11/6/11 Report - Big Seas Expected Today and Tomorrow

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Beach By The Fort Pierce Inlet Saturday Morning.

Not much of the renourishment sand that was dumped there just a few months ago is left. It wasn't but a few weeks after the project was finished that a lot of it washed away and a six foot high dangerous cliff greeted anyone wanting to get their feet wet. And any turtle nests that might have been there would definitely be ruined. They might as well just dump gold coins into the ocean. That might actually bring tourism.


I often hear people complain about how many people detect some of the beaches. Some beaches are heavily hunted, but you don't have to follow the crowd.

The fact is that most detectorists visit the same old beaches. And they detect the same spots - over and over - just like everybody else.

Those heavily detected beaches are detected heavily for a reason. There is some convenience involved. And some people tend to follow the crowds instead of doing some research and scouting out their own spots.

I check out some of the popular spots, but a lot of the time I never see another detectorists. In fact, I seldom see another detectorist at some of my favorite detecting spots. I've never seen another detectorist at a few of my favorite spots. And I'm not just talking Treasure Coast. The same applies to crowded heavily detected metropolitan areas like Miami and South Florida.

Most of the heavily detected areas have convenient parking. Most are easy to get to and don't require much walking. And the parking will typically be relatively inexpensive.

So if you want to find a bunch of detectorist, think of the popular well-publicized beaches with lots of convenient parking. If, on the other hand, you want to find your own spot, you won't want to follow the crowds to the most convenient and most publicized beaches.

Even if you are hunting modern jewelry in a metro area, there are hidden beaches in plain sight. What I mean by that is that they seem to be overlooked by everybody for one reason or another, yet they are not really hidden.

A beach might not be used much today, but that doesn't mean it wasn't the hottest spot around at one time.

There are also little tucked-away beaches that most people don't notice. Maybe they are next to a causeway, or mostly hidden by a bridge, or on a lake or river instead of the ocean.

Most detectorists won't walk far to get to a detecting spot. It is a fact that if a beach is more than a hundred yards from parking, it isn't detected as much as those that are a few feet from a parking lot.

And most people tend to turn the same direction on a beach. I know beaches where 90% of the people walk in the same direction when they get on the beach. I guess people tend to follow people and do what other people do. You can often separate yourself from the pack, by simply going the other direction from everybody else.

Crowds might be a good thing, but when the detectorist to beach-goer ratio goes up, finds will generally go down. If you want a better chance of more finds, don't follow the crowd. Do something different.

Anything that makes detecting a little more inconvenient will tend to thin out the crowds. Learn to see the opportunities behind the obstacles.

You should be out prospecting every once in a while. You should scout around for promising areas that aren't detected ten times a day everyday. I know one long stretch of beach on the Treasure Coast where virtually no one detects. I think that is the most promising area for big future finds. That stretch of beach was an area of a lot of activity a couple of centuries ago.

If you've been following everybody else around and becoming frustrated, you need to change your thinking. Instead of going to the first place that comes to mind, or to the most obvious place, or the easiest place, try the opposite.

Think about where there might be some obstacles and how you might take advantage of those obstacles.

Obstacles protect treasure. The easiest treasures usually disappear first.

You'll have to figure out how to overcome those obstacles, but it will be worth it. To maximize your chances, you'll have to do something different from what everyone else is doing. You'll have to go a step further, do more research, use your detector a bit better, have a bit more patience, be willing to dig through more junk, or do something to separate yourself from the crowd.


Here is one little hidden beach in Florida. See if you know where it is at.




Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions

Here is the big news today.


The wind increased later Saturday and the seas were building.

8 foot seas are predicted for the Fort Pierce area Sunday, and 12 foot seas for the Sebastian area. That should be enough to increase detecting conditions somewhere for sure. Hopefully we'll get some good angles from the wind and waves.

I'm expecting level three conditions by tomorrow evening.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/4/11 Report - Big Seas Coming & And Big DuBois Park Treasure Dig

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Dip on Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

This beach in St. Lucie County looks very similar to the beach I showed a couple of days ago from Seagrape Trail.

There is a sand bar out front. You can probably see it in the photo. The waves are breaking on the bar out in front of the beach. A dip has formed between the beach and sand bar.



Palm Beach County may approve a treasure hunting project in DuBois Park. Interesting!

