That Amazing Disappearing & Reappearing Act

[bigscoop]

That Amazing Disappearing and Reappearing Act




I don't usually post finds these days unless there's something significant to add about that particular find and I think this last one has a story to tell that's worth knowing. So here it goes.


It's hard to believe just how fast items can sink, especially on those beaches with deep fine sand. Yesterday I ran into a reminder of this fact while hunting over the wet sand, this just one day after the busy Memorial Day weekend.


First, we all know that the sand is coming onto the beaches quite heavily right now, this being apparent by the wide bars/mounds that are building up on the lower beach and the runnels that are forming at the back of them. When these mounds are dry they can feel quite hard, thus giving the impression that items won't be able to sink all that fast, However, once these mounds are covered with water during high tide they become a lot softer then you might think. To help prove this issue let me tell you what I ran into yesterday.


So yesterday I started hunting a section of wet sand at low tide, this being a very busy part of the beach during the prior weekend (like there were sections that weren't busy). Anyway, most everything I was hitting was fairly deep, i.e., clean clad and the usual crap in that 6 – 8 inch range. Now most of this stuff was lost during the prior weekend, or say sometime within the last four days and it was already 6 – 8 inches deep in just a few days. And I know this because it all came from that new bar of sand that's been building on the lower beach, that same bar that feels so firm and hard during low tide. The gold ring that is pictured here is only 4.3 grams and it was already an easy 8-10 inches deep. It was just a few more inches away from that safety zone, that depth at which a lot of machines would have difficulty responding to it.



During the summer I use a large coil and in just a few more weeks I'll be routinely hitting targets in the 15-16 inch range, these being those items that have managed to escape us and continued to sink. The sand is coming in and items don't sink toward the surface so this has to be the simple fact of the situation, the beach not seeing 8 inches of new sand in that short amount of time. So these items simply had to sink that deep into the dead zone, and they had to do it fairly quickly.



This is why targets start to reappear a lot of times after periods where some sand has been stripped away, say after weather fronts or in the weeks leading up to the winter season when currents shift and the sand is slowly stripped away. In the spring the sand comes on very fast, usually before there is enough beach traffic to provide the required drops. Once the beach traffic builds up a lot of drops will start taking place and many of these will eventually find their way into that dead zone and beyond. Then comes the stripping away of sand and the exposing of these targets. Only 4.3 grams and in just a few days it was already 8 – 10 inches deep in what only "appears" to be firm/hard sand at low tide. This is the seasonal magic act of the typical east coast beach. Something that's good to know.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Trent67]

As usual, very informative stuff from you bigscoop. As a newbie to this hobby I want you to know that I really appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge and experience.

 

[ivan salis]

beach secerts -- that's why folks with limited depth type machines hit the beach after storms -- the sand being gone helps them hit what would otherwise be "out of range" stuff.

 

[RustyGold]

Thank you bigscoop! Your input to help us all is great! As mentioned before,
When is your book coming out!

 

[bigscoop]

You know, the beach really is an amazing place to study treasure hunting. People wonder why I would spend twenty hours during a prime weekend in the soft troughs and on the outer bars when I already know the place is going to be barren of targets due to all that soft deep sand? The reason is actually pretty simple, I'm sizing up the hunting conditions in an effort to determine what it's going to take to bring about the really good hunting opportunities. You see, I know there is "a lot" of goodies being lost out there and the fact that I know first hand that I can't even get a few nulls tells me it's all stacking up and waiting. Look at it this way;

Ivan mentioned a storm, and the fact that these storms remove sand so we can access targets that we can't otherwise access. By learning the lay of these troughs I already know what to look for when those storms come and I'll hopefully know where to look for these opportunities, and I'll also have some idea how the current direction of the storms are likely to move/push all those targets, and just how much force it's likely going to take.

So let's say we just had a storm move through and now I'm driving down the beach looking for dark water areas in those troughs and I find one. The next question becomes; How was that hole formed? Was the flow moving north or south or did that hole get blown straight into the beach? There have been several storms here that didn't remove any measure of sand from the beach and yet in certain areas the beach was littered with targets. Where did they come from? Nine times out of ten if you look to the water just below these areas you'll see where they came from because you'll see deep dark water and you'll likely step a couple of feet or more straight down at the low tide waterline when you enter the water. So those targets got blown up onto the beach, even those one and two ounce sinkers.

