Fresh water lake - Clay bottom=Problem

[Whiterook]

I detected today in a local lake with a clay bottom. Unlike sand that flows out the holes in the scoop, the clay just clumped together regardless of all the shaking or draining or anything else. After picking up 15 lbs of clay in each scoop for 4 hours, my arms were dead. Does anyone have any secrets to hunting in a lake with a clay bottom? Maybe a secondary floating filter screen to dump the scoop into? Any ideas? Many thanks!!

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

If it is clay the jewelry is not going to sink below the surface much if any, you dont want to be scooping buckets of it, instead scrape surface with scoop.

You can make floating screen with pvc, pool noodle and wire mesh.

 

[Hddeuce03]

Yes, make a sifter like TH shows. Also, be glad it's a clay bottom! At least you know where all the jewelry will stay! I love hard-packed bottom surfaces just for this reason.

 

[OBN]

I hate hard packed bottoms. Even with a sifter it is a real pain...




Also hard pack spots can get cleaned out fairly fast if it gets hammered good. Sandy bottoms .... at least there is a chance of the treasure sinking
or if there is a good current buried.

 

[CASPER-2]

youll find an article on sifters here
May help some - may inspire others

double click each page for easier reading

 

[crashbandicoot]

Checkmate King 6!

 

[bigscoop]

I hate hard packed bottoms. Even with a sifter it is a real pain...






Also hard pack spots can get cleaned out fairly fast if it gets hammered good. Sandy bottoms .... at least there is a chance of the treasure sinking
or if there is a good current buried.

Pennies are the worst......just seem to suck themselves to the clay surface. lol

 

[The Urban Prospector]

Just remember that if you are digging through the clay layer that you are wasting your time and your back.Your item is going to sit on top of that layer. Pinpoint your target first and try "scraping" the surface.

 

[Whiterook]

Checkmate King 6!

Yes. Great show.

 

[rc2125]

Hunt hard clay bottoms somewhat often. When it's deep enough to just utilize a pinointer and grab targets that way, that's the best option. When too deep to reach via pinpointer, a scoop with round nose is best. Pointed scoop tip is a pita on clay bottoms. Yes you can tilt pointed scoop at an angle sideways so a flat part skims the clay, but its a hassle still to be accurate. Usually have a floating sifter too.

 

[firefighter7]

All the lakes here in central Texas are the same way. I only detect waist level and lean down with my pinpointer and either dig with my gloved hand or small shovel. Its pretty taxing on your knees.

 

[Terry In Florida]

Was just reading this and saw the posts about nothing being lower than the clay surface but my question would be, what about old stuff, say 1700-1800 era? Does more clay build up over time and if so, does older stuff get stuck into the layers deeper than the surface?

Just trying to understand the evolution of clay over a couple of hundred years, lol...

Interesting topic...

 

[crashbandicoot]

Was just reading this and saw the posts about nothing being lower than the clay surface but my question would be, what about old stuff, say 1700-1800 era? Does more clay build up over time and if so, does older stuff get stuck into the layers deeper than the surface?

Just trying to understand the evolution of clay over a couple of hundred years, lol...

Interesting topic...

Interesting indeed,thought provoking even!