Knowledge about Summerville, SC fossils

[Angustiden]

Hey hey, hope everybody’s Tuesday went well! I’m new here, 25 and have much to learn in realm of fossil hunting. I’m hoping you can help. 
 

I live in Charleston, SC and travel up to Summerville from time to time to explore creeks searching for the ever elusive megalodon. I’m relatively green hunting fossil but I do have some good spots and good finds. Of all the effort I’ve given, and believe me I really have put hundreds of hours into searching, I still have not mastered the art of finding these suckers. I’m hoping someone can help. 

 

I’m thinking part of my shortcoming is not truly understanding the layering of fossil bands, or maybe I’ve just been unlucky. I’ve been recklessly searching creeks hoping to run into gravel. My soul needs a big megalodon tooth. 

 

I understand these spots are sacred and demand respect and discretion. Can someone offer me any guidance? PM me if you can help. 

[Fossildude19]

Try figuring out what formations are present. Google the Formation names, and then read everything you can about those formations. 

Lots of information on the web that can help you to understand the different layers, and what they look like and where they are located.

This will help you to recognize when you are in the good stuff.  

Good luck.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco. 

Good luck in your quest. 

[Lee Taylor]

Study geology. Read postings about the subject. Quit reckless behavior. Become organized, educated, and structured

[turtlesteve]

If you figure out what is typically found in each formation, it will help.  I don’t bother looking anywhere for more than a few minutes if I don’t find small teeth, bone fragments, or certain types of gravel.

[grahamguti]

@Lee Taylor I live downtown and go up to Summerville frequently also, do you know of any good sites?

[Lee Taylor]

@grahamguti  ...  I never had much luck with land hunting or creek hunting. Yes I did find an occasional "good one". It seems to have to do with persistence and interaction with other hunters. I started hunting sharks teeth in the Cooper River about 25 years ago. We used SCUBA of course and eventually Hookahs and Super Snorkels. Sometimes it was downright creepy and other times more tolerable. We also dove the Wando and Edisto and offshore, always with an eye for fossilized materials. I found my share over the years. I then decided to give creek hunting a try. The finds were smaller and much less often. Any so called "good sites" are usually very picked-over. Virgin sites that have the correct earth strata is where you will find the fossils. Its a fun hobby but kinda like fishing in that one never knows when a fish will strike.

[grahamguti]

@Lee Taylor great response.

[Shellseeker]

On 3/3/2020 at 11:34 PM, Angustiden said:

I’m thinking part of my shortcoming is not truly understanding the layering of fossil bands, or maybe I’ve just been unlucky. I’ve been recklessly searching creeks hoping to run into gravel. My soul needs a big megalodon tooth. 

My "handle" is Shellseeker and 20 years ago , that described my hobby. I would collect 20000-30000 modern seashells every year in SW Florida .  It was easy. Between 2005-2008, the winds and currents, and weather changed. It was not longer "easy".  My wife could tell that the loss of my seashell hobby was negatively impacting my outlook and in May of 2008, she suggested that we pay $50 each to go on a fossil hunting trip with Mark Renz (author of Megalodon: Hunting the Hunter)  to Wauchula, Florida. I had never heard of the "Peace River". I found a bunch of small shark teeth and dugong ribs. My wife found a 2 inch Croc tooth!!! She never went back.. she did not cotton to the mud and the bugs and the snakes and the gators.  Smart woman.

I was new and did not even realize that there were few or no fossils in the mud and the sand.... I did not know how to "read" a river or creek... as you are learning, most of my initial attempts were failures. In a river that had (and has) tens if not hundreds of thousands of Megalodons, I managed not to find one for a year and a half. The adage about ... even a dumb squirrel... did not seem to be working.

Here we are , 12 years later, I have found thousands of Megs (about 300 a year), many in great shape. They just pop up. I am never looking for them.

2 Things happened: I stood on the shoulders of giants and I got smarter.

GIANTS: Joined the local fossil clubs and state fossil societies. I read voraciously articles and scientific papers relating to fossils in Florida.  The president of the local fossil club had a problem. He only owned 1 car and his wife used it during the week to transport his grand kids to school. I solved that problem for him -- an on demand chauffeur.  I met another guy who had hunted the Pace River for 30 years. He understood flow dynamics and geology , not from books but from experience. In high churn conditions, he knew what happens to gravel (and fossils) on the curves and in the straightaways. Most club members liked to discuss those places which were hugely productive 5-10 years ago, but are CLEANED OUT. This tooth came from one of those spots.

