PODIGGER Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Decided to go for a hunt yesterday after my Saturday plans were canceled due to two flat tires. The weather report had it as a cold day to start with an expected warm up y midday. When I got to the river at a little before 8:00 am the temperature was 40* F with a light breeze. Got the kayak set to go then donned my wetsuit with a jacket style life preserver over it to block the wind. Even then I also put on a hooded sweatshirt and gloves for the paddle to my hunting site. As I approached the area I planned to search for the day I stopped to take a few photos of the sun rising over the river. The gravel bed I was targeting has been producing some nice fossils. The negative, it stays in the shade most of the day due to overhanging trees along the banks. The river is not really wide at the spot. I shed the sweatshirt as I entered the water and decided I would need to try and keep my upper body as dry as possible due to the water/air temp and the breezy conditions. I think this was a big part of why there were no outstanding finds for the day - couldn't dig as deep as I would have liked. Usually the deeper I go the better the results. Finds for the first few hours were limited to a variety of shark teeth. Some were quite nice but most were small and regular finds. I was also finding a lot of turtle shell. The first interesting thing that came up was a piece of a turtle plastron followed by a ray barb and a small puffer fish mouth plate. Then a partial meg appeared in the screen and I was managing to forget the cold and my numbing fingers. It was getting to be about 12:00 pm and I had been digging for 3 1/2 hours when I really started to feel the cold and decided to take a break to warm up. I had to climb out onto the bank and walk downstream to find a spot where the sun was breaking through the trees. I took off my life jacket, dive boots and socks and hung out in the sun for about 20 minutes to try and warm up. I felt I had warmed up enough to get back to work and with the next screen I came up with what I believe is a cetacean vert - second one found at this spot. As I wasn't coming up with any other great finds I decided the cold and the river had worn me out for the day. After pulling up an armadillo osteoderm I packed it in at about 1:30 pm. I usually stay until at least 3 pm. I think the cold had gotten to me as when I left I neglected to remove my knife from my hip and later found that I had inadvertently pierced the inflatable seat in the kayak - thankfully I didn't jab the kayak! Below are some pictures of the days finds. First some turtle pieces and the vert - Next photo Left side - Cup of misc. shark teeth, Armadillo Osteoderm, Ray barb, Puffer fish mouth plate, Tiger Shark, Extinct tiger shark and lemon shark. Right side - Turtle Plastron, Sand shark, partial Megalodon & Hemis. An overall average day on the river with a bit of a chill in the air! Today I need to patch the seat, lol. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 19, 2022 Share Posted January 19, 2022 Nice finds, those are some sweet mayumbensis 1 Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PODIGGER Posted January 19, 2022 Author Share Posted January 19, 2022 Thanks jcbshark. I always like finding ones with the full brown root. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PODIGGER Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 Thanks to all those who enjoyed the post. I try to include pictures of the river on each visit because I think it is such a fabulous resource. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 17 minutes ago, PODIGGER said: Thanks to all those who enjoyed the post. I try to include pictures of the river on each visit because I think it is such a fabulous resource. You are a braver man than I.... I ONLY go out these days with a 7 millemeter wetsuit... good investment for January.. My last time out on the Peace. In addition , a few small teeth.. I left the small mako as my only different small tooth. Not many finds but some interesting ones. A few very small (and different) dolphin periodics, barracuda, a tiny dolphin tooth and almost whole ray mouthplate... Upper left is fossilized wood 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PODIGGER Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 Jack, Nice to hear you’re braving the cold. I really like that ray mouth plate and hope to find a complete one myself some day, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone Daddy Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Josh and I hunted a few times when the temps dipped into the 40's. Hypothermia becomes a real risk. If you see somebody out there in a wetsuit with a shovel, you know they are 100% gung-ho about fossil hunting. LOL. On those cold hunts, I bring some hand-warmer packs in a ziploc bag, just in case I get too snarge cold and need a quick warmup. On a side note - talked to my mechanic yesterday. $700 and change for a new fuel pump and fuel filter and labor. I should have the truck back on monday. So, I am shooting for the week after next to get back on the river. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PODIGGER Posted January 20, 2022 Author Share Posted January 20, 2022 I feel your pain with that repair cost! Glad to hear you will be back out there soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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