Do not get discouraged if you do not find treasure every time you go metal detecting. Chances are you won’t be so lucky, but do not let that stop you from trying. It’s juts like anything else you have to keep doing it. The more time you put in, the more likely you will find some goodies.

Even if you have the best metal detector in the world and the conditions on the beach are excellent, you won’t find anything if you do not go out. Sometimes you just won’t find anything simply because your in the wrong place at the wrong time. You need to be in the right place at the right time and when it happens it is golden.

It is an odds game. The more you dig, the more you will find. It’s just that simple. With that said, it is a hobby but don’t let it consume you. It is very easy to get gold fever once you start finding it.

I hunt an average of around three hours when ever I get out. At times I have done very well, other times I have not but I have never walked away empty handed. I always try to keep a positive attitude. It is amazing how well positive thinking works and how projecting positive energy mikes life a whole lot easier.

On my hunt the other day, I was not finding much if anything but the beach was nice, a little cool for me. I had to wear a long sleeved shirt but could still go barefoot. I love the way the sand feels under my feet. I found a spot on the beach that looked different and up to this point, I had only found some pull tabs and other garbage. This area had several depressions that were like giant puddles.  It was a major difference to the rest of the beach which looked like a large flat slate so I decided to work this spot a little harder than usual.

My first target was an old pair of sunglasses. My observations seem to be correct. This might be a good spot after all. My next target was the largest silver earing I have ever found. It is so large that I thought it was a bracelet. It’s hard to stay focused when you start to get excited. You have to remember, go slow. My next target was just a few inches from the large earing. It was a neat silver ring. I continued finding goodies in this spot. I had been detecting about two hours before finding that sticky spot and it just goes to show that persistence pays.

Metal detecting at the beach is always fun even if your not finding anything. Who could complain.

Some of the best times to detect the beach are when the weather is at it’s worst. The wind might be blowing twenty or thirty knots, the rain pouring down and the air surrounding you is colder than your freezer at home. For some strange reason these conditions seem to produce some great finds.

Even with the best beach conditions, you still need to know what to look for. Time will teach you where the treasures are deposited and I can give you a few hints as well.

Sometimes the perfect hunting spot on the beach sticks out like a sore thumb. You might notice an area that runs parallel to the beach that has been cut. What do I mean by cut? A cut is when a large amount of sand has been removed by the elements. It creates a cliff where the waves hit the dunes. Sometimes these cuts are very deep and run for miles. When they do you had better be out there hunting because as soon as they disappear so do the treasures.

Other times reading the beach is not so easy. It is best to go a few hours before low tide and start. As you get to the beach, go about half way between the dunes and the water and look back and forth parallel to the beach. If it looks like a large flat slate then you have your work cut out for you.  If you see troughs or sloughs or any kind of puddling or depressions these would be the spots to hit first. If you ever see a spot that looks great and you think to yourself, I will get that spot on the way back or in just minute. Don’t! By the time you get back to that spot someone else might have come in and gotten all of the gold. Hit any spots that look promising first.  In time you will learn to read the beach and your finds will increase.

I know it might sound funny but if your going to start beach metal detecting one of the most important things to accomplish is learning to read the beach. The beach is trying to tell you something and it takes a little time, patience and practice to learn what is written in the sand.

If you are hunting the same beach or beaches , pay special attention to the sand and try to determine if it has moved. If you can find where the sand has been moved away, then your chances of finding gold or other items increases greatly.

The easiest way that I found to do this is with markers or land marks.  Some beaches have posts and signs showing you where to go or park. Try to notice where the sand is and make a mental note of it. You will be surprised when you start doing this at how much the sand moves and it does move quite frequently. It is an ocean of sand that is constantly be shaped and reshaped by the elements and buried within it are treasures of many kinds that move right along with it. Trees and rocks also make great landmarks for determining sand movement.

The biggest mover of sand on the beach would have to be seasons and the weather associated with the changing of seasons. Of course large storms will have a great affect on the sand. These storms do not even have to be very close. A Big storm out in the ocean can send large waves for hundreds of miles until they reach the shore. Pay close attention to the wind and wave direction. If you see a period of dramatic change, get your gear ready and start hunting.

Once you start to understand how the sand is moving and being distributed your chances of finding treasure increases dramatically.