DIRT FISHING ADVENTURE

By DELL ARTHUR

Life has its ups and downs and Gerry Allen has had more than his share. Allen spent most of his career as a captain for Canadian Airlines flying 747 airliners everywhere from Europe to China out of his home base at Vancouver, British Columbia. His last task, before retirement, proved monotonous since the flights consisted of one takeoff leaving Canada and one landing arriving at his destination at Hong Kong, China. After a rest period of a couple of days the 14 hour or more flight took off again to repeat the same span with the exception that he was returning home.

But when he had the opportunity to retire he jumped at the chance, hung up his uniform and re-entered the real world with his feet firmly planted on the ground.

Adjusting to a new life didn’t prove too difficult. Allen’s interest in real estate led him to a new opportunity in life and he has capitalized on it. Additionally the benefits proved more than being successful in his new career, he could plan his free time, but what to do with It? Contemplating the problem he decided he needed to make another adjustment—he needed a hobby.

So with purpose he discovered “dirt fishing.”

Actually the term “dirt fishing” is associated with using a metal detector to find hidden treasurers. Sometimes these treasurers are worthless bottle caps, tin cans or even hair pins. But now and then a real discovery pops up.

“I’ve found a lot of rings—some not worth much, but a few gold or silver pieces,” he recalled. At first he merely scanned beaches not knowing exactly what he was doing. But he quickly learned that there is more to the sport than just swinging a metal detector from side to side. His efforts quickly changed with experience.

From his condominium at Cabosan san Lucas, Mexico, he said he can walk outside and enjoy the cloudless blue sky while meandering down the breach swinging his metal detector. “You have to know what you are listening to. Different metals emit a different sound. You can easily be fooled if you don’t know the difference,” he said. Then he learned another facet of the sport; exploring underwater.

He quickly learned his real love is wading off the beaches in the surf waist high with his detector. With his scoop he is able to latch on and recover some mighty nice pieces as silver bracelets, rings and other objects worth keeping. 

“Water exploring is my favorite method to dirt fish,” he explained. “I love beach detecting but water detecting is the best.” For this he has three different detectors specially designed for this type of hunting.

Allen has been doing this for a number of years now and has gained a lot of experience. Does he make any money at it? “Naw, not really,” he said with a laugh. “It’s the fun of finding something. I have a lot of rings that I’ve found. Occasionally I have found something special like a few gold rings.”

Yet this hobby has more than paid for his vacation. Allen figures that he made enough on his last trip to pay the majority of expenses.

“When I started in this business my first find was a gold ring,” he recalled. Another time he found a women’s gold ring with three diamonds mounted on it. But the real fun in the sport is simply the adventure of discovery. Where do you find treasurers? The best places to search are beaches, parks and trails he said.

Allen recalled when he and a friend were out searching at a park. His friend said he was going to look around the shower area and left Allen meandering about the grounds. A little while later the friend returned and told him he had something in his eye.

“I looked in his eye and couldn’t see a thing. Then while he was holding the lid of the eye down my friend said ‘…take a closer look.’ I looked again and still couldn’t see anything in his eye. Then he said ‘look at my finger!’ Then I saw he had a diamond ring, later valued at $3000, around his finger!” His friend had just discovered the find moments earlier near the shower area where Allen intended to search.

Sometime later this same friend and his wife were vacationing at a resort. “His wife told him not to bring his metal detectors but he did anyway. He told her, ‘Take as much money as you want, go shopping and have fun. I’m going detecting.’ So the wife went her way and my friend spent the next week or so exploring. At the end of the vacation they returned home with over $20,000 worth of objects he had found!” Allen said.

It goes to show, you never know.

But the beauty of the sport is anybody can do it. Allen said he has met doctors, lawyers, mechanics, salespeople and retirees who spend their time getting exercise and having a lot of fun doing simply by scanning with their metal detectors. Also, he said, there are clubs where enthusiastic folks meet, trade stories and generally have a good time.

And for those who are interested in the hobby Allen and his friends are willing to help novices learn the tricks on how to become successful explorers.

“There are so many things you need to know,” Allen explained. “Different metals give off different sounds. I remember taking several different metals and practiced sweeping over them just to learn the different sounds they gave off.”

All of this added to his knowledge. For someone new to the hobby they can spend a lot of wasted time just trying to learn how to identify objects he cautioned.

But as Allen said, a lot of this frustration can be offset by working with more experienced explorers. “Everyone I know who is in the sport is willing to help. New people interested in the sport should look up a local metal detecting club and join in,” he advised.

And who knows? According to a lot of the old timers the mother lode is still out there undiscovered!