Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
What do you do when the beaches you like to hunt aren't producing? Some people just give up and wait it out. Maybe they do some chores around the house. Other people keep on doing the same old thing and keep coming away with the same meagre finds. That is OK if you just like to detect and don't mind swinging your detector at the beach on a beautiful day, but if you make some changes you still might be able to make some good finds.
This topic will take me a lot of posts to address thoroughly, so today I'll just get started on it.
First of all, what do you usually do when beach conditions aren't good? Do you normally visit the same few beaches? How many beaches do you normally hunt? If it is a small number, that tells you something. There is a big world out there to be explored. One thing you should consider is exploring some new sites. You might drive a little farther, or you might simply walk a little farther. Or you might consider doing an entirely different kind of hunting, or hunting a different way.
I know that beach hunting is super easy and convenient, but when something is easy everybody will be do it. 90 percent of the people keep hunting the same 10 percent of the area. You might find it hard to believe from what you see, but some areas are not detected very often. There are a number of reasons for that.
Most people only detect within easy walking distance of a beach access. If you walk a little farther you will sometimes find areas that haven't been hunted nearly as much, and some of those areas will produce good finds.
When I lived down south where the beaches were hit by tons of detectorists everyday, I could still find beaches that were seldom detected. I didn't like to detect where there were other detectorists. I would find other locations or go at times when no one else was likely to be there. Some good productive areas were pretty much abandoned. Some were even overgrown with weeds. Some were hard to get to for one reason or another. It wasn't always about distance. Sometimes there was little parking to be found, and sometimes the parking was too expensive. Some sites just looked like they were not any good.
Lets face it, many people follow the crowd. If they see other people detecting somewhere, they think it must be a good place to detect. Or if they hear something was found, that is where they go. They follow they crowd. It is easy to follow the crowd, but finding your own spots can be more rewarding.
That reminds me of one area down in the Keys I told about before. It was muddy and weedy. Few people would stop there. I never saw any detectorists there. Every step you took, your foot would sink into the mud up to your ankles. It wasn't easy walking, and you would seldom see anyone there, but every time I detected that spot, I found at least a decent ring in short order. The mud that kept the crowds away, captured rings but seemed to keep other detectorists away. The mud sucked any kind of footwear of your foot, and if you stuck your hand in the mud for any reason, there was a very good chance the ring would be left in the mud. It was a very unlikely looking detecting spot, but always produced something good.
Look for barriers, and instead of avoiding them, overcome them. You know the stories. I've said this before, but good treasures often are guarded by a dragon. It is the dragon that keeps others away. The treasure is achieved by those who overcome the obstacle. Look for the obstacle, and instead of avoiding it, defeat it. That is much of the fun of detecting for me.
I'll just give you a few generalities today and get into more detail some other day. Here are some things you might try when the beaches don't seem to be very good.
Look for new areas to hunt. Don't stick to the most likely looking detecting spots. There might be either natural or manmade obstacles. Try to find a safe and legal way to get there even if it isn't quick and easy. Go a little farther. Try something new.
Good detecting spots don't always look like good detecting spots. In fact, if they don't look good, that is probably the reason they haven't been hunted to death.
Even if you are only interested in hunting old Spanish treasure, you will learn from hunting modern coins. For example, it is easier to learn about target distribution patterns by hunting modern coins where there are a good number of targets. It is easier to recognize patterns when there are more data points (finds),
I'll have more on that topic some other time, but if you try different types of hunting, you'll learn things that apply to your favorite type of hunting. You might call it cross-training.
Try something new. It is easy to get into a rut. It is easy to keep on doing the same old thing even when it isn't working anymore. You know what they call that.
Explore new areas, but also explore new strategies and techniques. When the same old thing quits working, it is a very good time to experiment and try something new.
Don't forget to do some research.
Adapt or lose. Things change, and when that happens you might need to change too.
There are more ways than one to go farther. One way is to detect deeper. You can go faster and cover more ground, or you can go deeper. That might mean trying new settings, equipment or techniques.
You can change your detecting style and get targets missed by most everybody else. I've described some ways to do that in the past.
On the Treasure Coast there are a few beaches that are hunted by a lot of detectorists a lot of the time. There is a reason for that, but there are also good reasons to hunt beaches that are not so popular. You can find surprising things in the most unlikely places.
When your favorite beaches aren't producing much, look at that as an opportunity. That is an excellent time to explore, experiment and learn.
You don't even have to stick to the beaches. You can detect land sites and in the inland waterways. Of course, you have to remember that the inland waterways are state property. That is good in terms of access, but old historic or archaeological finds are property of the state and should be reported.
And you can find things by sifting, magnet fishing or just eye-balling. Sifting, as I've shown in the past, can be more effective than detecting, and some of the other techniques can lead you to detecting sites.
As you know, a good beach that has produced well for years or even decades can quit producing for a short or long period of time. And beaches that haven't produced for a long time, can suddenly produce some very good finds. That might last a while, or it might be only a few hours or days. But things change, so you will need to change too from time to time.
Some of the best finds of 2020 were made on a beach that is not considered to be one of the most popular treasure beaches. You very well could have missed that by going where everybody else was hunting.
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Joe D. sent me the following email.
Well, i had a couple of guy's drive a good distance, up onto the grass, in an unmarked SUV the other day to tell me i couldn't detect in County Parks! I found that ironic as one of there issues is ME disturbing the grass! Bunch of crap! I would love to file a multi-county class-action law suit for their restrictive rules! But it would probably be counterproductive! And near impossible to get an existing ordinance amended, or off the books! |
| Source: MagicSeaWeed.com. |