Fishing has always been a much-loved hobby among numerous people from all around the world, it does seem pretty nice sitting at the deck of a beautiful river and catching something for dinner, but you know what’s more exciting?
Catching something other than fishes! You must be wondering what can you get in the midst of these deep lakes, rivers and, canals other than fishes. Oh, you are really underestimating these places because they sure have some valuables hidden in them!
People dump things intentionally or mistakenly, that hold good value in these kinds of places such as, old coins, phones, guns, and the list goes on. These water bodies have been at their places forever, so you never know what kind of antiques are you going to find there.
People sometimes get these valuables accidentally in net fishing along with fishes, but did you know there is a way that you can catch these things of value separately, and that is called magnet fishing.
What Is Magnet Fishing?
Magnetic fishing or magnet fishing is an art in itself, and it’s an act where you catch something magnetic from these immense water bodies with the help of the fishing wire, a strong magnet and, some heavy gloves; these are just some basic needs.
Did you know that magnet fishing was first introduced to remove a good amount of magnetic debris that pollutes the water in harmful ways by spreading bacteria through the rusting on it, but soon this act transformed into a hobby rather than a profession?
When people found out how other mates are finding elements that hold immense value sometimes in terms of money, sometimes in terms of history and sometimes you could get a catch for something who likes to collect specific things such as a rare coin.
Let’s talk about the kind of things involved in the whole process; the most important part is the magnet itself because it is the source of pulling the debris out of the water body, the magnets used specifically for magnet fishing are so strong that they could easily pull out anything that weighs tons, for example, a bicycle.
The most popular places for magnet fishing are rivers, lakes and, canals. Canals being the most popular among all because of the large body of water that is still and also because canals are said to be the places where all the river takes its waste, well, a waste for water but a treasure for others.
The people who involve themselves in this act professionally are called ”magnet fishers” or also ”magnetars.” Just like any other trend, this trend also took its flight when a famous rugby player involved himself in it as a hobby, then came some YouTubers that made this their only career.
Well, we won’t deny all of them did find some or the other thing that held incredible significance, and people loved seeing how they did it. But keep one thing in mind; most of the time, they just found trash, scraps of metal, etc. We can say metal fishing depends on how lucky we can get.
What Do You Need To Start?
Are you intoxicated by the idea of finding long-lost treasures in water because you are sure about how lucky you are, well, then go on pirate, you must have a lot of water bodies left unexplored.
But there is a problem, to get into this hobby of fishing with a magnet, you need to have full information on everything regarding it, and we are here to educate you all about it.
So, first of all, let’s start with the kind of material that you would be needing to start digging gold.
1- A Bucket
Once you take out the debris from the water, you would need a proper surface to keep that debris in because there is a proper cleaning process afterward.
That cleaning process can not be done in an open space; you would need a proper enclosed space such as a bucket to keep that valuable so that you can separate it from the trash and keep the things that hold value.
Keep in mind that the bucket you are using should be a strong one so that it could hold the weight. If you will buy something weak so it will crack or break.
2-A Magnet
This is the most important part of the spree that you are going to take. The adventure will require a strong magnet, something that is small in size but has a great magnetic field so that it can hold much stuff in one go.
Talking about the basics, on a beginner level, you should buy a magnet that can hold up to 50 kgs or 110 lbs of weight in total. If your magnet is not strong enough, then you won’t be able to take out as many things in one turn.
3-A Nylon Rope
After the magnet, a strong nylon rope is the second thing that you should take care of when involving yourself in this whole process. But what are the things that you need to keep in mind when buying a rope for this specific purpose?
The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that the rope is strong enough (you should buy something that can hold up the weight that your magnet would carry, for eg, 50kgs).
Then you should inspect the length of the rope, which should be long enough to reach the water bed. You would get nothing with the rope hanging casually in the water, remember you are not fishing you are magnet fishing.