Here is the link. I'm pretty sure you'll want to read this one.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/doubloon-ing-down-county-may-okay-pirate-treasure-1948781.html

Thanks to Jorge Y. who sent me the article.


Have you ever dug an item so small that you just can't see it? Time after time it falls through your scoop or you spend an hour fingering the sand hoping to find that elusive target that gives a signal but can't continues to play hide-and-seek.

Some of the hardest targets to see are needle thin pieces of iron or pieces of old fish hooks. But not all see-ums are junk.

I remember the time I found a small gold bead at Corrigans. I had no trouble detecting it, but had a very hard time finding it in the sand. I got it in a handful of sand and threw it on my coil. Still I had a hard time finding it even though I knew it was there and could hear it every time I moved it around with the sand on my coil. Not only was it small, but it seemed to fade right in with the sand.

Throwing the sand holding the item onto the coil is one way to find invisible targets. Another way, and the better way I think, is the following.

This method works best when you are working in wet sand but can be used with dry sand too.

Dig a good full scoop where the target seems to be but instead of sifting the sand take it to where the water is just barely reaching when the waves come in. Dump the sand near the high water mark. Spread it out a little with your foot. Wait for the water to hit the dumped sand. When the water washes down, most of the time you'll be able to see the item. Even very thin wires, fragments of needles, etc. will usually be apparent in the newly washed sand.

It might take some practice to perfect this technique, but when you do, it works as quickly and well as anything.

If the water happens to come up harder than expected and threatens to wash the sand and the item away, quickly put your foot on top of the target, and perhaps just a little to the down slope side. That will normally be enough to hold it in place.

It helps to have some experience with the technique and be quick footed.

I can usually tell from the signal whether I should sift or dump and wash.


I got word that pieces of pennies or other items are being scattered at some locations to discourage detectorists. That's actually funny to me.

Some time ago I got word from one salvor that another salvor threw a bunch of pennies on the beach to discourage detectorists at one location. I guess it might have discouraged somebody, but I was grateful. I used those pennies as an indicator for some time. I could go to the spot, which is one of the better spots on the Treasure Coast, quickly scan the area, and I would quickly tell if things were washing up onto the beach at the time. It also quickly told me if anyone else had recently detected the area or not. I will use most anything on a beach as an indicator.

I've even been known to place various distinctive metal objects on a beach to use indicators. If someone else wants to contribute, I'll just say "Thank you." I can tell how things are moving, and if I should spend much time at a particular spot by the presence or absence of indicators like that.

Almost everything that is found on a beach can tell you something. And almost everything can be turned to good use.


Today I found a very worn wheat penny and a few other coins on the slope just above the dip that I showed in the photo. The penny, of course, is no big deal but it tells me something. It tells me that older items are washing up there. There was no cut of any significance above the dip, and all of the sand above the dip had accumulated relatively recently.

It is worth checking more thoroughly when older items are appearing - even if they aren't real old.


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.

Most beaches have deteriorated some since the time I issued the 2 rating. Nonetheless, I still think they are too good to rate less than a 2. But the big news for me is the high seas coming Sunday and next week. It now looks like we'll get eight foot and higher seas. Combined with the action we had the past week, that could be very promising. Hopefully it will hit us for a day or two at a good angle.


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/3/11 Report - Nice Looking Week Coming Up

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.


Fossil Found by Seagrape Trail.

Ken A. sent in this photo. He found this item up by Seagrape Trail.

I mentioned a few days ago that you can find fossils around there. This is one. It is a fossilized scute (plate or scale), probably of a gator, - perhaps Ice Age.

You can find fossils on several beaches of the Treasure Coast when the conditions are right. They are often found in piles of shells.


A variety of 16th Century artifacts including beads and iron tools recently found in south Georgia provide evidence that de Soto may have traveled more south and east than previously thought.

Here is the link to that story.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111101-conquistador-america-de-soto-science-spanish-glass/


When the water is rough, it can keep you from detecting part of the beach. It can be difficult and even dangerous to hunt the low tide zone during while the seas are rough. Not only will the water make it difficult to detect, but there can also be logs and other debris that can hit you and knock you off of your feet.

I often recommend a loose zigzag pattern to scan a beach when you don't have any particular spot that you want to detect. A zigzag pattern can help you find the most productive zones for detecting.

You'll often find that coins are found in a line or area either high on the slope, middle of the slope or down at the waters edge. You can use a zigzag pattern to find any coin lines that there might be. It can also help you find a coin hole.

