Peace River 2nd Trip 1000+ Teeth

[jpip]

Last weekend was my first trip to the Peace River.  And now that the rain is coming in I am in a rush to get as many trips in as I can. 

Today was my second trip. Went to the same spot.  It went great, I'm estimating over 1000 teeth about twice the amount as my first trip.  On and off showers, the river is up about a foot since the weekend. 

 

Top finds:

Broken Meg 

Large Sand Shark

Large Tiger

1" Alligator

Broken Hemi (would have been awesome if it was complete)

 

[jpip]

[jpip]

[Shellseeker]

Congratulations on a very successful hunt. 

Nice Mako... good colors.  It is a lower jaw tooth which are rarer than upper jaw teeth for some reason. I was out hunting also.  It was not my 1st time there.  But some similar results.  Lots of little teeth.  A very good dermal denticle on lower left.

 

[jpip]

14 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

Congratulations on a very successful hunt. 

Nice Mako... good colors.  It is a lower jaw tooth which are rarer than upper jaw teeth for some reason. I was out hunting also.  It was not my 1st time there.  But some similar results.  Lots of little teeth.  A very good dermal denticle on lower left.

 

Thanks, oh I thought it was a sand shark, good to know.

 

I was reading some of your older posts trying to get some insights. I was curious is it possible to still hunt the peace even when the water gets high, or is it not worth the effort without scuba diving? And are there any other place you hunt when you dont go to the peace river?

 

Are you going to the peace again this week?

[Shellseeker]

8 minutes ago, jpip said:

Thanks, oh I thought it was a sand shark, good to know.

 

I was reading some of your older posts trying to get some insights. I was curious is it possible to still hunt the peace even when the water gets high, or is it not worth the effort without scuba diving? And are there any other place you hunt when you dont go to the peace river?

 

Are you going to the peace again this week?

 

My best lower Mako below. On your questions, there is the short answer and the detailed answer:

 

I was curious is it possible to still hunt the peace even when the water gets high, or is it not worth the effort without scuba diving?

Yes. I have used a Hookah in normal Peace River depths, but never Scuba in deep water. Deep water means fast currents and lots of mud and silt in the water. I came close to drowning 7 years back when I failed to respect the force of the river.  I have used Scuba but last time 20 years ago. It is useless in summer floods in the Peace River because of visibility, staying anchored, etc.

If you want to hunt the summer, figure out where the shallow spots are going to be. Figure out what kind of tool can reach the gravel in deeper water.

And are there any other place you hunt when you don't go to the peace river?

Yes,  dry land, basically go to every other place that is not the river. After 10-15 years of hunting fossils, you have LOTS of places where you found fossils and can return.

 

Are you going to the peace again this week?

Yes, I generally go out 2-3 times a week.  It is a very good way to practice "social distancing". and basically that is a wise thing for me to do right now.

 

[jpip]

13 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

 

My best lower Mako below. On your questions, there is the short answer and the detailed answer:

 

I was curious is it possible to still hunt the peace even when the water gets high, or is it not worth the effort without scuba diving?

Yes. I have used a Hookah in normal Peace River depths, but never Scuba in deep water. Deep water means fast currents and lots of mud and silt in the water. I came close to drowning 7 years back when I failed to respect the force of the river.  I have used Scuba but last time 20 years ago. It is useless in summer floods in the Peace River because of visibility, staying anchored, etc.

If you want to hunt the summer, figure out where the shallow spots are going to be. Figure out what kind of tool can reach the gravel in deeper water.

And are there any other place you hunt when you don't go to the peace river?

Yes,  dry land, basically go to every other place that is not the river. After 10-15 years of hunting fossils, you have LOTS of places where you found fossils and can return.

 

Are you going to the peace again this week?

Yes, I generally go out 2-3 times a week.  It is a very good way to practice "social distancing". and basically that is a wise thing for me to do right now.

 

Wow, 

 

Thank you for the response. I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I've been reading about dry land hunting. However I havent been able to figure out how to get into that aspect of fossil hunting. Jumping in the river with a shovel is straightforward enough. Any advice on how to find dry land spots? I imagine this is much more challenging due to the fact you have to get down to the fossil layer.

 

Its definitely the best way to social distance.

Also fantastic tooth. I imagine you have one heck of a collection after 10-15 years.

[Shellseeker]

8 hours ago, jpip said:

Thank you for the response. I'm trying to learn as much as I can. I've been reading about dry land hunting. However I havent been able to figure out how to get into that aspect of fossil hunting. Jumping in the river with a shovel is straightforward enough. Any advice on how to find dry land spots? I imagine this is much more challenging due to the fact you have to get down to the fossil layer.

 

Its definitely the best way to social distance.

Also fantastic tooth. I imagine you have one heck of a collection after 10-15 years.

 

I have fossils stuck in every nook and cranny.  My wife does not always appreciate that... I also have 8000 photos that are lots more accessible. If you are not in it for profit, you do tend to keep the best.

In the summer of 2008, I went on a fossil hunting trip with Mark Renz. He has authored a couple of books, runs a business taking newbies out as one aspect.  Still does. I was amazed at the potential, and started my fossil education. At that point, when it came to fossils, I was dumb as a rock.

I realized that not everyone was as oblivious as I and thought about how I was going to eventually excel at hunting fossils. In 2008, there were clubs (3 in my local area) of people who were interested in fossils, some of them had hunting fossils for decades. Some of those club members liked to scuba in the Gulf of Mexico,  some hunted the Peace River, some hunted dry land,  some belonged to Florida Paleontology clubs, some had access to private property, some had access to quarries, one guy had access to a Aggregate Pit where a company was removing layers to get to the shell , sand, layers !!! He was allowed to take 5 people with him and would go on Sundays. It was brutally hot and he hardly ever found enough volunteers.

So,  dry land....

I belong to many fossil clubs and go on their dry land trips , usually to quarries

I have connected with people who hunt dry land, and sometimes they invite me along...

I always pay attention when driving rural areas of Florida, to piles of dirt , sand, etc by the roadsides

Back 7-8 years , I checked out every spot within 100 miles of me. There are a bunch of older road maps in research papers.  http://fossilspot.com/STATES/FL.HTM

Construction sites, home building communities. If they do not have No Trespassing signs....

 

Think of yourself as I did,  You are in Kindergarten and you want to get a PHD.... enjoy the journey  Jack