Freshwater Lake Hunting

[limegoldconvertible68]

This summer I am hoping to get into the water and do some serious MD'ing off the beaches of my areas freshwater beaches. Nothing deeper than snorkel depth of 6'-8' with most of it just wading. For this kind of hunting would I notice any difference in performance between the CZ21 and the 1280X? Does the 1280X have enough sensitivity to pick up small gold chains? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. What I am looking for is the best bang for the buck. What will I be missing by going cheaper?

 

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[Sandman]

Neither the 1280 nor the cz21 will find the small chains. But both can find earring backs if no disc is used. The largest advantage of the CZ21 over the 1280 is two frequencies over the one on 1280. Also the 21 has 3 tones to Id the target when disc is set on Zero. I ignore the low iron tone and the high coin tone and only scoop the mid tones which are pull tabs, nickels and gold rings. Some small white gold shows up in the low iron range and larger mens rings are in the high tone, but these are few and I go for the percentages.

Time wasted digging pennies can better be spent sweeping for rings.

 

[gleaner1]

I should have read Sandman's post prior, he says basically what I wanted to say, as follows.....

"Thats a tough one. I like the cz20/21 because it's a waterproof cz, better circuitry for land hunting, three tone, very sensitive, and famous cz performance. My cz20 does not respond to light gold chains, but not many machines can, especially in the deeper conditions found in the water. If you want good success in the water only, barring light gold chains, you can't go wrong with the time-tested 1280, wallet-wise".

 

[gmanlight]

If you dont have harsh ground minerals look at the Tesoro Tiger Shark
Very good on small gold.

 

[Streak!]

in fresh water, the 21 doesn't have a real big advantage over the 1280X....

This summer I am hoping to get into the water and do some serious MD'ing off the beaches of my areas freshwater beaches. Nothing deeper than snorkel depth of 6'-8' with most of it just wading. For this kind of hunting would I notice any difference in performance between the CZ21 and the 1280X? Does the 1280X have enough sensitivity to pick up small gold chains? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. What I am looking for is the best bang for the buck. What will I be missing by going cheaper?

the 21 is essentially a waterproofed Cz locked into the salt mode. very deep if swept real slow.
It will find pretty small chains if they have a decent clasp on them. I've found some pretty small ones with my 21, but it was picking up the clasps and not the chain itself. Its also important to recognize the type of signal your apt to get with real small gold too. It usually wont be a clear soild mid tone, but rather a broken..kinda double beep often. We try to sanitize our localfresh water beaches.....especially the ones we frequent often. Shallow iron (like cheap pins and bobby pins) WILL mask deeper better targets. Its better to get them out of the way if you hunt any particular beaches often. Lots of time those faint low tones will give you a nice surprise! overall though, neither of the fishers are noted for sensitivity on real small gold.
Streak!

 

[Lowbatts]

If I was inclined to get a CZ21 I would get the bigger coil on it. Mostly because you will be using it in a "dig it all" environment. Of course here's to hoping you never need to get the thing serviced. FT service turned my CZ20 into a hybrid CZ20/21 baby rattle.

That said I'm not averse to getting another one someday, if anyone there (at First Texas) can actually cite me numbers they use for torque settings. Not because I will use them myself but because I have doubts that they even know what these represent from my discussions and experience with their service rep.

I have gotten some nice gold and oldies with my once-trusty old CZ20 over the years and as always remain a CZ fan.

 

[Keppy]

Stay away from the tesoro water detectors for now. They are having problems getting parts for them...

 

[gleaner1]

SWR, you make all fisher guys feel warm and bubbly (sorry, I meant fuzzy).

 

[Thor!]

1280x! Swing slowly zero disc, Highest sensitivity you can run without falsing, Dig every signal. Once you have "cleaned out" an area go back over it with the sensitivity amped swinging very slowly and dig every repeatable signal. With the sensitivity amped it tends to pinpoint oddly but you will find deep stuff.

 

[Sandman]

The 1280 is an excellent freshwater detector and easy to use. It does have a set ground balance which works well for most places, but not all. It falses on saltwater beaches in the wet sand and sens can be lowered for this in most cases. It will have a hard time with thin gold chains but can see the clasp or any pendents easy. It is best used with the 10 inch coil as this is a might deeper an covers more area per sweep.

If it has one fault it is if a gold ring is near a piece of iron and the disc is set high enough to not see the Iron, it won't report on the gold ring or a coin either while the Excal will. But there is a big difference in price too. Just apply silicone grease to the rubber gasket and don't over tighten the battery door screws and it will last for years of many good finds. It is best hip mounted so you not getting worn out moving the control box around under water. If you have the control mounted to the shaft in the water and let go of it, the box floats near the top for you to grab. This is the old Fisher 1235 in a waterproof box.