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4-A Tackle Box
You must be wondering what a tackle box is, a tackle box is a storage area that is compact but can hold many things at once; things are specifically used in fishing.
This tackle box can be great for keeping your things in one place, such as the magnets you are bringing, the rope you are bringing along with you. Other than this stuff, you can also keep your scale, your knife, or anything related to check the value of antiques, etc.
5-Strong Knots
A strong knot is one of the most crucial parts of the whole fishing process because here you are fishing metal and valuables. One end of the nylon rope will be in your hand and the other end will be the one that will be tied with your magnet.
If your knot is not strong enough then no matter how strong your rope is, you will lose the possible treasure coming up along with the magnet. There is a whole process, steps that you need to follow for a strong knot. Let’s know how you can tie the perfect knot.
- First, make a proper loop at one end of the nylon rope.
- Now carefully insert the loop through the eye bolt.
- Now loop it over onto itself again.
- Insert the loop through carefully.
- Tighten it up just a little.
- Now wrap it over the eyebolt, this will ensure strength.
- Knot it with the rope properly.
- Pull it tightly for a neat rope.
- Now adjust it to lessen the extra rope.
- Now attach the eyebolt to the magnet and you are done.
6- Other Important Equipment
The components above that we told you about are perfect for people who want to go magnet fishing on a beginner or intermediate level but if you want to go a little more advanced with other equipment then hang on because there is more stuff that you might want to need in your fishing spree, let’s look at the list.
- Hat.
- Sunscreen.
- Sunglasses.
- Water bottle.
- Brush.
- Knife.
- First aid kit.
- Gloves.
- Garbage bag (heavy duty)
- Mesh bag.
- Multi-tool leatherman.
- Grappling hook.
- A portable chair.
- A fanny pack and some containers.
- Hand sanitizer.
- Boots (waterproof ones)
- A cleaning towel.
You might be thinking that how will these daily usage things help you through the adventure you are going to take on but trust us, they will be more helpful than anything else, you would need these things sooner or later on the trip.
If you have made up your mind to go on this fishing spree, then congratulations, that is a good decision but wait, before that there are some helpful and useful tips that you would come in handy through the spree. Let’s dig into what we have to tell you.
Useful Tips For Magnet Fishing
When going on a trip like this, you would want to have as much information as you can get regarding the following topic, having little or no knowledge about magnet fishing itself can get you in deep trouble because there are some dangerous cons to it.
The internet is flooded with tips and tricks, but we jotted down the most useful ones, let’s dig into them without wasting any time.
The following tricks and tips will help you a lot through the whole process and will make your time and result more bountiful.
1- Never use a much powerful magnet.
Some people will say that your magnet should be extra powerful when it comes to magnet fishing, but no, they are wrong because an extra powerful magnet will cause you trouble.
First of all, it will catch much debris that is not even needed, and it will get harder for you to pull the weight out of the water. Other than that, once you have the material in front of you, then you would have a hard time pulling the metal away from the magnet because of its immense magnetic field.
The ideal power that the magnet should have should be 500kgs to the maximum, lesser than this weight is preferred.
2- Put no trash back in the water.
This is something that some of the metal fishers do, and this is not only wrong but inhumane because, in a sense, we are clearing the river from the impurities that can harm fishes or other living material, putting the scrapes back in after finding the value is wrong.
You should arrange for a transportation method that can take all your findings home, but this is a win situation for you too. After taking the scrapes home, you can sell them to your local metal yard because they always use scrapes to melt and mend into other useful things, so in a sense, you are contributing to recycling.
3- Gripping hooks on the go.
Most of the time we find things we least expect to find such as a larger item, for example, a bicycle, these kinds of finds are hard to pull out because they weigh heavy and they keep getting stuck in situations beneath the water, to avoid this havoc all you need to do is get a gripping hook.
Once you feel that you are getting something beyond your handling capacity, then use the gripping hook and you can pull out twice or thrice your own weight.
4- Know what to do when you find an explosive.
