Garrett Atx Return To Hawaii

[Steve Herschbach]

Recently bought 2 Tesoro Sand Sharks( 8"and 10" coils) and plan to start my "beach gold prospecting" very soon. When out nugget shooting in the desert recently, I realized just how beaten to death the nugget patches have become and there is no doubt in my mind this new GPZ will "mop up" what little is left. That will be it for the next 10 or so million years. On the other hand, people going to the beach will keep replenishing jewelry in the sand much faster than mother nature in the gold fields so it got me thinking of my options. Living just 15 miles from the beach and a scuba diver most of my life I'm excited to try something new. Except now instead of diving with spear gun and ab iron I'll be swinging a detector.

I love beach detecting! Gold is gold. And surf detecting is every bit as challenging as prospecting, more so in rough surf. I can only take 3-4 hours at a time. Walking the beach on the other hand is literally a walk in the park, and the digging could not be easier.

Beach detecting varies a lot based on the location, and locals have a real advantage by being able to take advantage of storm conditions. There are interesting parallels to nugget prospecting.

1. You need a source of gold. Think about the jewelry you want to find, then think about where the people will be that would lose it. You want big dollar stuff, you have to go where the big dollar people will be. My location in Hawaii is more middle class and the finds reflect that.

2. The gold has to get lost. On the beach the "towel line" where beach towels are laid and jewelry taken off is an obvious target. Anywhere volleyball, football or frisbee is played is good. Hands flinging and tossing. In the water the sweet zone tends to be as far out as people can stand, and lots of action taking places near shore. Sparser the farther out you get.

3. The beach works just like a stream and sand comes and goes. Pockets form, light aluminum and bottlecaps in some places, heavy stuff in another. Deep sand is no good unless recently scoured or a recent drop. Thinner sand on a hard base like I had is best.

That is just a few tidbits, and lots more to it than people think, just like prospecting. The best books are by Gary Drayton http://www.garydrayton.com/New_Sovereign_book_.php and Clive Clynick http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/

You really hit the nail on the head though. Gold nugget patches deplete and are gone. The gold takes too long to renew. Jewelry endlessly renews and I will be park and beach hunting for jewelry long after my nugget hunting days are over. The other plus is I can hunt jewelry absolutely anywhere there are people. Where people are people play, and when people play they lose jewelry. My best jewelry find last year was a heavy platinum ring in a city park not far from my house.

[Hard Prospector]

Thanks Steve, I'll take all the advice I can get for this new game I'm jumping into....Rob

[ddmk6]

Nice haul...you earned every one of them.  That surf will pound the crap out of you.

 

Kenny

[LipCa]

Steve, your attire is something else :-)

When I was there, the locals told me that the sharks come in close to shore to feed at night???!!!

They advised NOT to get in the water.

[Bearkat]

My settings for beach hunting are the same as yours on my ATX, except I use the stock DD. Which is a pain in the ass in hard surf. Thanks for this great write up Steve, I will now give the 8" mono a go in the surf...Not much luck last week at Newport Beach California. Just gave up and played in the water.

[Steve Herschbach]

The 8" mono is effortless in the water and for where I was hunting fit better in the bottom of coral pockets and other depressions. Easier pinpointing also which is important underwater. I will probably use the stock coil in fresh water lakes however.

[sjmpainter]

Not much of a jewelry hunter but working on it. What I am curious is how to best to identify the quality of the jewelry IE 14 k verse 18 k gold or silver plated verse Platinum?

[fredmason]

Steve;

A man for all detecting seasons!!!

nice finds

fred

[Steve Herschbach]

On 4/13/2015 at 10:26 PM, sjmpainter said:

Not much of a jewelry hunter but working on it. What I am curious is how to best to identify the quality of the jewelry IE 14 k verse 18 k gold or silver plated verse Platinum?

They are usually clearly marked 14K or 18K. In the case of platinum usually marked 900 (90% platinum). If no marks at all it is probably costume jewelry but not always, as people can and do make their own jewelry. When in doubt Google is your friend. Here is a handy chart from https://www.hooverandstrong.com/metal-information

HGE (heavy gold electroplate), gold filled, plated, RGP (rolled gold plated), and EP (electroplated) identify jewelry that is rolled, filled, or plated with gold. In other words, not solid gold and much less valuable.

In the UK especially hallmarks are used to identify the jeweler. http://www.gold-traders.co.uk/hallmarks/ In the U.S. big name jewelry is similarly identified.

[Featherdfishead]

Thanks for the info through out the post Steve. I never get to the ocean but will be using my SDC at the local swimming holes and lakes this summer. A chic i know told me were she tossed her diamond wedding ring in a local swimming hole last year when she left her husband. Luckily its in a stream that the substrate rarely turns over much. Looking forward to trying to find it.

AjR