But when the water is as rough as it has been lately, you might want to consider an alternate scan pattern. If you get to the beach at low tide or when the tide is coming in, you might want to scan the area lowest on the beach first. Walk along the water moving either north or south and as far out to the east as you can get and scan that area first. The tide will be coming in, so then when you return in the other direction, do the same thing, but just a little higher on the beach, again staying as far to the east as you can. Work north and then south and so on, each time staying just out of the rough water and as far east as you can work.

When you come across a coin or interesting object, check that area more thoroughly. Mark that spot higher on the beach. Place a rock on the slope where the water will not wash it away. On your return trip, focus on the areas that you marked.

I was doing that the other day and on my first pass, I dug a few objects and marked them. On the way back, I could see where they were located, so then I shortened my scan pattern and worked the area around where the first finds were located.

That is one way to work an incoming tide to cover as much ground as possible while finding the best spots.


Treasure Coast Beach Forecast and Conditions.


Conditions have not changed much in the last couple of days. I would rate them as being level 2.

If you look at the surf predictions, you'll see a slight drop off until Sunday when the seas pick up again. And then we have several days of near eight foot and higher seas. That looks promising.

The wind is now out of the east, which isn't ideal. And as you know, we have sand bars just in front of the beach and some slight building going on in some places. There are however, a few spots that remain pretty much at the level they eroded to a few days ago.

What looks good is that Saturday the wind is going to be coming from the north - if the predictions are correct. That could create some good cuts, even with the sand bars. We'll see.


Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net

11/2/11 Report - Gold, Slice of Penny & Conditions Remain the Same

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Gold Pendant Found by Jon M. Tuesday.

14K gold. Congratulations Jon!


You've undoubtedly heard of pieces of eight. Well below is a find that I made today. It is a piece of something. It looks to be about one sixth of a penny.



A 340 year old Chinese coin was found in the Yukon. That supports the notion that Chinese traders visited the area during that long ago.

Here is the link to that story.

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Chinese+coin+found+Yukon+evidence+early+east+west+link/5636720/story.html



There were small cuts at Seagrape Trail this morning (See photo below.) The front beach was low with a large sand bar out in front of the beach. The way the sand is piled up in front of the beach explains why there isn't more erosion there. The waves are crashing on the bar and losing their energy before hitting the beach.

Looking at that photo, you can see the seaweed, which indicates that sand has washed up onto the beach since the last high tide.


View From Seagrape Access on Wednesday Morning.


There wasn't much change in beach conditions last night. I'm sticking with my level 2 beach conditions rating for now.

As I mentioned yesterday, some beaches are better than others, and there are some scattered cuts to be found even though most cuts had a little filling last night.

It looks like the swells will be decreasing very slightly the next two days and then maybe increasing again.

I have some more topics but guess I'll save them for another day.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/1/11 Report - Opening Conglomerates

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Partially Opened Conglomerate.

You might detect stones or clumps that do not show any visible metal. If your metal detector says there is metal but you can't see it, put the object in your goodie bag (if it fits) and take it home.

When you get it home, you can approach the problem in a variety of ways. Always use the least destructive method first.

Sometimes a good soaking or pressure wash will get rid of enough of the crud to expose something that gives you a clue about what might be inside.

Reviewing the other finds from the area might also give you a clue about what might be in there.

Sometimes you'll be able to see rust or copper oxide or something that will give you a clue.

Be careful, though. That is the most important thing. You don't want to ruin a unique piece of history simply because you are too impatient to be careful.

You might consider a quick acid bath. Don't use a mixture that is too strong and don't leave the object without checking it periodically to see what is happening.

When everything you see says that the object is probably not valuable in any sense of the word, you might want to break open the crust. Sometimes that is easy, ans sometimes not.

The picture above shows one encrusted object that I found this morning. One side showed nothing but shell, and the other side nothing but conglomerate.

You can see what was in it - a bullet.

I've found a variety of other encrusted objects. Some pretty nice things - like coins and a ring.

I like opening things like that, but avoid it until I have a good idea about how to approach it.

If you do decide to risk breaking the crust, proceed slowly. first tap the object lightly a few times to see what reaction you get.

If an alien pops out and eats your head, stop!

Seriously though, if it cracks a little, so much the better. It is always better to go slow than risk damage.

And remember to not throw encrusted objects away just because you can't see what is in them.