Most of the time you find things that are not up to your needs or worse, they are dangerous. That’s why you are said to wear heavy-duty gloves so you stay away from any kind of metal cut but what if you find an explosive? What would you do then?
Let us tell you what you should do, as soon as you realize that you have something troubling on your hands then you should at once calm the authorities. They will take care of it and make sure that you are safe and sound.
5- Safety gloves first.
If you are your bare hands when going on a trip involving metal fishing then your first and foremost step should be using safety gloves because you use your hands to pull out the metal scrapes and handle them.
These metal scrapes can seriously cut your tendons and rip them apart, to stay away from something like this, make sure that you have your hand safety first, use heavy-duty plastic gloves.
6- Always know your place.
Before going on this trip make sure you know your spot, yes, you have chosen your local canal or barrage to metal fish but where exactly? Beside the shore? On the deck? Were?
Always chose a place that you are sure about that you know you will find much waste here. Spot a place that looks like the washing point of the space. That is the kind of place that has the most metal waste or treasure.
7- Knowledge is the key.
Before even starting to buy the equipment you have to decide what place are you going to go too, make sure you search deeply and thoroughly on every water body that is present around your residence, don’t go too far for the search because bringing back all the stuff can also be hectic for you.
Make sure that you have all research about that specific place, the location, and is it fine to magnet fish over there or not. Never just show up at any place without having full information on it because that will be an issue for you.
As we told that there are some cons to this process. Before getting into this you should know what you are doing, let’s get to know some of the cons.
The Risks Of Metal Fishing And How To Avoid Them
There are some disadvantages of risks that you can encounter when metal fishing but if you know the right way to avoid this situation then that won’t be a problem for you, let’s take a look at the risks and how can you avoid them.
Down here we have a guide of the possible problems you could face and the solution to that problem.
Drowning.
You must be wondering how can drowning be a problem when you are not even in the water body. You see, when you are metal fishing you get really close to the water body and there can be a high risk of slipping while taking the load out of the water.
To stay away from any problem like this always make sure that the ground you stand on is firm to support your weight and the pull weight.
You should also never go metal fishing alone, always have a partner with you to hold you if things go wrong or tie yourself with a tree or something. Don’t just go and start with the process, always make sure that you are safe first.
Rope problem.
You just don’t throw a single rope in the water for this act, you have to throw in a support rope too and sometimes they can get tangled and cause you hours and hours of mess to clear it out, and then you have to go into untangling that knot and then you can go down the stream in no time leading to drowning.
To avoid this issue all you have to do is buy high-quality rope, nylon material is the best because it is durable and strong. It won’t tangle because the material is high in quality.
Is it legal or not.
Always keep this in mind that magnet fishing is not legal in all parts of the world if it is illegal and you are still fishing things then you might end up in jail.
To avoid this issue always make sure that it is proper legal in your area and don’t trust words that people say, always confirm this issue by an authorized person. This way you will stay away from any trouble.
Dangerous device found.
As we earlier pointed out that you can find dangerous devices lurking beneath these deep waters and if something like this happens then call the authorities as soon as possible and go away from the spot to a safe distance.
Don’t go near the spot until you know that it’s completely safe because an old explosive is as harmful as a new one. Don’t think that if it’s old and rusted then it won’t work.
Is Magnet Fishing Legal?
People this has always been a very controversial topic that is magnet fishing legal or not. Well, don’t worry we will clear out your query regarding it. You see, people have different thoughts about this act, some think it’s perfectly fine and others think it’s trespassing.
There are states and countries like the USA where magnet fishing is completely legal and there is no harm than just going for it but talking about other places, maybe they are not. That’s why as we said, you should confirm about your country or state that is it legal or not.
Some people think that the water body belongs to someone or the other so whatever we find there also belongs to the person, while on the other hand, some people think that water is a natural resource and it belongs to wherever it flows and everyone in this world has the same right on it.
