So... water hunting...

Banemorth · Aug 19, 2010

I very much want to get into this and try this out. I've been looking at detectors for awhile now and it looks like the Excalibur II is the way to go. I already started saving all my E-Trac finds in order to pay for it and I hope to get it before my Anniversary Vacation next November! In the mean time I'm trying to learn about water hunting. I've read a lot about tides and currents and all of that fun stuff but I'm more interested in hearing everyones mechanics of it.

I'm a dry land dirt fisher and I was wondering how you go about the whole process. If you're in waist deep water and you get a signal how do you go about recovering it? Do you keep your detector in one hand and try to reach and dig with the other? Do you use a scoop? Pin pointer? I mean on dry land for me it goes *get a hit* *pinpoint with detector* *set down detector on ground* *try to pinpoint with Garrett ProPointer* *Cut Plug* *Pinpointer again* *Dig* *Pinpointer again* *Recover Target* *Replace Dirt* *Replace Plug* *Put away digger/pin pointer* *Pick Up Detector* *Move On.*

I just worry about losing the detector in the surf. Do they have special headphones for water detecting? Do you have a special finds pouch so as not to lose your finds while swimming and recovering targets? There's no such thing as too much information here for me since I've never done it before. I really appreciate any information you're willing to share! Thanks

zeemang · Aug 19, 2010

If you've never done it before, i recommend giving it a try before you go buy a water machine and long handled scoop. It's HARD work for sure. Basically you are detecting, swinging a coil under water is harder too, get a hit, slide your foot to position behind the coil to "mark" the hit (as the water will probably be murky you can't actually see the spot) move detector out of the way, bring scoop into position in front of your foot and start scooping until you bring up the target. That's it in a nutshell....
As i said, try it before you invest big $$ in equipment, you might not like it!

Banemorth · Aug 19, 2010

Well I love the ocean, the water, swimming, fishing, and metal detecting. I can't see myself *not* liking it. When I was at the beach with my E-Trac I found myself walking further into the water but was terrified I'd take a wave and ruin my detector! Thank you for all of the information! I already have a long handled sand scoop I've used for dry sand and beachline wet sand

Cfmct · Aug 19, 2010

Banemorth said:
Well I love the ocean, the water, swimming, fishing, and metal detecting. I can't see myself *not* liking it. When I was at the beach with my E-Trac I found myself walking further into the water but was terrified I'd take a wave and ruin my detector! Thank you for all of the information! I already have a long handled sand scoop I've used for dry sand and beachline wet sand

If the scoop you have has hardware cloth on the back its no good... you will crush it trying to recover targets.... your scoop should be heavy duty and with a handle at least 40 inches long... mine are 48... as Z said waterhunting is a whole nother animal and its work...

You need no pinpointer on the beach its a waste of time...

There are other VLF machines that are quite capable of finding lots of good stuff... with the problems Minelab is having I would be very careful buying one right now... there are the Whites Beachhunter, the Detector Pro line, the Tereso Tiger or Sand Shark... even Garrett machines oh yeah don't let me forget Fishers

If you purchase a Excal... you are going to want to change the stock headphones and put a straight shaft on it as its a very heavy machine to swing and not balanced very well with the stock shaft...

Banemorth · Aug 19, 2010

http://www.columbiametaldetectors.com/cotw.html

Is the scoop I have but it's nowhere near 40 inches. Only about 28. So I guess I'd need a new one!

No pin pointer it is! I wanted the Excalibur because of how much I love my E-Trac and I was hoping the tones would be similar. However I value your opinion greatly and I'd love to hear about what you think is the best for water hunting.

Cfmct · Aug 19, 2010

Banemorth said:
http://www.columbiametaldetectors.com/cotw.html

Is the scoop I have but it's nowhere near 40 inches. Only about 28. So I guess I'd need a new one!

No pin pointer it is! I wanted the Excalibur because of how much I love my E-Trac and I was hoping the tones would be similar. However I value your opinion greatly and I'd love to hear about what you think is the best for water hunting.

If you are in Jersey... go with the Excal... it nulls great on iron and you have plenty of that down there... NJ is no place for a PI

28 inch handle, in the ocean forget it lol.. you need a long handled scoop...

Just looked at your scoop... that is not water hunting scoop

Lot of good scoops out there... I prefer the Babbs scoops... they are light and strong and have a stainless lip...

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=22060

Banemorth · Aug 19, 2010

No doubt on the iron. I just can't get away from that stuff! I'll be sure to get a nice new scoop and thanks for showing me that one! You're the best

ChunkyMonkey · Aug 19, 2010

I have been detecting in the water about 3 weeks now and it is awesome ( except for the sharks...lol) I really loved the dry sand too but I have been neglecting it lately. I still try to dry sand hunt.....until the sun comes up and starts beaming on you and forces you into the water. There is more gold in the water and less trash from what I have experienced. I think it is something you would enjoy. There seems to be a bit of learning to do reading the beach (cuts, dips, slopes, pockets..etc) and I am still learning but this forum is the best at getting advice. Craig will be on your questions with knowledge before you can hit submit. As for digging, the arm band keeps the detector attached to you as u dig with the other hand. There is more digging as sometimes your scoop gets shuffled around by current and waves before you can step on it and if the waters are not calm and clear they are murky and choppy and you can't always see what you are doing, so your feet come into play a lot for guidance. Good Luck!

rtgstore.com is great for scoops!

