ColoradoSouthpaw Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Hey y'all! I'm fairly new to hunting for fossils in Florida. I've done some searching for sharks teeth in Ponte Vedra Beach and Caspersen beach. I've also taken up to looking in some of the rivers and creeks for sharks teeth. Got a couple of the Suwanee River yesterday. I was just wondering if anybody had any tips or tricks in locating some teeth. Like what kind of things am I looking for when it comes to the terrain, sediment, sand, dirt, etc? I have myself a kayak, shovel, and a sifter. Even some general locations within like 2 hours of Jax would be helpful. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meganeura Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 @Done Drillin You know the Jax area quite well for fossils! @ColoradoSouthpaw I'm not sure about Jax specifically - but here in Central Fl, in the Peace River and surronding creeks, you're looking for patches of gravel in the water. Make yourself a probe (metal or fibreglass pole that you jab into the riverbed), take your kayak out, and test the grounds. If you find gravel, give it a couple shovels into your sifter. If you find teeth... stick around. If you don't, find another gravel patch! 1 Fossils? I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoSouthpaw Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 21 minutes ago, Meganeura said: @Done Drillin You know the Jax area quite well for fossils! @ColoradoSouthpaw I'm not sure about Jax specifically - but here in Central Fl, in the Peace River and surronding creeks, you're looking for patches of gravel in the water. Make yourself a probe (metal or fibreglass pole that you jab into the riverbed), take your kayak out, and test the grounds. If you find gravel, give it a couple shovels into your sifter. If you find teeth... stick around. If you don't, find another gravel patch! When I was digging yesterday I was hitting a lot of clay. Should I be digging past that, or just leaving the clay alone all together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meganeura Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Just now, ColoradoSouthpaw said: When I was digging yesterday I was hitting a lot of clay. Should I be digging past that, or just leaving the clay alone all together? Clay is an indicator you're too low. Most gravel will sit right on top of clay, so you know if you hit clay, find another spot! 1 Fossils? I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meganeura Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 (edited) You can, if you're lucky, find areas that are all gravel and go quite deep, too! Edited October 10, 2022 by Meganeura 1 Fossils? I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Done Drillin Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Unfortunately most of the really good areas for fossil hunting in Jacksonville are now off limits. In the “good old days” there was open access to massive spoil piles from dredging the St Johns River that contained some really nice finds ( alot of nice megs !) but now they posted and regularly patrolled to keep all but the dredge workers out. Recent deepening of the river to over 50 ft saw most of the dredge hauled offshore and dumped in spoil sites that I have thought about diving on but haven’t made it out to as of yet- wether or not there are fossils remains to be seen. There are some natural outcroppings of the fossil bearing layers along the river bank that still occasionally produce but they are picked over and success is somewhat varied. As far as sifting I know of no areas personally but have seen reports labeled as coming from Northeast Florida that have produced - where these areas are is a mystery to me and the locations are kept close to the vest of those who are searching them. Fort Clinch to the north produces some fossils but is very picked over, and the St Marys river produces for those dark water diving. Gainesville certainly produces a good amount but the city leaders have deemed digging verboten in the creeks so surface hunting is the only legal way to search there. Good luck with your searching- please post results if you find some nice stuff ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoradoSouthpaw Posted October 11, 2022 Author Share Posted October 11, 2022 5 hours ago, Done Drillin said: Unfortunately most of the really good areas for fossil hunting in Jacksonville are now off limits. In the “good old days” there was open access to massive spoil piles from dredging the St Johns River that contained some really nice finds ( alot of nice megs !) but now they posted and regularly patrolled to keep all but the dredge workers out. Recent deepening of the river to over 50 ft saw most of the dredge hauled offshore and dumped in spoil sites that I have thought about diving on but haven’t made it out to as of yet- wether or not there are fossils remains to be seen. There are some natural outcroppings of the fossil bearing layers along the river bank that still occasionally produce but they are picked over and success is somewhat varied. As far as sifting I know of no areas personally but have seen reports labeled as coming from Northeast Florida that have produced - where these areas are is a mystery to me and the locations are kept close to the vest of those who are searching them. Fort Clinch to the north produces some fossils but is very picked over, and the St Marys river produces for those dark water diving. Gainesville certainly produces a good amount but the city leaders have deemed digging verboten in the creeks so surface hunting is the only legal way to search there. Good luck with your searching- please post results if you find some nice stuff ! Thanks for the insight. Its much appreciated. I will continue to explore and of course anything found will be posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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