Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Magnet Fishing... questions

TheCoilist

TheCoilist

Elite Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2010
Messages
2,358
Location
Virginia
The concept of magnet fishing is simply. Throw a magnet in some water and press your luck.

So I know what my setup will be. But I had some questions I can't find answers to.

LEGALITY: Is this still considered "metal 'detecting'" given the fact that it's a magnet and it's attached to a rope picking up metal objects?? I ask because there are a lot of state parks around here with bodies of water that I'd love to go throw one of these in on, but don't want them to say I am breaking the law by 'metal detecting'.

SETUP: Magnet on rope or something similar. Okay, so let's say the magnet is rated at 150lbs. If the item is big enough (150lbs+) would I be able to break the connection or is the magnet lost forever? How does that work? I am not trying to pull up the titanic or anything but I'd like to salvage the magnet... I was thinking the lesser magnetic pull the better for retrieval??

Anyone practice this regularly? I was thinking I would buy a setup and toss in my bag.

Anyone use an electronic magnet?
 
Presumably as long as you can exert more than 150 lbs of force on whatever the magnet has grabbed, you can detach the item.

No ideas about the legality of it, but good luck!
 
Well.. it is not metal detecting by definition, and although I have heard of people doing this, I have never heard of any regulation or rules regarding the practice. As far as detaching the magnet, just exert side pressure (as opposed to direct pull) and it should come loose fairly easily. The STRONGER the magnet the better your potential results. RickO
 
Great... I am thinking that this might be a loop hole. Obviously the potential to pull something of value out of a man made lake is unlikely, but would still be fun. Just don't want to lose money by losing magnets. lol Thanks!
 
I like fishing

But I have never done it with a magnet. I have caught catfish,carp,crappie, rockbass, small mouth, large mouth, stripe bass, flounder, sheepshead, perch,(both yellow&white) Northern Pike, walleye, whitefish, bluefish, Gar, Sucker, Muskie, Lake Trout, Sea Trout, Rainbow, brown, Brook, Golden and Albino Trout. Let us know what you pull in with that magnet. HH
 
Smooth23 said:
Sounds pointless. You're not gonna pull up gold and silver.
Click to expand...

All that's valuable is not just gold or silver. You should see the videos of the guy's in Germany pulling up helmets out of the water. They clean them up and sell them for a small fortune.
 
Gold and Silver CAN in fact be pulled up... a sword would have a magnetic blade, the hilt may be gold/silver/gems. Plenty of mason jars were used to hold coins in the day. They had metal lids, could get lucky.

Most of American history didn't include large gold/silver/gem items anyway. Most were in the relic category... weapons and the like.

It's like a slot machine. You just never know. :)
 
magnet finds

Hi, I do carry a 150 lb magnet on the boat at all times. I have used it for hours at a time to recover reels that visitors to the boat slung overboard. Sometimes it works ,sometimes not.
I recently looked for a reel on a point where I knew within 50 feet where it was. After 3 days and several hours I gave up looking because I never pulled the first thing up or felt the slightest resistance. Keep in mind I knew exactly where it was before looking and still couldn't find it.
As I found out and you will also, it is the most boring thing you can do because unlike detecting you can't see the ground and you can't see exactly where it even is. It will get stuck behind root balls from downed trees that have floated down stream in flood times so better use a real strong rope. !:grin:
 
Stagecoach said:
All that's valuable is not just gold or silver. You should see the videos of the guy's in Germany pulling up helmets out of the water. They clean them up and sell them for a small fortune.
Click to expand...

I've seen those videos on Youtube they find all kinds stuff,guns,helmets etc.They also go diving in the lakes where WW2 was find machine guns,tanks it's unreal.Hey give magnet fishing a try,you never know!
 
No water here in so az to use one but here's mine I built, 12 inchel long - rare rearth magnets enclosed in aluminum sheathing. I use it in old dumps to pull the stuff out - especially old railroad sites. I get date nails, brass buttons that have iron backings, anything relating to my railroad collections. steve in so az

homemademagnet.jpg
 
Our house is near an old railroad site and an active site, along with saw mill and cotton gins having been across the street at one time. Might be a good tool to do just some yard raking with to get all the surface iron up before detecting.

Good rig :)
 
$14 for that size magnet doesn't seem bad at all... I wouldn't think you'd need anything more than that, would you?
 
I was originally considering the 150lb magnet, but it looks like it might be somewhat hollow on the upper portion. This one looks more whole and has a better surface area. :D
 
FYI... not sure how much Harbor Freight wants for shipping charges... but the 250-lb. retrieving magnets are on eBay with a starting bid of $9.99 + $9.99 for shipping/handling.

Buy It Now price is 14.99
 
Ebay has been rather hit and miss for me lately these days. Not too happy with some of the peeps on there.

Harbor Freight does promos all the time. This week's is a free 7 in 1 multimeter free with any purchase. A whopping $3.49 value! LOL yeah shipping is a little ridiculous... 6.99 :(
 
outwardjourney said:
Ebay has been rather hit and miss for me lately these days. Not too happy with some of the peeps on there.

Harbor Freight does promos all the time. This week's is a free 7 in 1 multimeter free with any purchase. A whopping $3.49 value! LOL yeah shipping is a little ridiculous... 6.99 :(
Click to expand...

Well, $6.99 is better than the $9.99 on eBay... so I'd say Harbor Freight is the better value + peace of mind.
 
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