If you get something that might be a very good artifact, you might be able to get the conglomerate x-rayed before doing anything else. That is sometimes the way to go.

It is better to store an item than do something stupid.


Treasure Coast Beach Detecting Forecast and Conditions.


Conditions this morning were pretty much the same as yesterday. A little change here and there, but nothing really significant.

The old cuts were still there, and the mushy beaches were still pretty mushy.

I was still finding coins and things on some beaches. Again, the treasure beaches weren't the ones that were cut - at least not the ones that I saw.

The seas are going to remain at about the same level through the week. That is a lot of rough water.

Seven foot seas are predicted for next Monday.

The wind is out of the northeast today. One of these mornings we might get up and see much improved beaches. It hasn't happened yet though. I'm sticking with my 2 beach conditions rating.

One of these days things could change quickly - and hopefully for the better.



Happy Hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/31/11 Report - A Few Cut Beaches - Continued Level 2 Beach Conditions Rating

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Ye Olde Pirate Dog.


On stormy moon lit nights you can hear him howl when someone draws near his master's treasure.

Happy Halloween!



Today I found a couple of beaches that were cut. Below is one of those.

One Treasure Coast Beach This Morning.

Both beaches were cut about the same. Three foot and sometimes four foot cuts.

They weren't extremely long. And neither were on primary treasure beaches.

In the above photo, you can see the new seaweed, indicating that the beach has added a little sand since these cuts were originally created.

At low tide I was finding coins and things. Many were modern coins (mostly quarters) but not recent drops. You could tell that from the extent of the corrosion.

Unfortunately I got chased ouf of a coin hole by the incoming tide before I could clean it out. I coudn't get to the best part of that hole yet.

Although I found two cut beaches this morning, the other beaches I saw were not cut. In fact they were very sloppy - mushy and junky.

These cut beaches, I might have mentioned, were not located on any of the most well known and productive treasure beaches.

I got a variety of reports from various beaches yesterday, and they mostly confirmed what I said and showed yesterday.

The seas are not going to slacken for a while. In fact the surf web sites are predicting seven foot and higher seas for later tomorrow. So that will be another chance for improvement.

So far, there hasn't been much additional improvement at all. Just a few spots looked better today.

Even though the wind is coming from the north and northwest, the swells are hitting almost directly from the east.

The better spots are few and scattered. That means you have to hunt for them.

I'm sticking with a 2 rating on my Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Scale.

To remind you, it is a five point scale with 1 being poor and 5 excellent.


The following signs were posted at various St. Lucie County Beaches.




If any you know what this is about, let me know so I can share it.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/30/11 Report - Upgraded Beach Conditions

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

The wind was blowing pretty good last night. I decided to see what was happening on the treasure beaches on the Treasure Coast. The following will give you a good idea.

Beach at John Brooks Park Before High Tide This Morning.

It doesn't look much good, but after high tide the cuts anc scallops were gone. It was mushy too.

It is surprising sometimes how quickly cuts can disappear or appear. Sometimes you only have a window of a couple of hours.

Anyhow, around noon today this beach looked poor.


Corrigan's Looking South Before High Tide This Morning.

Looks pretty much like John Brooks at about the same time.

I wasn't impressed.

Seagrape Trail Looking North Before High Tide This Morning.

About the same, but in my opinion a touch better than Corrigans.

This beach has been a bit better than Corrigan's for a while now, in my opinion.

OH, by the way, Rio Mar didn't look any good at all. Just a mushy beach.

Wabasso in Front of Disney This Morning.

You can see the high cliff well enough. At the bottom of the cliff, it was pretty mushy.

It looked like it might be OK when low tide came. Worth a look anyhow.

Maybe also check along the bottom of the cliff, as well was down by the water at low tide.

Sebastian Inlet State Park Looking South Towards McClarty.

I thought the best bets were here, Wabasso, and then third, Seagrape.

Up here, the water was getting back close to the cuts near the face of the dunes that occurred earlier in October. I'd look for new cuts close to the dunes and close to the old cuts and detect in front of that.

Also up by the inlet.

I'm predicting that there will be some cobs found this week. That is the second time I predicted that this month, and the last time I was right.

I don't know yet if it will be just a few or more. That depends upon how things develop through the week.

I'm giving a Treasure Coast Treasure Beach Detecting Conditions rating of a 2 - up from a 1 (poor).

That upgrade is based partly on what I've seen so far and partly on what I expect as a minimum the next couple of days.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net