PI JOE · Aug 19, 2010

Banemorth said:
No doubt on the iron. I just can't get away from that stuff! I'll be sure to get a nice new scoop and thanks for showing me that one! You're the best

Heres a better scoop...right Craig! :lol:

We fight about this all the time.

http://www.gold-scoop.com/index.html

poptopking · Aug 19, 2010

If you want a heavy duty scoop look up Nuttall Industries. It is a tank for both digging and shark protection.

http://www.nuttallenterprises.com/servlet/StoreFront

ChunkyMonkey · Aug 19, 2010

poptopking said:
If you want a heavy duty scoop look up Nuttall Industries. It is a tank for both digging and shark protection.

http://www.nuttallenterprises.com/servlet/StoreFront

That's a nice point on the scoop...probably slicing through the hard wet sand nicely. What about the fiberglass handle though? Does that break easily?

poptopking · Aug 19, 2010

No it wont break easily. It is like a shovel handle made out of fiberglass. I have been very deep to dig out that prized bobbie pin and had no problem. also the way the grip is on the end I can tell the direction it is facing under water when I can't see the scoop.

The point makes it easy to get a good bite on the first scoop.

Cfmct · Aug 19, 2010

ChunkyMonkey said:
That's a nice point on the scoop...probably slicing through the hard wet sand nicely. What about the fiberglass handle though? Does that break easily?

Its a good scoop but you better be strong as its a tank to wield... I tried one out last year and thought I was carrying a sledgehammer around... maybe if they made the handle out of balsa wood I would give it another try :lol:

poptopking · Aug 19, 2010

yep it is heavy, but got use to it. I swing it up on my shoulder like Paul Bunyon and stroll down the beach with my pretty yellow detector. :lol:

Cfmct · Aug 19, 2010

poptopking said:
yep it is heavy, but got use to it. I swing it up on my shoulder like Paul Bunyon and stroll down the beach with my pretty yellow detector.

Your DF is seen as yummy yellow to sharks...

after hunting with my Babbs scoop and then trying the Nuttal scoop I said no way Jose lol...

Jim Bob · Aug 20, 2010

You came to the right place for good advice. I sure have learned a lot from the folks on this forum. The Scoop is almost as important as the machine you use and like others have said it is work and much different than dirt fishing but it is great fun and very rewarding. Read as much as you can on detectors on this forum and it will help you make a smart decission. The Excal problems I have read about made me decide to buy the Whites Dual Field for my second water machine. Whites has great customer service and a 2 year warranty on their machines. All the scoops mentioned above are what most of us use and I agree with Craig on the Nuttal stainless scoop. I tried one and it is real heavy. It is built, thats for sure but the Babbs scoop with the SS lip is what I use. Good luck and ask questions, there aren't any stupid ones you know. Jim

creeker42 · Aug 20, 2010

Cfmct-PI said:
Your DF is seen as yummy yellow to sharks... after hunting with my Babbs scoop and then trying the Nuttal scoop I said no way Jose lol...

Hello Craig
What model Babbs do you use, the light weight or the heavy duty? I'm in the market for a scoop, and I like the angle of the handle on the Babbs. I met a guy on a beach in RI and tried the Nuttal scoop. Well made, but I don't like the angle of the handle. I found it awkward to use. regards.
Ed

P.S.
Craig
Finaly got my Sovereign GT, and starting to get out again.

Banemorth · Aug 20, 2010

Thanks for all the great information! Weight isn't too much of an issue as I'm a strapping young lad

Cfmct · Aug 20, 2010

Banemorth said:
Thanks for all the great information! Weight isn't too much of an issue as I'm a strapping young lad

It will after 4 hours or so :lol:

Many of us at least here in CT carry our scoops on our shoulder so our detectors don't pick it up...

Creeker... my large scoop is heavy duty but its custom made by Bill Babbs... he doesn't list it on his website you have to request it... VaMax had him build him a couple as well... its not as light as the 6 inch scoops but its not super heavy like a stainless scoop either and it takes a huge bite which I wanted with my DF...

Cfmct · Aug 20, 2010

creeker42 said:
Hello Craig
What model Babbs do you use, the light weight or the heavy duty? I'm in the market for a scoop, and I like the angle of the handle on the Babbs. I met a guy on a beach in RI and tried the Nuttal scoop. Well made, but I don't like the angle of the handle. I found it awkward to use. regards.
Ed

P.S.
Craig
Finaly got my Sovereign GT, and starting to get out again.

You will love the Sov GT... I do it has its place on the beach and it great in heavily infested areas that I won't take my PI to...

So... water hunting...

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