Site reading skills and using your beach hunting time wisely

Many beach hunters underestimate the importance of site reading skills, knowing where and when to look for jewelry or coins at the beach.

I have a beach hunting experience in my " How to read the beach and water" book that sums up site reading in a nutshell.

Many years ago I was searching a Treasure Coast beach for Spanish1715 fleet treasure coins and artifacts, and thought to myself how lucky I was to have the beach all to myself towards low tide. 

An old guy parked his truck at the top of the beach and walked onto the beach and down towards the water with his metal detector and scoop, but after looking around for five minutes he walked straight off the beach without even turning his metal detector on. 

My first thought was how hardcore I am plugging away until I find a treasure coin and I also foolishly thought maybe I scared the guy off using my methodical search pattern. 

On the way home I spotted the other guys truck parked at the next beach down the road, so I turned around and checked out the beach.

I could see where the old guy had dug plenty of holes as he too had methodically gridded out the lower beach.

Not sure what the person found, but I know it was more stuff than me because he actually detected and dug stuff up. 

 I could not buy a signal on the sanded-in stretch of beach I had just wasted my time at.

Over the years I saw the wily old veteran beach hunter at several other Treasure Coast beaches known for Spanish shipwreck coins and artifacts. 

I knew exactly what had happened all those years ago, because I am now the wily veteran beach hunter, who does not just keep plugging away regardless of the beach conditions. 

Instead, I use my site reading skills to insure I use my detecting time wisely. 
All I really need to see is one or two promising beach hunting signs, to make a site worth searching. 
When I see poor beach hunting conditions, I know better than trying to make something happen that is clearly not going to happen. 

Recently I observed 3 to 4 ft cuts on several beach web cams, but instead of grabbing my metal detector and rushing to the beach I spent my time wisely with my family instead of wasting time searching cuts in replenished sand. 

Knowing when not to hunt can be just as handy as knowing when to hunt, especially when your beach hunting time is limited.

Beach and more specifically site reading skills are a huge advantage to a local beach hunter who regularly searches the same beaches. 

You know where to look and when to go, leaving less likelihood of going home empty handed. 

The beach can be your own personal jewelry store, when you have a window of opportunity to take away some jewelry. 

It's not how many hours you metal detect at the beach, it's where, how and when you search at the beach. 

Knowing what to look for at a beach or site within the site is one of the keys to beach hunting success. 

Knowing when not to search is one of the rewards of being able to read a beach and being the master of your local beaches. 

If you go days weeks or even months without finding what you are searching for at the beach, you need to try different sites or work on your beach reading skills. 

I stopped digging targets I know are junk just in case I miss one good target a long time ago. I also rely on experience to avoid wasting time talking long fruitless walks on the beach. 

This is the reason you never see me walk onto the beach turn my metal detector on and just search along a straight line like the majority of beach hunters do. 

I prefer to use my site reading skills to determine where I will head to, then I turn my metal detector on after I arrive at a specific site at the beach.

If the beach does not look very promising, I move on or go home, either way I always try to use my beach hunting time wisely.
This is probably one of my least productive years for beach found old coins and artifacts, but it has been a really good year for modern bling with over 20 ounces of gold jewelry. 
I know I have spent my beach and water hunting time wisely this year, cutting down on the amount of time I travel to detect and relying on my beach reading and site selection skills.
Here is a nice chunk of platinum and 18K I recovered in January, I walked along a stretch of beach with five other beach and water hunters in the area, until I saw an area that looked like it had the best jewelry hunting potential. 

I am not so sure this heavy chunk would have been waiting for me if I had wasted my detecting time walking around hoping to get lucky.