your detector to the best of its ability. Remember this, the sand out in the water is always going up or down. The weather and currents are either depositing sand or removing sand. The more sand that gets taken away, the further back in time you're going. The further back in time you go, the more good targets will be exposed for you to find. Generally speaking, if there is seaweed at the high tide line, then the weather is adding sand, creating conditions that are less than ideal.
 
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get ready to get wet,,,,and not just from being in the water,,,,,rain, rain, and more rain,,,,surf is kicking also,,,,,aside of that, if you manage to get in the water, don't expect much,,,,our beaches are hunted hard,,,,not trying to be negative, just being realistic,,,but good luck,,,,GL HH

Only 5? :laughing: Come to the Atlantic side, there are more MD's than beach blankets. :shock: :lol: :yes:

I agree with both of you. I'm not trying to be negative, but the beaches in Florida are hunted aggressively. I currently live on the Gulf Coast and my previous residence was on the Atlantic Coast and although I still hunt the beaches, I'm significantly more successful on playgrounds, ball fields, fair grounds. Don't get down and keep on trying. :cool:
 
Lots of great advice already. Years ago, when I hunted the Sarasota area beaches, I had 10Xs more success in the water than in the dry or even wet sand.

You have a PI, so your going to get iron junk. Dont get frustrated by it, its part of the game. Keep in mind the beach is always in a state of change. Some days will be barren and the next can have you digging until your arms ache. Any time you dig something heavy like iron, corroded quarters and dimes or any silver or gold jewelry, STOP! Start hunting circles around that spot to see if there is more. Like was said above, heavy targets congregate together over time.
 
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