Beach metal detecting secrets – Lugworms

I have been metal detecting on the beach for many years and in that time I have picked up some great tips and little secrets to increasing my finds on the beach.

All beaches can be different and you need to adapt these secrets to your given beach. With this in mind, here’s an interesting beach metal detecting secret I want to share with you. It will help you find more and it has certainly helped me over the years.


Look for the deep Lugworm
Yes, you read it correctly, ‘look for the deep lugworms’, which give their positions away with their sandy worm casts.

Believe it or not, the beach Lugworm can help you find those deeper and possibly more valuable finds, but How, I hear you ask?

It’s fairly simple but an effective way of finding areas to possibly concentrate on. The dark black sand that lies beneath the soft shifting sands of the upper layers of the beach can be very productive for finds of all sorts. This is because this hard packed dark sand traps finds that have worked their way through the finer upper sands and is usually out of the reach of beach metal detectors. The finds in these darken hard packed sands have also been there for some time, out of the reach of most metal detectors.

This layer of hard dark sand can lay undisturbed for years and only be brought into range of your detector by some of the violent winter storms. They can also be brought into range by the gentle erosion on some beaches which you would not notice if it wasn’t for the humble Lugworm.

Lugworm dig down into the sand and they can give away some clues to the dark dark sand beinglugworm near the surface in the form of worm casts on the beach.

We have all walked along the beach at some point and seen the Lugworm casts that resemble coiled worms made of sand.This is the Lugworm digging down into the sand and pushing the sand out in the form of these coiled casts. The worms don’t stop when they reach the darker sand and as a result the worm cast on the beach show the pushed out sand from these dark layers.

As a result, it gives away the position of the dark, hard packed sand near the surface. Not all beaches have lots of Lugworms or the correct conditions. If the beach does hold a Lugworm population, I would always advise you to keep your eyes open for the signs, and those darker Lugworm casts.

The dark hard packed sand is nearer the surface and could hold some great finds, it will certainly hold the older finds. This is one of my odder metal detecting secrets, but one that has helped on certain beaches.

Taken from: Here

Beach Search Patterns "How do you search yours?" Part 1#

Searching beaches can present a number of problems for the novice detectorist. The beach you're planning to search could be huge! Or maybe it’s covered in signs that you read about, scallops, tide marks, cuts and so on. Then again you may be on the clock. The great thing about learning about the beaches your search is that no matter what machine you use this information will stand to you for years to come.

The Quick Search.

If you are just scouting a new location or stopping by at a beach you always liked the look of. it can be more beneficial to target the more productive areas first. Areas such as the low tide mark, towel line, paths and handy seating locations. Remember even if you're only pulling up newer coins, pull tabs and other common junk targets. These finds can be very handy when you profile your new location.

Tip: always keep a small note pad and pen handy. Sketch your new beach and mark your finds and other characteristics roughly. You can review your notes later and build a new plan of action for next time.

If the location has common markers such as scallops, cuts, gravel bars and sand riffles hit these first and see what you come up with. Take note of the feel of the sand under your feet squashy soft sand normally means you're far from the hard pack and heavy gravel under the surface of the beach.

Items will sink down to the denser hard pack and rest there and your detector may not reach the entire way pass the sand overburden. This is why beach detectorist get weak in the knees after a storm has stripped the light sand from the beach exposing the hard pack and gravel.

If you’re new beach is smooth and relatively gravel free a new search pattern is required. A repeating "W" search pattern works out best.

This works well because you can cover larger portions of the beach looking for lines of targets. If you find a target halt the "W" pattern and search in a straight line for a bit. You may have found a streak of targets or a small pocket of targets. Some detectorist will search in a spiral pattern starting from the location of the first find.

Even if you are short on time during your session take five minutes to look over the beach from a vantage point. Just like your targets you should make a quick note of anything that stands out. When you head home fire up google maps and see if what you have experienced on the ground translates to patterns found on the map view.

