Weekend Finds

Jordan and I went out for a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday to do a little detecting.  We have been trying a new spot that appears to not have been hit as hard as some of the local parks.  Yesterday we had about a dollar in clad along with this nice pendant.  It is a Saint Christopher pendant with Sterling and Hayward on the back.  After doing a little research it appears to be made by the W.E. Hayward Sterling Co.  They have been in business since around 1851 and is supposed to be the oldest jewelry company in America.  This pendant was probably made around the 1950s.  The quarter in the picture is there for a size reference.  We didn't really find anything else Saturday.  Pulling the sterling silver pendant out of the ground made up for the lack of anything else.

We decided to hit the same area today and I am glad we did.  Although we didn't find much clad, the day turned out great.  It was a bit on the chilly side, especially for an idiot like myself that went out in shorts.  I believe the temp was in the mid to upper 40s.  Anyways right off the bat I started digging wheaties.  We managed to pull a total of 5 wheaties on the day.  I also dug a very nice 1919 D Mercury Dime.  The highlight of the day came when I dug a 1940 Walking Liberty Half Dollar.  This is my second Walking Liberty half and forth half dollar I have dug with the E-Trac.

I can't wait to get back to this same spot as there is still a lot of ground that we have not covered.  I am confident that there are still quite a few silvers waiting to be found there!

Metal Detecting Equipment

I will start off my metal detecting posts with a description of the equipment that I use.  My detector is the Minelabs E-Trac.  For those familiar with metal detectors, you will know that this is one of the higher end and more expensive detectors out there.  I bought mine in March 2011 from Detector Depot in Knoxville, Tn.  They are great folks there and have amazing pricing and deals.  As for the detector itself, I couldn't imagine detecting with anything else.  It has found targets that other detectors of folks I was detecting with could not find.  It is hands down worth every penny that I paid for it.  I don't know that I would recommend it to someone who was just getting into metal detecting mainly due to it's price.  For most people the E-Trac costs a good deal and is more than they should be spending on a hobby unless they are 100% certain they will be sticking with it.  That said, for anyone who has been detecting for a while or is certain they are going to stick with it, then I would highly recommend the E-Trac.  In my opinion it can't be beat.

Aside from your detector, one of the most important tools I feel that a person needs is a good probe.  The probe is used to find the target in the ground once the hole has been dug.  It makes things so much easier and faster to have a good probe.  There are many out there to choose from.  I first used a cheap probe that got me by, but was difficult to use.  I then bought the Garret Pro-pointer.  This probe is by far the best stand alone probe on the market.  It has a depth of about two inches, is relatively small, light weight and comes with a great belt holster.  Although it is one of the more expensive stand alone probes out there I would highly recommend this for the person just starting out or someone who has been detecting for years.  I would not waste my money with other stand alone probes.

I keep using the term "stand alone" probe and some might be wondering what exactly I mean by this.  Probes like the Garrett Pro-pointer can be used by itself for anything from metal detecting to looking for small metal objects like screws dropped into the carpet.  I eventually purchased and started using a probe called the Sun Ray X-1 Target Probe.  The X-1 goes in line between your coil of your detector and the detectors electronics.  It actually uses the detector to "probe" the hole you just dug for the target.  What makes this probe so nice is that this allows you to still see the target identification while in the hole.  When using a stand alone probe like the Garrett, you have no way of knowing what the probe is hitting on until it is out of the ground.  With the X-! you can still see exactly what the probe is pointing towards.  Although the X-1 is about twice the price the Garrett I would recommend this probe to anyone that is buying a higher end detector that is compatible with it.

The last two pieces of equipment I use that deserve to be pointed out are my headphones and digger.  The headphones that I use are the Sun Ray Pro Gold.  They are extremely comfortable and very durable.  Although you want to get a good quality set of headphones, I don't think that the brand is that important.  Just find a pair that is comfortable and works for your detector.  The digger that I use is the Lesche Model 85 made by Predator Tools.  I will freely admit that it is kind of pricey for a digger however after using several different gardening diggers bought from Lowes, Wal-Mart and various other big stores, the Lesche digger is worth every penny.  It cuts through the ground so much easier and makes a cleaner plug.

Although there are other pieces of equipment that I use while metal detecting these are the main items.  Hopefully someone will find this helpful and interesting.

New content on the blog

I have decided to add our metal detecting exploits to my blog entries.  At first I was going to keep this site for fishing, kayaking, hiking, etc; however, Jordan and I both love getting out there and metal detecting almost as much as we do fishing and kayaking.  I will also do some reviews on my equipment, which hopefully others will find useful.

Expect to see many new posts featuring this new topic!

Beaver Dam Creek

The weather around here has been great and we had a very mild winter. Jordan and I finally got the opportunity to get out and do some fishing this past weekend. It was the first time out this year for me however Jordan has been practically living on the creeks and rivers like normal.

I had wanted to hit Watauga for some wade fishing but unfortunately TVA was generating. We decided to head towards VA a little ways and try out Beaver Dam Creek. It has been quite some time since I had been there.

We started out the day at Backbone Rock.  We didn't have that much success there as only one trout was caught.  I did manage to slip while trying to get up the bank and twist my ankle pretty good.  Luckily my waders and the cold water kept everything from swelling for the remainder of the day.  Unfortunately I would hate life once I got home.  Gotta love getting older.

We stopped at a few places on the way back up stream and caught a few more trout.  Here is a shot of our big fish for the day caught by myself as normal.  I not only caught the big fish for the day but also out caught Jordan by 4:1.  I guess he was just trying to let me catch up for all the fishing I had missed out on this year.

This was one of the better looking browns I had seen in quite some time and also was a non-stocked fish.  It was probably somewhere around 14 or so inches.  For a small creek like we were on I will take it.

Unfortunately the water was up from recent rains and my ankle was killing me so we didn't get to fish as much as I wanted to.  Hopefully we will get to give it another shot before the summer is over.  I want to get a good bit of fishing in this summer as it is Jordan's last before heading off to college in the fall.

Be sure to check back as I plan to put up some reviews on a few things, one of which being the Trout Magnets by Leland's Lures.  I purchased one of the kits and plan to try them out this weekend.