Stupid Newbie surf question ?

[Mr.Excavator]

Hi , Guys
I have been reading a lot of the threads to try an educate myself with the hobbie. I have read that the high tide line is the place to hunt and others swear by the waist/chest deep water hunting.

In my neck of the woods or Beach the lapping waves can be brutal in waist deep water. I have done the local beaches and was off to great start, found quite a bit of stuff even some Gold, but now that I have found something worth wile I want MORE and not just the crappy clad. The high tide lines have been depleted and maybe it is time to go in the water. I guess my questions are in your hypothessis :

Is it best to go at Low tide to do waiding? I would think the heavier gold items may get pulled back out with the surf , is this correct ? Or do you follow the tide back out ?

What is the best depth to be at ? chest, waist, where the waves are easiest ( slow rolling). A certain distance out from shore line?

The last couple of weekends have been a bust with a handful of clad and junk earings on the shore wetsand and high tide lines. I can get the cost of the detectors back one crusty penny at a time.

So some of the long timers in the hobby please chime in with what works for you.

 

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[bigscoop]

It's tough out there right now. Just no sure bets this time of the year with all of this soft summer sand piling up everywhere and all the competition picking over the wet sand 24/7.

 

[dewcon4414]

Right now you are chasing recent drops..... the older stuff is burried with sand. Targets with surfaces and lighter may move to the water line.... but the heavier stuff wont... it falls in the low areas and gets covered quickly. gold right now is where you find it...... much like asking where do people loose stuff..... everywhere. Anything lost at high tide may get dragged down into the water. Remember the mommy line at high tide will be out of the water at low tide. Its really a who gets there first right now.

Dew

 

[Terry Soloman]

Get in the water at low tide knee-thigh high. Try this for about an hour and see what you come up with. It has been very good for me up here in New York.

 

[bigscoop]

Here’s some things regarding the upper East Coast of Florida to keep in mind:

During the summer months we get a lot of deep soft sand pushed onto our beaches and into the troughs. This condition allows those heavier objects we seek to sink quickly, especially in the water where this deep soft sand is constantly being stirred about. Creates a quick-sand effect of sorts.

Areas with firmer bottoms can provide you an advantage but they are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to locate this time of year. The lower wet sand might appear to be firmer at low tide but once it’s covered/saturated with water it immediately softens right back up again and it starts sucking everything down-down-down. There’s generally a lot more competition here as well.

June, July, August – they’re just typically slower due to all the sand and increased competition and this year is proving to be much the same way. The stuff is out there but it’s just a lot more difficult to access. It’s easy to convince yourself that the beach is really getting picked over and hunted out but that’s really not the case, it’s just a matter that everything is sinking out of reach extremely fast, even those hunters with deep machines, like PI’s, are suffering the same dilemma.

So, at the height of summer expect the hunting to be slower and extremely spotty. Try to focus on those areas where some sand has been removed, no matter how slight. Iron objects can provide some insight as these items are typically heavier so if you encounter an area where there appears to be a lot of iron objects like screws, nuts, etc. then it could indicate the presence of a firmer bottom. The same can be said of fishing weights and areas where larger pieces of shells appear to have accumulated, i.e., oyster shell is always a good indicator. And clay and/or black matrix, and areas of dense shell pack, all of these are indicators of those firmer bottoms, “that you can access”. Aside from this it’s pretty much as Dew said, “first come – first serve” on the very recent drops if you can get to them in time. Hope this helps.

 

[Mr.Excavator]

Thanks for all of the tips. That was what I was looking for, some indicators of what may improve my hunting.

 

[Fletch88]

I'm ready for winter time and storms to blow things out! Hunted 6 grueling hours to find a decent chain, razor knife and clad! There was plenty of nice scenery though!

 

[Mr.Excavator]

Im starting to see a trend that the sand plays a huge role here. Storms move the sand out to open the hunting grounds. I totally agree the scenery is always nice when you are killing time doing something fun.

I guess wanting for a good sand moving storm is what is wanted above all else. I have lived in Fla my whole life and have been all over the coastlines diving, shelling, boating, fishing and now adding MD to it.

 

[Buzzlitebeer]

Tddptd...Fletch and I went out like he said for 6 grueling hours. Searched high/low and then followed the tide down. He hunted in the water line and I covered just in from him. I hit some real heavy targets (Match box, fishing weight and a couple quarters) and bam he hit a real decent necklace. this was in a real low area that had formed the night before. I will let him elaborate if he wants. I did find a SS wedding band but it was early 10-25 yards down from the high tide mark and 2 inches deep.

Priceless to see Fletch shove that necklace in his pouch like a cat burglar in the night.

 

[Fletch88]

Tddptd...Fletch and I went out like he said for 6 grueling hours. Searched high/low and then followed the tide down. He hunted in the water line and I covered just in from him. I hit some real heavy targets (Match box, fishing weight and a couple quarters) and bam he hit a real decent necklace. this was in a real low area that had formed the night before. I will let him elaborate if he wants. I did find a SS wedding band but it was early 10-25 yards down from the high tide mark and 2 inches deep.

Priceless to see Fletch shove that necklace in his pouch like a cat burglar in the night.

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Well what can I say that has't already be noted above? Other than recent drops everything else is deep! The chain isn't pure it's gold plated sterling from what info I've gathered online. 925 Italy.

 

[bigscoop]

Here's a simple experiment you can conduct over the course of a few days that might offer you a real eye opener in regards to how quickly heavier rings can sink in the soft sands of summer. Pick yourself a very small section of lower beach, somewhere you can easily identify and return to without any problem, someplace that is out of the way. Now find yourself a piece of old lead pipe and cut yourself a half-dozen hefty ring sized pieces. Now take these to your small section of lower beach at low tide and scatter three of them about in the water in front of you. Do this same thing with the other three on a small section of firmer wet sand on the upper beach. The next day at low tide return to your spot and see if you can locate these rings (but don't recover them), and note how many of them you can find. Keep repeating this process and take note of which ones disappear first and which ones stay around the longest. Sounds silly, I know, but there is much to be gleamed from this little experiment.