Technique for finding fossils

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diverdoug1

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Messages
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Location
Florida (via Texas and New York)
# of dives
2500 - 4999
I have a boat I dock in Sarasota, and have been thinking about making some trips off venice beach to dive for fossils. I was wondering what the best technique for finding fossils on the bottom is. Is it better to just slowly scan the bottom, or is it better to dig through the sand with your hands? What type of bottom is best for fossils? Rocky or clay?
Thanks for any advice!
Doug
 
Well you should start by going out with one of the local charters as they will give you good info. You can find them both ways by scanning the bottom or sifting although sifting can make it too cloudy to see what you are doing. The areas you are looking for are rocky/shells/coarse sand it will take awhile to train your eyes what to look for but it will get much easier once you get the hang of it. We are going out friday if you want to go out with us? Good Luck Todd
 
It's one of those things that once you see it you know exactly what to look for......Some pick it up immediately, some take awhile.....Digging is pretty much non-productive....Most 'finds' are laying on the surface or partially sticking in the sand/shell beds/gravel etc...You'll spend a lot of effort/time, picking/pulling and flipping things to see what they are. [wear gloves, I use Home Depot mechanic's gloves...They're cheap, tough, last longer and a lot less expensive than dive gloves]...You'll find lots of small teeth and broken large ones, better known as 'heart breakers'...... It's the larger, complete ones that are hard to find.....If you don't know what something is, bring it up, you can always put it back.....But there are many other types of fossils other than teeth and you may just find something rare and never found before......There's a couple of good small books w/pics that'll help identify the most common fossils/teeth.....Be patient, go slow [your air will last longer] and look for areas that have Manatee and other types of bones laying around [We call them 'killing fields' ]....They usually have a higher concentration of fossils and you'll have a greater chance of finding something....south of the pier isn't as 'picked over' and the viz is usually better....But it's 'patches' and not one big 'boneyard'...Watch your bottom scanner and you may have to do several 'bounce' dives to find a good spot....But if you find a spot that's been recently uncovered or missed, it'll be full of teeth.......Found a spot like that a few years ago and found 20+ complete teeth [and other fossils] in the 2-4.5" range !!!!!....Like shooting a hole-in-one or 20 out-of-20 clays !!!!......Good luck, post some pics if you find anything.......
 
diverdoug1 if you are ever looking for someone to head out and look for teeth let me know. I'm available weekends since the job thing gets in the way. I have been out from shore and boats looking for teeth in Venice.
 
Best method I've heard of is a salvage air lift DIVERDOUG1. Anyone willing to dive venice area I'm willing to dive for sharks teeth anyime, shore, charter etc. traditional scan or dig method.
 
Best method I've heard of is a salvage air lift DIVERDOUG1. Anyone willing to dive venice area I'm willing to dive for sharks teeth anyime, shore, charter etc. traditional scan or dig method.

I'll be in Florida July 26th and 27th looking for someone to shore/boat dive for sharks teeth. Don't mind covering the costs if you have a boat. I've always wanted to go and the charters only go for an hour and a half which is not much considering the drive I need to make to get there. I was looking for as much time as possible. I'm a newly minted PADI diver, but I've been diving in lakes for 5 years. I have all my own equipment. Let's have some fun! If anyone is game just hit me up on here. I'd love to go and fulfill this dream.

-Robert
 
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A buddy and I will be in Venice 7/14-21. I am planning on a couple of tanks a day at minimum. I will be driving down with all my own gear so any tips, locations, or anyone else interested in doing some diving let me know. I was told that the house we rented is two blocks from the beach. Cant remember the exact address right now but I think it is 9 something something Circle Drive. I have only been diving there a couple of times before during DEMA. I think 2 years ago. So I welcome any pointers of how to go about it.
For the beach dives is there a good way to swim extra tanks out with ya? A preferred float or something? I was thinking about my Kayak but was not sure if it could be securely anchored?
Thanks to all for any advice.
Joe
 
Robert and Joe,
Would be happy to dive with you guys when you are here if you ae up for it. Feel free to email me and I'll sent my cell at hunterchanc@hotmail.com. Just been walking the beach so far will check out the charters. Last time I did a shore dive we left our extra tanks on shore with someone. A kayak I guess could be easily secured with the right size anchor by a diver depending on waves but how tippy could it get and can you cover it to keep waves out? Just wondering. Just found a charter that looks perfect online, I'll check it out ASAP. Want to go 7/2 but the waters still chocolate milk after Debbie . Water will be back to normal by the time you guys get here.-Hunter
 
look up aristakat charters, he will put you on teeth, I've been on that boat several times, and someone always comes up with some really nice teeth, 4" +
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/
https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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