Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
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Source: madkeen.com (See specific link below.)
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There are at least two distinct types of beach knowledge. One is the general ability to read beaches, and the other is knowledge about the unique characteristics of specific beaches.
These days it seems almost everybody talks about "reading a beach." My first posts on that topic were done back in 2008, although I was reading beaches long before that.
People have been reading beaches for a long time - well before most of the current generation of detectorists was doing it. It didn't take treasure hunters long to notice that blackened coins showed up on the beaches after storms.
One thing that is very different today is that a lot more gets published. You can watch YouTube videos and read blogs and forums. Those didn't exist back thirty or forty years ago. Back then detectorists were generally much less talkative. Some went to great lengths to remain invisible. Some of the best detectorists hunted at night so they wouldn't be observed. They weren't about to give anyone else their secrets. Of course there were always a few who liked to talk, but most remained very tight lipped. Now people come along, observe what others have been doing, read what others have to say, put it in a book, slap a picture of their face on the cover along with some finds and sell it as their own.
I remember once getting a call from somebody who wanted me to sell me some type of oil investment. I thought if it was as good as he says, why is he on the phone trying to sell it to me. According to him, a small investment would quickly become a fortune, so why didn't he just do that. I feel similarly about people who are trying to sell books filled with information they got from somebody else without giving any credit. There are all kinds of people in the world.
One thing you must do if you conduct any kind of serious academic or scientific research is give credit to the various sources that you use. In a research report, you would include a review of the literature. That includes everything relevant that has been published up to the point of your investigation. The literature review gives a history of the state of knowledge on the subject and gives credit to the people who contributed that knowledge.
If you've been watching the daily Coronavirus task force you'll notice that Dr. Fauci has a very conservative approach that demands good hard research and data. You'd expect that from a person in his position. He would naturally have a different attitude and perspective than somebody working alone with people in poor remote regions of the world that have to do what they can with what they have to solve immediate problems. The press doesn't seem to understand that or much of anything else.
But back to reading beaches - detectorists are not the only people who do it these days. I just ran across a fishing blog that talks about reading beaches. It seems that many fishing sites talk about it.
Here is the link to the one I bumped into.
https://blog.madkeen.com.au/how-to-read-a-beach/
I didn't actually read much of it but saw some good illustrations on one post. At the top of this post is one of those.
To me that seems more like reading the water than reading the beach, but that isn't important, and it is still food information for both shallow water hunters as well as land hunters. The tides will go out.
You'd think the gutter is a good place to hunt, and it can be, but sometimes it is too shallow and is filled with loose sand and shells. Even then it can be a good spot to find some types of objects - watches for example.
I still remember the first time I got caught in a rip tide. At that time I knew nothing about rip tides. I just felt myself getting pulled out. That was between Hollywood beach and Dania beach. It was a little scary.
It is helpful to know how the sand is moving. One thing I used to say a lot is "Follow the sand, but don't catch it." When the sand moves it ends up in one location, but has left another. Generally you want to be where the sand was - not where it is.
A sand bar can be moving in or out. If people have been playing on it, there can be good items on the sand bar. If the bar is moving towards the shore, things that were dropped earlier can be uncovered. That is something that applies more often but not exclusively to hunting modern jewelry.
Gutters can be good, but they aren't always good places to hunt. It depends upon how deeply they are scoured. You can usually tell in just a second or two. If the gutter is filled with coarse pieces of shells, it probably isn't very good. There are a few types of items, however, that will often be found in shallow gutters, That includes watches.
Rip tides and gutters can create fantastic hunting. If the loose cover gets cleaned out down to bedrock, it can be a real bonanza until it fills in again.
One mistake I made on more than one occasion is not staying to clean an area like that out before it refilled. Sometimes those types of spots can last for days, but they can quickly disappear.
What I started out to talk about was the difference between the general skill of reading a beach, and beach-specific knowledge. If you know the general principles, you can walk onto any beach and use those skills, but it also helps to have a good knowledge of specific beaches.
If you hunt a particular beach enough, you will learn its unique habits. You will learn where things tend to show up, and under what conditions. If you hunt a particular beach enough, you will know where the good spots are. Very seldom will somebody give you that kind of information. And it takes a while to acquire.