That’s why you should make sure that it is legal and even if it is legal around your state then make sure that the water body you are using for this purpose is not owned by an individual for eg a lake.
That’s why we ask you to research deeply if you do find that this place belongs to someone then ask them permission formally so they don’t press charges against you.
You can always find a big catch and they can demand it from you afterward, so formal or legal permission will clearly state that whatever you find is yours and they have no right on that piece whatsoever.
What Can You Find? What Are The Benefits Of Metal Fishing?
There are u countable benefits of this hobby or profession, however, you want to pursue it but still, people who are a little skeptical about it, don’t worry, we have aligned some benefits of this hobby.
But let’s talk about the things you can find beneath the wet covers. Magnet fishing is also called an underwater treasure hunt because of the valuable treasure that you can find beneath these waters, let us give you some examples.
Keep in mind that these water bodies are here forever so they might have some antiques from olden days, mobile phones, gold ornaments, silver ornaments, jewelry, and much much more.
There are however other benefits of magnet fishing other than the financial benefits, let’s know about them.
- This hobby is a great source of exercise or calorie burn.
- You are contributing to saving the environment.
- The freshwater and air can really be good for your mental and physical health.
- When you will find something from ancient times, you will invest your time in finding more about the thing, that will increase your
interest in history eventually increasing your knowledge. - Learning about the elements of earth will be beneficial for you and the environment because then you will be extra cautious about saving mother earth.
- Kids will love this kind of hobby, fishing has always been a great bonding element for parents and children but let’s turn up a notch by introducing a new way of fishing rather than the old school one.
How To Clean The Things/Treasure You Find From The Water?
When you find something from underwater there is always a lot of filth and mud on it and it’s not just the mud and filth because it can be washed off from water but the worst part about these finds is the rust on the things.
You need proper arrangements to remove the rust but don’t worry we are going to make sure that you have the proper steps to do so.
First of all, make sure that you have water in the bucket so you can wash off the initial filth on it then move on to take care of the rust, there are some ways that you can remove the rust, we have listed down some easy ways so that you can have your way easily.
You can use,
- Rubbing salt or lemon juice.
- Soak them in hot water.
- After a day in warm water, scrub and then clean them.
- You can also apply apple cider vinegar.
- Apart from that, you can use coca cola because it is high in acidity levels.
- If these methods don’t work you can always use, sandpaper, naval jelly rust remover, evapo-rust, rust remover, and other agents that are used to remove rust.
Final Verdict:
In this read, you will find out ways that you can start to magnet fish, this is a perfect guide to know all about magnet fishing. The benefits, the disadvantages, how will you stay away from the cons, and how you will handle it.
After you will be done with this reading, you will be able to have a full grasp of what is magnet fishing and if you are interested in it then how can you pursue this as a hobby or a career.
Not only that we will tell you all about what should you do after you have found those objects, how to clean them and what kind of objects can you specifically find.
But there are still some important questions that people have in mind regarding this act of magnet fishing. But don’t you worry because we are going to tell you all about it and answer your questions regarding it so that you can start properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
These questions below are the most asked by so many people through many forums and we are here to answer all your queries.
#1 – Is magnet fishing dangerous?
Magnet fishing is tricky but it’s not dangerous if you are using the right precautions, we have mentioned all the dangers and how to overcome them easily. For having a detailed view, scroll up and know more.
#2 – What’s the point of magnet fishing?
This depends on you, some people do it because it’s a hobby and others pursue this as a career. It depends on you how you perceive this act. But earlier magnet fishing was a way to cleanse water bodies.
#3 – Which is the best magnet for magnet fishing?
This depends on the weight of the magnet, there are a lot of top companies that sell this product but you should really focus on the weight other than any other thing.
Always make sure that your magnet should carry 500kgs or less not more than that. If you will buy a magnet with a greater magnetic pull then it will be hard for you to take off the things attached to it.
If you are a beginner then the ideal catch that your magnet should get is 50kg only, it will be easier for you to pull it out and remove objects.