Normal Search Patterns

On a normal day detecting on the beach I like to search left to right from the high tide mark following the tide as it heads out from the shore. Of course if you arrive on the beach and it has some nicely defined markers or it has been stripped I like to concentrate on those markers. I still follow the left to right pattern but only over these hot areas.

If you are digging targets look for changes in the sand, gravel or clay you are digging. I always find the good targets reside in the layer of dark, almost black layer of clay. This layer is below the gravel and crushed shell layer. Normally it stinks too! So you will know it forever more after that first time. This layer is so tightly packed that metals that the sea would normally devour can survive much longer.

Tips for Gold Panning

Here are some tips for gold panning.
With Gold at well over $1000 an ounce, not only is panning for gold a good way to have fun it can also be a profitable hobby. Gold panning is an easy hobby to get started as the only equipment that is absolutely needed is a gold pan and a container to hold all the gold that you find. Not just a hobby for those in Alaska or California, gold is well distributed across the United States and chances are that gold can be found in the streams near you.

A great tip for finding more gold when panning is to practice at home. Small lead shot used for loading shotgun shells or lead shaved off of fishing sinkers and other lead items can be used to practice cheaply at home. Mix the lead with sand and small gravel and practice until you can reliably pan out the lead.

As gold is even denser than lead, if you can catch the lead you will almost certainly catch the gold in your pan. When tossing out larger rocks from your pan, turn them over in your hands and give them a quick look. You don't want to be throwing away gold that is stuck to the rock. Quartz rock is especially likely to contain gold. Shake the rocks in the water as well to knock off any loose material that also may contain gold.

Another great tip for gold panning is to use a drop or two of dishwashing liquid in your pan. This is especially useful when panning extremely fine gold. The soap will help to keep the small flakes of gold from floating on the surface of the water. While gold is denser than water, the very small flakes will sometimes float due to surface tension.

A magnet is a useful piece of equipment to add to your gold panning kit. When you are trying to separate gold from black sand, the magnet can be used to attract and remove the black sand so that you can get to the gold. Special magnetic tools are available for this purpose, but regular magnets will also work. Another useful tip for panning for gold is to pan in places that are difficult to reach and that are uncomfortable to work. Most areas that are easy to access and easy to work probably have been worked over numerous times, but the less easy places might harbor a lot of gold for you to find. These are just a few tips that can be used to make gold panning more successful. T

he best tip for gold panning is to simply spend more time panning for gold.

Published by J. Motes Motes has been published in a variety of national and regional publications on subjects ranging from frugal living to rabbit hunting.

Cscope CS4PI Pulse Induction Metal Detector Review

Given the amount of beaches we have in Ireland (East Cork in particular) a pulse induction machine seemed to be the way to go.

The machine itself is pretty simple with an automatic ground balance system all the user needs to worry about is switching on and hitting the beach. There isn't a pin pointing mode but finding your target is pretty easy because of the concentric coil search head. Using the side step method you can get a pretty good fix on your target.

Best thing about this machine is that when it beeps there is something down there under the coil simple as that. It does suffer from the same drawbacks of other pulse induction machines there is no discrimination of any kind so just dig every target.

I've had a chance to take this detector to a location that has some very mineralized sections and as such sections are no go for other types of detectors I've used. I've taken this machine into the worst sections of the beach and found plenty of the normal junk that I'd expect to find all over the the rest of the beach. As above if it beeps there is a target that needs digging.

Other things to note.

The control unit is not water proof so just be aware of this. You can belt mount the control unit making the detector very light indeed. If the machine gets a bump it will give a prolonged beep that lasts for a few seconds (1-2) as it re balances this seems to be normal so don't worry too much when this happens.

The overall build quality is good with the upper stem being metal and the lower a tough plastic. The control box is made out of a really good quality heavy duty plastic. It can also be belt mounted (The machine is supplied with a little belt attachment). The search coil is submersible and comes with a scratch cover as standard.

Video Review:

Here is a review that I found helpful when I was making decision to purchase.