Cabasset for Sale on eBay.This Spanish Conquistador helmet is something you don't see too often.
I got a couple of emails in response to my comments about the feathers, which I don't know if I mentioned, were scattered along the beach for at least a few miles. I suspect further than that, but that is what I saw.
Jason F. said he has been running across dead pelicans that did not appear to have any physical signs of injury. And Aaron D. said he found a half buried pelican when he detected a metal band around it's leg.
Adam called the USCG to report the found tag and received a nice certificate. It is good to report any tagged birds or animals you find.
I once found a tag on a bird's leg bone. The bird was long gone. That bird was originally tagged in Virginia and found near Key Biscayne.
Watch for and report any tagged birds or other animals.
Some detectors are better than others in the wet sand. Some detectors are best in the dry sand, and are especially good for working in shallow water.
Marc M. sent in the following tips for using the newest Garrett all-terrain detector, the Garrett AT Pro.
When you are using the Garrett AT Pro at the beach, it’s very important that you be properly ground balanced. When you move from, say a dry sand environment to wet sand at the water’s edge where you are not ground balanced, you are going to hear some feedback and see some erratic behavior. So what you want to do is ground balance either manually or automatically. It’s recommended to go into automatic mode, push the button and move the coil up and down just above that wet saturated sand. Once you have a nice quiet operation, release the button and you will hear neither chatter nor feedback while resuming your hunt.
Once you move out into the deeper water, away from the edge of the shore, you’ll again want proper ground balance. And in some cases you might want to go a little into the negative (or negative bias) to achieve the stability you need. If you are hearing any chatter you can hit the ground balance button and take it down a few clicks, swing your coil and see if it’s stable and has lost some of the chatter you might have heard. If you are not happy, you can push down the button and take it down a few more clicks. Does this until you have got a nice stable operation and then begin hunting. If you go over a target, it’s still going to ring in loud and clear over any other background sound that might be going on.
In other situations you might decide you want to reduce the sensitivity a notch or two, try that. It depends on the beach you are going to be hunting on. How mineralized the sand is, is it white sand, is it black mineralized sand. Different beaches are going to require different ground balance situations and reductions on sensitivity. You’ll have to find what works best for you and your hunting situation. But you want to get it ground balanced to the conditions as best as you can. And any background chatter you might hear, you should still hear a good target ring out above that loud and clear.
Another main thing to keep in mind is that when you are searching in salt water conditions, keep the coil level, swing it level, don’t let it bang against the ground or swing it up at the end of your swings. Although you may not be able to see it, imagine how you would do it on the land, keeping that coil level just above the edge of the bottom without banging into the sand down below. Just keep a nice smooth level swing with a good ground balance and you can achieve good results on beaches and in the salt water.
For more information on the Garrett AT Pro, visit Hollands Brook Metal Detectors (authorized dealers of Garrett, Fisher, Tesoro and DetectorPro metal detectors.
As you know this blog is quickly growing and becoming more popular. I receive a lot of requests to provide links to commercial sites. I generally don't do that because space is at a premium and I can't provide free advertising for everyone.
This blog is not monetized in any way at this point. The assistance that I most appreciate comes directly from this blog's readers in the form of tips, reports, ideas, information, or questions.
Some people have offered to make a contribution to help keep the blog going. I have not accepted contributions and probably never will, but do appreciate kind offers like that because it tells me that people appreciate what I am doing. And it also tells me that there are people that are not trying to get something for nothing.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know that just because I provided a link to one commercial site doesn't mean I will ever do that again, so don't expect me to provide free advertising for everyone. I can't do it.
On the other hand, I will try to mention sources and provide some type of value or recognition to those that provide some valuable input that I use.
Sometimes I do forget or simply lose things that people sent to me. I do try to keep up with the demands of this blog, but don't always do it perfectly. Don't take it personally if you don't get a response from me. Like I said, sometimes I do lose track of things.
I took one of my older detectors out in my back yard this morning just to check it out. My experience in the yard reminded me of two things I'll talk about in the future. One is a trait that will help any detectorist keep going when finds are not coming very fast, and the other is the topic of how history repeats and how you can use that fact to your advantage.
Forecast and Conditions.
Conditions remain poor for finding shipwreck cobs. It doesn't look like there will be much of any changes this week either.
The surf web site shows the seas at three feet or less for the next few days. The wind is out of the south this morning.
When your favorite spots aren't producing, as I would expect to be the case for many of you now, one thing I would recommend is taking a look at new spots.
I believe that most people identify a few favorite spots or beaches and when they are no good, do nothing. Instead, that might be a good opportunity to go scout out some new spots. Maybe you'll find a place that is worth hunting now, or maybe you'll find some new places to hunt when conditions improve.
Don't get stuck in a rut.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