I can already tell you that this year it's going to take a really good and prolonged blow because the sand is stacked up so deep out in the troughs it was work just to encounter a few pull tabs or nulls. Some areas of these troughs are as shallow as I have ever seen them. The next thing to happen will be saddles, spots where the troughs become completely bridged leaving only sections of troughs, these sections being nothing but feet upon feet of soft deep sand. In fact, this already happening in several places. There's truckloads of targets out there but we just can't get at them.

On the other hand the tops of these saddles and bars will start to firm up as they grown wider and wider and they will start to see a lot more use. Good to know when the summer wet sand hunting is slow and those negative tides roll around. Just some food for thought should you feel so inclined.

So the beach is an amazing place if you really take the time to study how it lives and breaths throughout the year.

 

[releventchair]

Amazing. Your posts could be mandatory for beginners,maybe advanced as well. Happy Hunting to ya.

 

[penzfan]

Keep it coming bigscoop. We're all learning from your knowledge and experience. HH and GL

 

[sponge]

Only thing that sucks about Big Scoops posts is they make you want to hunt. Yea lets read this knowing I cant possibly get out right now. Oh crap heres the twitch. Im goin swinging in the backyard. Damit Scoop

 

[bigscoop]

Well, if sand is our biggest problem in the summer then let's get rid of it. But how do we do that if there are no storms? This is where really learning those tide charts can pay you big dividends. Look starting around June 6th on the chart at the following link:

High and Low Tide for Ponce De Leon Inlet near Edgewater, FL

Notice how the high & low tide cycles are, well, never low. What this means is that for the next several days the entire force of the surf is going to be higher on the beach then normal, so, that big mound/bar of piled up sand on the lower beach is about to take a real pounding. Two things are going to happen here, first the sand on the lower beach is going to get moved, or dug out and pushed back, and second, that first row of breakers is where everyone is going to be spending their time, the ocean too rough for all but the hardiest to attempt traversing the first trough to get to that next sand bar. In other words, all of the watery action for the next several days is going to be happening along a very narrow strip of beach. "Lots" of goodies are going to be stripped from folks on account of the pounding surf and lots of goodies are going to get exposed as that lower beach bar continues to take its beating.

For those who can endure it, this is a great time to work s short grid pattern at low tide from the top of that lower beach bar to that area just through and past the breakers. This pretty much demands a small coil though and you're probably going to take a fair beating, even on a fairly flat day, which it seems there never is during this monthly high cycle. But for those who can endure it you can often walk away with a fair amount of goodies. A lot of times you'll even see fairly deep pockets of standing water where this higher then normal monthly cycle has created some nice little wading pools for all those ladies to lose their rings in.

But keep a close watch on these pools because as this higher then normal monthly tide cycle starts to dissipate and move toward those negative tides again they will fill back in very quickly, as will all of these low spots and beat up areas of shoreline.

 

[ivan salis]

cuts or " drainage flow" out spots are very important as well --

 

[mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike]

Good info. Thanks.

 

[bigscoop]

Can't stress this enough. Those positive monthly low tides are rolling back in (with a stiff east wind behind them last couple of days) so there is more water volume, weed, and sand being pushed onto the beach, a lot of the lighter targets are being flushed under quickly and even back toward the sea, so not too many targets on the beach today. Because of this lack of targets hunters start roaming around at low tide, along the waterline for a spell then up the beach and then back onto the lower beach and then over to here and then over to there, everyone trying to find some targets. Well, there probably isn't going to be a lot of targets anywhere on that flat wet sand, so we're much better off selecting sections of wet sand and then gridding them off and hunting them thoroughly, trying to cover every inch of sand in that section. I only found a slim handful of targets in the entire football field size section of beach I hunted today, this was one of them. A 14k mans band. Instead of running around trying to find more targets concentrate on finding the ones that we might otherwise walk right by and around.

 

[Fletch88]

Nice find BigScoop! Your making me want to take off tomorrow!

