I like the water to hunt. Why I find more in the water then I do the dry sand. I find the most is waist deep water. Just wish I live in a place where I could detect the water all the time. But I only get around 4 month of water detecting here.......Matt
All of the above, depending on the time of year, place and conditions. I think the key is knowing when and where to stay dry or get wet. Follow the weather patterns and take advantage of the storms and their effect on the beaches. After long weekends or events at the beach I like to take my Umax with a 4 x 18 coil and do a shallow sweep for fresh losses. Have fun.
Durring the swimming season you will find more jewelry in the water, followed by the wet sand, which was under water during high tide. I rarely hunt the dry sand, but do at times. One of the diamond rings I found was in the dry sand on the way to the showers. I found it not 2 feet from the stairs leading to a shower.
In the off season unless I am down in the Miami area I hunt the wet sand, and will go in the water looking for any possible holes. I try to read the beach, surf reacts different over holes and it is possible to locate large holes by the way the water reacts over it, especially on the way back out to sea.
The order I hunt is in the water knee to chest deep, then wet sand and surf line to calf deep, then the towel / blanket line, then vollyball areas parking areasm and then paths leaving the beach.