 

SMARTER:

In my prime (2014-2018) ,  I would go hunting 4-5 times a week, 12 hour days... It was my job and I loved it.

With help from those partners, google earth, maps, flooding the zone,

With help from those partners, optimize and reinvent your gear. shovels that allow you to dig deeper and faster, sieves that optimize for faster processing of gravel, no extra gear/weight to slow kayak access to more remote locations.

Accommodations with land owners for easier access.

I stopped other activities... sports, movies, news on TV. I needed the exercise.

 

All of this takes time.. lots of time. In the summer of 2007, I retired from a job I had for 40 years.  If you have the time, do some of what I did.  If you do not have the time, find someone who charters fossil hunting trips in your area!!!! Someone like Mark Renz or Fred Mazza on the Peace River, or Aristokats charters off of Venice Florida, or charter scuba diving off the ledges in North Carolina (45 miles out , 85 feet down)..

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/56941-45-miles-out-and-85-feet-down/

 

Getting that 1st Meg is not that difficult.... but let me warn you. Fossil Hunting can become addictive.

 

[PrehistoricWonders]

@Angustiden Pm me, I have a couple locations, but I have not tried them, there is one that I have, pm me and I can tell you more. 

[PrehistoricWonders]

48 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

My "handle" is Shellseeker and 20 years ago , that described my hobby. I would collect 20000-30000 modern seashells every year in SW Florida .  It was easy. Between 2005-2008, the winds and currents, and weather changed. It was not longer "easy".  My wife could tell that the loss of my seashell hobby was negatively impacting my outlook and in May of 2008, she suggested that we pay $50 each to go on a fossil hunting trip with Mark Renz (author of Megalodon: Hunting the Hunter)  to Wauchula, Florida. I had never heard of the "Peace River". I found a bunch of small shark teeth and dugong ribs. My wife found a 2 inch Croc tooth!!! She never went back.. she did not cotton to the mud and the bugs and the snakes and the gators.  Smart woman.

I was new and did not even realize that there were few or no fossils in the mud and the sand.... I did not know how to "read" a river or creek... as you are learning, most of my initial attempts were failures. In a river that had (and has) tens if not hundreds of thousands of Megalodons, I managed not to find one for a year and a half. The adage about ... even a dumb squirrel... did not seem to be working.

Here we are , 12 years later, I have found thousands of Megs (about 300 a year), many in great shape. They just pop up. I am never looking for them...

 

Great recap of your fossil hunting career!!! I haven’t gone with Mark Renz, but I went with Fred Mazza and he helped me find my first meg, albeit only 1.5 inches, but it’ll have a special place in my heart! @Shellseeker what’s the biggest meg you’ve found in Florida? 

[Shellseeker]

 

12 minutes ago, Familyroadtrip said:

@Shellseeker what’s the biggest meg you’ve found in Florida? 

Peace River Watershed tends to top out around 4-4.5 inches and most of them are badly damaged.  That 3.9 inch one above is the BEST quality largest tooth found in the Peace River itself that I have ever seen from anyone. My hunting partner has 2 from the Peace River 4.6 and 4.7 inches.

Here is my largest, a land find with a little help from my friends. It is 4.6 inches

 

[PrehistoricWonders]

Wow! That’s a gorgeous tooth!

[Lee Taylor]

Check out the Megs I found on the dashboard of Jamie's boat (The Aristokat). Well a better way to say it would be "I noticed" a couple of Megs on the dash. Ancient history but some good ol' days.
 

 

[Shellseeker]

1 hour ago, Lee Taylor said:

Check out the Megs I found on the dashboard of Jamie's boat (The Aristokat).

Thanks Lee,

I had a friend Dave who hunted off the Aristokat.  Many times he had those bigger Megs, but I always preferred some of the smaller one, like this

This is 3 inches and beautiful. I guess it was hiding under the sand.

