From time to time, a local swimming hole is drained for repairs and maintenance, so I have gained permission to hunt by purchasing a permit and following their rules. I was allowed in the hole, yesterday 11/27/2013. I was told that no one had access to the hole that is on private property and fenced in. Soon as I saw the sand in the hole I knew that someone had jumped the fence and hunted it without permission. I was very disappointed to see the grid pattern and holes in the sand. I was there and wanted to hunt anyway.
I take out my trusty Minelab Explorer XS, hit the power button and away I go. The sand is pretty deep in some places. Up to 3 feet deep. After 30 minutes or so hunting I realize I am not finding much aluminium, nickels or gold. Someone with a gold detector has hunted the swimming hole. I was finding lots of quarters, dimes and pieces of a grill that someone had snipped into small pieces and dumped all over the place.
Finally after an hour or so I find a 14k gold earring at about 14 inches deep. (wow) I bumped up the sensitivity and started to find the smaller pieces the illegal hunter had missed. It wasn't one of my better hunts but I was really impressed by the depth the Explorer XS was able to achieve and the size of the items I was finding at that depth. I ended up with about $16 in change, a 14K gold earring, 2 hot wheels, several junk earrings, 1 junk ring, a cool little pendant, and a dollar found in the mud. Still fun stuff!!
Lance - CA, USA
