2\/ A Few Maxims–and the Wisdom Behind Them<\/strong><\/p>\n

I recently asked a top local hunter for any tips that might go into my next book.\u00a0 He replied: \u201cGet yourself a big box of Q-Tips and clean all the wax out of your ears so you can hear the deep ones…\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Thanks–I wish it were that easy.<\/p>\n

I include some of these maxims because of their value in teaching course correction and good judgment.\u00a0 They represent tried and true general principles that can make you a more effective treasure hunter–\u201dold school wisdom\u201d –if you will.<\/p>\n

If I could point to one maxim or idea that’s helped me to find treasure it would be this:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to find some gold with a metal detector, first find some gold, then place the detector directly over it\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Simple–but brilliant.\u00a0 The point is to expend your energy at the locations with the best chance of producing what you are looking for.\u00a0 When you have put some thought in to why the location you are searching should have what you are looking for–half the battle is done.\u00a0 For example–look for the areas of a site where activities overlap or pedestrian traffic is funnelled into a particular section.\u00a0 The part with the detector and scoop are only the last part of the operation.<\/p>\n

Well-known \u201cWestern and Eastern Treasures Magazine \u201cTech Talk\u201d columnist Ty Brook also touched on this idea when he stated another idea that’s central to treasure hunting success:<\/p>\n

\u201c…whenever I feel that some good targets have to be in a particular area–I don’t give up until I figure some way to detect those targets.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

(Inside Treasure Hunting, by |Ty Brook, 1999, Confederate Rose Publishing).<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n

For the beach hunter, these two ideas mean one thing: \u201cKnow thy sites!\u201d Where have gold and silver been found before here?\u00a0 Or at a new location: \u201cWhat site features remind you of places that you have found gold and silver before?\u201d Which of the equipment and methods that you have to work with will give me a better shot at recovering what’s there?\u00a0 What clues are evident at a site that indicate the place is worth some effort?\u00a0 One of my early experiences illustrates this:\u00a0 Behind my house there was a vacant lot that was a cut-through between two busy streets.\u00a0 At one point I went out there with my first detector–a White’s Coinmaster 6DB.\u00a0 After hunting for a while and finding nothing I noticed the bent over links at the top of the low chain link fence.\u00a0 Clearly this was where people got into the lot by climbing in.\u00a0 Hunting below this section of fence produced several dozen quarters.\u00a0\u00a0 The point is–play your hunches–thoroughly and to completion.<\/p>\n

An understanding of human action is also important here\u2014the patterns of how people interact with a site over time.\u00a0 This comes from observation.<\/p>\n

I would also add to Ty’s hugely valuable advice: \u201c…to find a way to separate<\/u> those targets from what they are mixed in with.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 (More on this later).<\/p>\n

One saying of mine that’s been quoted a lot is that:<\/p>\n

\u201cDetectors don’t find gold\u2014observation does.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

So the question is not just \u201cWhere is there some gold and silver to find\u201d but– \u201cHow and why did it come to be there?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at an example of these principles in action:<\/p>\n

At one busy Caribbean site I hunt, there’s one length of beach that’s always produced gold.\u00a0 The resort is high-end, and this one section is the busiest water entry point.\u00a0 The sidewall is steep so people clamber to leave the water.\u00a0 A lot of gold is lost this way.\u00a0 Also, it’s a section where the waves can be quite rough—it’s the \u201chead of the bay\u201d.<\/p>\n

Over time, observation and past success have taught me that if I just work this small section hard enough–some gold almost always turns up.\u00a0 While much of the surrounding beach looks similar–even the number of swimmers–it’s this one section that always produces.\u00a0 When you can consistently identify these perpetual \u201chotspots\u201d and direct your efforts accordingly you are light years ahead.<\/p>\n

Where you have areas that are almost similar with one producing finds and one not–this represents a key learning opportunity in that whatever differences there are<\/em> have great importance.\u00a0\u00a0 These represent vital clues that teach us exactly where to look for gold.<\/p>\n

It’s this kind of full-field, detailed observational focus that I hope to encourage with this book.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere there’s one, there’s more.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A top pro buddy of mine says this often.\u00a0 While there are certainly such things as \u201canomaly\u201d finds, where you have ground that produces gold and silver consistently, there is always more to be found.\u00a0 These finds may be currently out of detector range.\u00a0 This is another important area of observation–understanding\u00a0 the overall strata of a site, and watching the grade of these busy areas for changes.\u00a0 At inland sites, changing moisture levels can also bring up new signals where there had been none before.\u00a0 More generally, the precise set of conditions<\/u><\/em> that are needed for gold to be present at a location are not that common.\u00a0 Your best clue to where gold can be found is where it has been found before.\u00a0 This is where experience comes in.\u00a0 Every gold target you find has valuable information to tell.\u00a0 How many people had to enter the water or sunbathe at a spot for a gold item to be lost?\u00a0 What sand levels were needed to expose it?\u00a0 Was it lost at that spot or moved by the current?\u00a0 All of this information comes from that first find–pointing you towards the next one.<\/p>\n

From: “Water Hunting: Secrets of the Pros: Volume 2” by Clive James Clynick<\/p>\n

clivesgoldpage.com<\/p>\n

 
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