Newbie with 2 questions.

If I were you I would look at a Whites BeachHunterID or a Excalibur if you were also going to hunt in the water, if you are not going in the water just about any quality VLF detector would work.

The main difference between salt and fresh water is the salt and minerials you don't have to deal with on freshwater beaches.

I use a PI but its best for wet sand and saltwater and see's through the salt and black sand common on saltwater beaches its not a detector for freshwater as it would pick up too much iron. In the saltwater the iron breaks down pretty fast so a PI is a good choice. I use my DFX for hunting around freshwater beaches and the dry/wet sand on saltwater beaches

I agree with Craig here. You can also look at the Tesoro Tiger Shark if you want a decent detector at a lower price. Stay away from the overinflated Vipers. They are not worth the money nor your effort. Let me know if you need any more help in your decision.

Hey. I used to live in Dyer. Went to school at Lake Central and lost a lot of stuff at the dunes north of Portage. Good luck up there you should do well...