Heavy competition

The expensive 18K gold, yellow sapphire & diamond ring below is a good example of having confidence in your own metal detecting abilities. 

The story of this ring is in a couple of my books about dealing with competition for metal detecting finds.
A few years ago I was searching along the first drop off inside the water on a popular south Florida tourist beach.
Several members of a local metal detecting club walked into the water a few feet in front of me and completely cut me off, by taking away the area I was going to search. 
While the club members plowed through the water ahead of me, I methodically plodded along in the waist deep water.
The group of water hunters returned to where I was still metal detecting, and one of the group laughed at me and asked if I had found any leftovers. 
I do not normally ever show people my finds on a beach, but I made an exception this time to help wipe the smile off the club members face.
I also showed a 22K gold wedding band to make the car ride home a little more depressing for the group who were going home empty handed.
No matter how many people are metal detecting in one area, the person with the better search technique will always be more successful. 
Never let other beach or water hunters throw you off your game plan.
Just because other people have walked over the ground ahead of you, does not mean the ground has been searched correctly.