I only search at low tide close to shore in rough surf, and that is only if I know I have a good chance of successfully recovering gold.
Back in 2012 as Hurricane Sandy churned along the east coast of Florida, the surf was rough for several days.
When it became safe enough to get in the water at low tide I knew I had a great chance of finding gold at one of my old hot spots.
This 18K gold ring with three large quality diamonds was my reward for getting pushed around in the surf close to shore with my CTX 3030.
The only reason I found this and a few other gold rings in the rough surf was an unusual search pattern I used to help me cover the area.
Instead of moving forward, I slowly moved backward with my body to the side, the strong current came from a northerly direction and the surf broke against the side of my body.
I stepped back, anchored my water hunting scoop in place then slowly swept my search coil twice.
Every short step back I would brace myself against the current using my scoop, on the beach side before sweeping my search coil twice to overlap my sweeps.
Just like ice skating, it was important not to over extend myself and lose my balance.
I only had a short window of opportunity during the low tide to search inside the water, but I knew it was almost impossible for any other water hunter to search the area correctly until the next low tide.
Three tide cycles was all it took to cover the area over in a thick carpet of sand, but I was there alone searching on the low tides in rough surf during those important first few days after the hurricane passed by.
I remember the signal from the diamond ring, much like the big 5 carat emerald ring on my website that I also found there. The diamond ring was a low whisper signal that could have only been detected by a slow moving water hunter and search coil.
Next time you are searching close to shore and fighting the current and surf, try seeing if searching backwards is a better option.
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