 

[PrehistoricWonders]

On 7/15/2020 at 3:57 PM, Shellseeker said:

Thanks Lee,

I had a friend Dave who hunted off the Aristokat.  Many times he had those bigger Megs, but I always preferred some of the smaller one, like this

This is 3 inches and beautiful. I guess it was hiding under the sand.

 

It’s all preference, I’d rather have a 5 inch wide upper Meg, than a 5.5 inch lower meg, but I’d bet most people would rather have the bigger one.

[cmwilson101]

On 7/15/2020 at 1:56 PM, Familyroadtrip said:

Great recap of your fossil hunting career!!! I haven’t gone with Mark Renz, but I went with Fred Mazza and he helped me find my first meg, albeit only 1.5 inches, but it’ll have a special place in my heart! @Shellseeker what’s the biggest meg you’ve found in Florida? 

I agree, really enjoyed hearing your story, Shellseeker!

[Lee Taylor]

I became interested in fossils in 1996. My first fossil hunt was in Charleston SC. Over the decades I have found more than my share. I can offer some advice in regards to fossils in the Lowcountry of SC. Fossils are slowly formed in sedimentary earth and stay in the sediment unless they are washed-out due to the actions of weathering. The primary weathering actions being rain, water flow, rivers, creeks, wind, ice, and erosion. The reason very few fossils are found more than 20 miles inland (in the Lowcountry area)  is because there is significantly thicker overburden (from Summerville to Columbia as an example). The "overburden" is the layer of soil that covers the sedimentary layer. After the fossils (fossils are basically a form of rock) are washed-out they slowly migrate towards rocks of similar weight and density. Finding fossils is not a fine science. It is a matter of luck combined with common knowledge. One may spend 50 hours searching and eventually finding a $400 Megalodon. They are not as easily found or as common as the online community wants you to believe. A tactic that has worked for me is to search virgin sites. When I go to a high traffic site I know the fossils are there but they are too deep in the soil for me to get to. The items that were on the surface have been picked up already. Use your wits, look for limestone, phosphate, and gravel. Good luck and happy hunting!

[Lee Taylor]

Tributaries and exposed ancient sediment have received my attention lately.  During low tide a tidal tributary will produce fossils IF it cuts into a fossil layer. Fossils will be exposed in a river tributary during a zero rainfall period. Ancient shorelines contain fossils

[PrehistoricWonders]

3 hours ago, Lee Taylor said:

I became interested in fossils in 1996. My first fossil hunt was in Charleston SC. Over the decades I have found more than my share. I can offer some advice in regards to fossils in the Lowcountry of SC. Fossils are slowly formed in sedimentary earth and stay in the sediment unless they are washed-out due to the actions of weathering. The primary weathering actions being rain, water flow, rivers, creeks, wind, ice, and erosion. The reason very few fossils are found more than 20 miles inland (in the Lowcountry area)  is because there is significantly thicker overburden (from Summerville to Columbia as an example). The "overburden" is the layer of soil that covers the sedimentary layer. After the fossils (fossils are basically a form of rock) are washed-out they slowly migrate towards rocks of similar weight and density. Finding fossils is not a fine science. It is a matter of luck combined with common knowledge. One may spend 50 hours searching and eventually finding a $400 Megalodon. They are not as easily found or as common as the online community wants you to believe. A tactic that has worked for me is to search virgin sites. When I go to a high traffic site I know the fossils are there but they are too deep in the soil for me to get to. The items that were on the surface have been picked up already. Use your wits, look for limestone, phosphate, and gravel. Good luck and happy hunting!

How common are the expensive teeth? My dad found one that probably in that range on our first hunt(albeit, with a tour company) 

[Lee Taylor]

6 hours ago, Familyroadtrip said:

How common are the expensive teeth? My dad found one that probably in that range on our first hunt(albeit, with a tour company) 

 

There is always the exception. People out for a walk sometimes stumble across a $1000 specimen. People on the first fishing trip in their life sometimes hook into a monster. It does  happen that way on occasion but it is not the norm. Most people go to picked-over sites, through word of mouth, and find zero. But then... one must start somewhere. Back in the day when I posted lots of fossil photos I received a constant stream of emails. Everybody wanting the same thing. Now days if I make a significant find, it is not likely I will post it publicly. I will share it privately only and of course include it in my fossil reports to the state government.