sappnasty
Contributor
Good morning,
It has been over 4 years since my last fossil dive. I came down for the Scubaboard Fossil Bash that weekend and it was my very first fossil dive and so far it has been my last. That weekend was absolutely amazing and on the last day I caught the itch really bad when I found my first Meg tooth floating on the bottom. It was only about 3", but a complete Meg never the less. Now that my children are a little older, I have finally found more time to dive. So long story short, I have had the bug the entire time but after looking through the entire fossil pictures thread, I really want to get back to it!
So with all of that in mind, I have a couple of questions. When I was looking through the pictures thread, I noticed a lot of members seem to be very successful at diving for fossils in freshwater rivers. Well I live in central Florida (Daytona Beach area) and there are no shortages of rivers, waterways, lakes or oceans here. My question is, for those of you who scout rivers and other areas that are similar, what are you looking for? What makes a potential fossil bed? I know you probably dive a lot and come back empty handed, but when you do find an area, what contributing factors influenced the bed?
Since I live in the Dayton Beach area, the only area I know of to look for fossils is Venice Beach between the pine tree and pipes...other areas I'm sure but thats the only one I have access to. So does anyone know of anywhere here near my location that I could dive or look?
And my last question is, what type of specialty gear or suggested gear makes that type of diving more beneficial other than the regular stuff? I found that when I was in Venice, that next time I go I will have a flash light and maybe a small trowel or garden shovel. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am also looking for a dive buddy in the area that could get me back into diving and to have some fun with. please let me know.
-Michael Sapp
It has been over 4 years since my last fossil dive. I came down for the Scubaboard Fossil Bash that weekend and it was my very first fossil dive and so far it has been my last. That weekend was absolutely amazing and on the last day I caught the itch really bad when I found my first Meg tooth floating on the bottom. It was only about 3", but a complete Meg never the less. Now that my children are a little older, I have finally found more time to dive. So long story short, I have had the bug the entire time but after looking through the entire fossil pictures thread, I really want to get back to it!
So with all of that in mind, I have a couple of questions. When I was looking through the pictures thread, I noticed a lot of members seem to be very successful at diving for fossils in freshwater rivers. Well I live in central Florida (Daytona Beach area) and there are no shortages of rivers, waterways, lakes or oceans here. My question is, for those of you who scout rivers and other areas that are similar, what are you looking for? What makes a potential fossil bed? I know you probably dive a lot and come back empty handed, but when you do find an area, what contributing factors influenced the bed?
Since I live in the Dayton Beach area, the only area I know of to look for fossils is Venice Beach between the pine tree and pipes...other areas I'm sure but thats the only one I have access to. So does anyone know of anywhere here near my location that I could dive or look?
And my last question is, what type of specialty gear or suggested gear makes that type of diving more beneficial other than the regular stuff? I found that when I was in Venice, that next time I go I will have a flash light and maybe a small trowel or garden shovel. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am also looking for a dive buddy in the area that could get me back into diving and to have some fun with. please let me know.
-Michael Sapp