 

[bigscoop]

Nice find BigScoop! Your making me want to take off tomorrow!

You look really ill to me. I'll vouch for you. Even write the letter if you need one.

That download you acquired, that's all I'm doing and so far I'm having a pretty good summer. Though I must admit, I'm growing tired of swapping coils all the time. Might have to go on the hunt for another old blue this fall, re-route it through Joe so he can do his thing and bring it to ship-shape as he gets time.

 

[Fletch88]

You look really ill to me. I'll vouch for you. Even write the letter if you need one. That download you acquired, that's all I'm doing and so far I'm having a pretty good summer. Though I must admit, I'm growing tired of swapping coils all the time. Might have to go on the hunt for another old blue this fall, re-route it through Joe so he can do his thing and bring it to ship-shape as he gets time.

BS, I enjoyed that great download! I would love to hunt out in the "zone" you mention but every time I get out there (which is rare on the upper east side of FL) it feels like there's not another human being for miles and the theme from Jaws keeps replaying in my head! All I found the last time I was out there was one null in 30 minutes, so I decided to make a bee-line back to stale wet sand!

 

[penzfan]

Nice find BS. That East wind is REALLY blowing down here. Rip Tides are carrying swimmers out to sea...

 

[bigscoop]

I seldom find very many targets. Going thirty minutes without a tone is very common, almost the expected routine. Gold rings present some very unique dynamics when we really stop and think about it. They are round, hollow, narrow, and dense. The next time you're on the beach drop your wedding band onto the saturated wet sand, it will immediately fill with wet sand and become very secured in that wet sand. Unlike coins that are flat, these dense hollow rings won't ride and tumble across the top of this wet sand when attempts are made to flush the area, instead they just get quickly buried and covered over with sand. Some of the heavier hoop-style costume earrings will do the same thing, as will most of the silver hoop earrings, even the lighter ones. I'll often find a lot of the older style pull-tab rings for this same reason. Once these hollow items are in the sand they become extremely difficult to flush or tumble away because they fill with sand and dig in, rather then ride or tumble along the surface.

Hunting those winter troughs has provided priceless experience for me. Going thirty minutes between targets being the norm, then a heavy lead sinker, then another thirty minutes without a tone, and then a big dense null, and so and so until you finally hit a gold ring or two. These winter troughs are often flushed with strong currents that simply wash all those lighter targets away, leaving behind only the most dense and hardest to move items. This same thing happens to the wet sand, those lighter targets often getting flushed from the beach surface. I use to think that the lack of targets on those busy summer beaches was due to the competition but not anymore. This lack of targets usually being the result of the flushing effects of the currents, and with enough allowed time, that deep soupy sand. With just the two provided examples we have two gold rings that were found fairly shallow in what was otherwise some pretty barren beach.

 

[bigscoop]

Nice find BS. That East wind is REALLY blowing down here. Rip Tides are carrying swimmers out to sea...

Yea, kicking up again here today as well, and pretty much blowing straight in. More weeds, more sand, and even less beach to hunt at low tide this evening, and it's two full days after the busy weekend.......Hmmmmmm? Sounds like the upper half of the wet sand this evening.

 

[bigscoop]

This, to me, is a tell-tell sign of just how fast some of these select items get anchored in and sink in the wet sand. This little silver toe ring is just .8 grams, found on the lower beach about 8-10 inches deep, and yet this is exactly the condition it was in when I found it, all polished and looking like new so it couldn't have been there very long at all. Just .8 grams and it was already 8-10 inches deep. Incredible!

 

[Fletch88]

BigScoop, I did the wedding band trick you mentioned and since I had a Sand shark in hand I figured what the heck let's bury it really deep in wet sand! This is all while my wife observes me dropping the band (that she had blessed) in the hole. I almost stroked out when I didn't even get a squeak out of it and had water washing in a little bit while trying to retrieve it. Needless to say after she got through with me and my ears were hurting I never tried that stunt again!.... Fast forward a year, I was simply testing my Xterra on target separation with iron, coins and my wedding band laying amongst it all on my driveway. She went ballistic when she saw my wedding band laying there. I'm through using my personal band for "testing" if she's around! Reminds me of why the book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" was a big seller!