Beaches will change over time though. I've known some spots that were good for years or even decades, but they eventually changed.
To sum up my main point today, there is a general knowledge beach dynamics that you can apply to any beach, but there is also beach-specific knowledge, which is best acquired by working that beach for months and years. If you have a good beach and are lucky enough to be able to hunt it enough so that you know it inside and out, you will have a huge advantage over anybody who does not know it as well.
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If you've been watching the daily Coronavirus task force you'll notice that Dr. Fauci has a very conservative approach that demands good hard research and data. You'd expect that from a person in his position. He would naturally have a different attitude and perspective than somebody working alone with people in poor remote regions of the world that have to do what they can with what they have to solve immediate problems. The press doesn't seem to understand that or much of anything else.
But back to reading beaches - detectorists are not the only people who do it these days. I just ran across a fishing blog that talks about reading beaches. It seems that many fishing sites talk about it.
Here is the link to the one I bumped into.
https://blog.madkeen.com.au/how-to-read-a-beach/
I didn't actually read much of it but saw some good illustrations on one post. At the top of this post is one of those.
To me that seems more like reading the water than reading the beach, but that isn't important, and it is still food information for both shallow water hunters as well as land hunters. The tides will go out.
You'd think the gutter is a good place to hunt, and it can be, but sometimes it is too shallow and is filled with loose sand and shells. Even then it can be a good spot to find some types of objects - watches for example.
I still remember the first time I got caught in a rip tide. At that time I knew nothing about rip tides. I just felt myself getting pulled out. That was between Hollywood beach and Dania beach. It was a little scary.
It is helpful to know how the sand is moving. One thing I used to say a lot is "Follow the sand, but don't catch it." When the sand moves it ends up in one location, but has left another. Generally you want to be where the sand was - not where it is.
A sand bar can be moving in or out. If people have been playing on it, there can be good items on the sand bar. If the bar is moving towards the shore, things that were dropped earlier can be uncovered. That is something that applies more often but not exclusively to hunting modern jewelry.
Gutters can be good, but they aren't always good places to hunt. It depends upon how deeply they are scoured. You can usually tell in just a second or two. If the gutter is filled with coarse pieces of shells, it probably isn't very good. There are a few types of items, however, that will often be found in shallow gutters, That includes watches.
Rip tides and gutters can create fantastic hunting. If the loose cover gets cleaned out down to bedrock, it can be a real bonanza until it fills in again.
One mistake I made on more than one occasion is not staying to clean an area like that out before it refilled. Sometimes those types of spots can last for days, but they can quickly disappear.
What I started out to talk about was the difference between the general skill of reading a beach, and beach-specific knowledge. If you know the general principles, you can walk onto any beach and use those skills, but it also helps to have a good knowledge of specific beaches.
If you hunt a particular beach enough, you will learn its unique habits. You will learn where things tend to show up, and under what conditions. If you hunt a particular beach enough, you will know where the good spots are. Very seldom will somebody give you that kind of information. And it takes a while to acquire.
Beaches will change over time though. I've known some spots that were good for years or even decades, but they eventually changed.
To sum up my main point today, there is a general knowledge beach dynamics that you can apply to any beach, but there is also beach-specific knowledge, which is best acquired by working that beach for months and years. If you have a good beach and are lucky enough to be able to hunt it enough so that you know it inside and out, you will have a huge advantage over anybody who does not know it as well.
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Many of the Florida beaches are now closed. Indian River and Vero beaches will be closed Sunday. So will the Hobe Sound beaches.
St. Lucie County beaches, I understand, at this point will remain open. One local official thought it would provide a good outdoor outlet for people, but the situation will be monitored and the decision could be changed. Safe outdoor activities can provide relief from stress that might otherwise cause some people to go stir-crazy and do something less safe.
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Both Mitch King and Joe D. identified the silver item that looked something like an small but unclosed ring as a girls toe ring. That seems conclusive.
Thanks guys.
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Don't let the beach closures stop you. There are still places to hunt. It might be a good time to try some new types of areas.
Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
