Holes and troughs in the water

When you are water hunting close to shore and drop into an area or pocket of deeper water, you may have walked into a prime water hunting situation called a "Hole."

That is exactly what happened to me a few years back when I found this 18K chain and crucifix. 

I also found two silver chains that weighed about the same as the gold chain, and several lead fishing weights. 

You can sometimes spot holes close to shore by the darker water,  an area of deeper water stands out from the surrounding water when you cannot see the light colored sandy bottom from the lower beach. 

Targets of the same size and density are often found together in the same area inside the water, I once found nine gold rings within a 12 foot square area in one hole. 

If you find several lead fishing weights in a hole, there is a good chance you may also find gold in the same hole. 

Not all holes in the water are productive, but the closer the hole is to a busier stretch of beach, the more chances you have of finding gold and silver jewelry.

I saw several holes in the water last weekend at a local beach, but unfortunately the surf was too high and rough to attempt to search any of them.  

If you are lucky enough to find a hole in the water and get a chance to search it, always make sure you stay until you cannot detect any more targets. 

As quickly as holes in the water appear, they often disappear just as quickly, never assume they will still be there if you return the next day.  

I returned to the same local beach yesterday,  although the holes close to the sand bar had filled in, I saw a deeper area of water running paralel to the shore called a trough.
One section of the trough had many pieces of jewelry swirling around in bottom of the trough,  although I only found one small 18K & Platinum ring ladies ring it made a change to find a large amount of jewelry at a sanded in beach.

Treat holes or troughs in the water like a cut on the beach,  hammer and make the most of prime metal detecting situations.