Maxsg Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 Hi I'm going to be making the 2 hour drive out to the Paynes creek area of the peace river to look for sharks teeth. It's a long drive and I am dieing to find my first big Meg. I could really use some advice on where to look. I'm not asking for exact spots but. If i'm going to spend the whole day out there on one of my very few free days then I really don't want to come home empty handed. Please any help will be amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 The collectors who score the most megs tend to take a kayak or some other sort of boat to get away from foot traffic, then patiently spend days probing for, then sifting untapped gravel pockets. Living in FL, you WILL score megs, but a patient mindset and long term commitment to success will serve you best. Also, have your fossil permit on you as you'll bump into all manner of other vertebrate critter remains in your quest. It is good to have collecting goals, but accepting that Ma Nature gives up the goods at her own pace will make each day more enjoyable. In Texas, it took me over 10 years to find the perfect mammoth tooth I was after. Maybe I just make collecting appear harder than it really is, but goal setting and perseverence have brought me deep satisfaction. 5 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PODIGGER Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 I spent most of the spring in that area and came up with several partial megs of good size, but not the whole/ big prize I was hoping for. I did come up with a few 1" to 1 3/4" whole ones. My last hunt was June 6th and on all the trips I kayaked away from the areas that others could reach on foot. I have not been back since the rains started. The river is high and I think the current too strong to reach the spots farther from the access points near the Payne Creek State Park. If you go be sure to bring your fossil permit as mentioned by Uncle Siphuncle. I found many horse teeth, a good sized partial mammoth tooth and a wide variety of other vertebrate fossils in the area. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkdoctor Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 but accepting that Ma Nature gives up the goods at her own pace will make each day more enjoyable 55 minutes ago, Uncle Siphuncle said: "...accepting that Ma Nature gives up the goods at her own pace will make each day more enjoyable." Wisdom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 If it was easy, they'd call it FOSSIL FINDING, ... not FOSSIL HUNTING! 2 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossilis Willis Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 It seems to me that high expectations can be a recipe for disappointment. When I visit a new area, I try to think of it as recon. That way if I don't find anything, it's not really a defeat since all I was really after was intel. And if I do find something, it's just a bonus. If you plan on coming home empty handed it's hard to be disappointed.That's just my perspective. I wish you best of luck and hope you persevere over less than ideal conditions. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 6 hours ago, Uncle Siphuncle said: but accepting that Ma Nature gives up the goods at her own pace will make each day more enjoyable. Fantastic advice... but I can deal with a lot of disappointment. A quarter mile south of the downstream Paynes Creek Park Boundary just off the west bank, I found this beauty. ... I that west bank. You are a few years late for this one but... there might be another!!!! and Full disclosure. I have not been to Paynes in 2 years. Be careful out there!!!! 3 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 On 7/9/2019 at 5:41 PM, Shellseeker said: Be careful out there!!!! I second this! I'm looking at river gauges and the Peace River is about 4 feet higher than when I last went fossil hunting on June 8 (right before the summer rains started in earnest). Here is the USGS river gauge at Zolfo Springs a little ways downstream from Payne's Creek. When I was last in the river (a ways further downstream) I was hunting in waist deep water and I tried to get to some of the deeper spots but they were near shoulder deep. It is pretty much impossible to dig when you are up to your shoulders in the river. Not only is it impossible to bend-over while shoveling but when you are submerged to that extent you weigh less (buoyed up by the water). Pushing on the shovel to try to dig into the gravel bed just lifts you off the ground. Additionally, when the flow rate of the river increases. The flow rate at the moment is around 700 cubic feet per second which is about 7 times higher when I was in the river back in June. In addition to hardly being able to stand up in the current flow rate (without an anchor) you'd hardly be able to keep any gravel on your shovel as you raised it. We are currently in "fossil HIDING season" and it will be some months before the rainy season subsides and we return to "fossil HUNTING season". Please reconsider thoughts of going fossil hunting on the Peace River at the present and either wait till the river is low and slow enough to get into safely or try prospecting in some of the feeder creeks that dump into the Peace as they drain a bit quicker between rains and might possibly be more manageable. The Peace River is not to be messed with during the summer (unless you are just planning on a canoe trip ON the river and not IN the river). Those renting canoes from Canoe Outpost (Arcadia) are not being allowed to load fossil hunting gear. This is not even canoe paddling season but what they call "float the river season" where the current is so strong that all you need to do is steer as you are carried down the river. The meg teeth will wait. Bookmark this page and check it again when the rainy season is over and the river level starts dropping. http://www.canoeoutpost.com/peace/showpage.asp?page=waterlevel Be save and be smart--it will lead to many more years of fossil hunting in South Florida. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 2 hours ago, digit said: Not only is it impossible to bend-over while shoveling but when you are submerged to that extent you weigh less (buoyed up by the water). Pushing on the shovel to try to dig into the gravel bed just lifts you off the ground. Take heed in all this Ken has presented to you. I can personally attest to this, especially if wearing a 7mm wetsuit. You'll feel like floating in space and it doesn't take much current at all to blow your shovel clean in a millisecond. I'd look into those much smaller feeder streams if you really have to get out there and hunt. Good luck to you whatever your decision. We want you to live in order to give a trip report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 5 hours ago, caldigger said: Take heed in all this Ken has presented to you. I can personally attest to this, especially if wearing a 7mm wetsuit. You'll feel like floating in space and it doesn't take much current at all to blow your shovel clean in a millisecond. I'd look into those much smaller feeder streams if you really have to get out there and hunt. Good luck to you whatever your decision. We want you to live in order to give a trip report. Be careful in any moving water, even if the level is below normal. If you get into an "awkward" situation the current can pin you down and hold you against a rock or wood. If your head is above water it will take lots of time and effort to get loose. If your head is underwater . . . . Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxsg Posted July 17, 2019 Author Share Posted July 17, 2019 On 7/14/2019 at 10:19 AM, digit said: I second this! I'm looking at river gauges and the Peace River is about 4 feet higher than when I last went fossil hunting on June 8 (right before the summer rains started in earnest). Here is the USGS river gauge at Zolfo Springs a little ways downstream from Payne's Creek. When I was last in the river (a ways further downstream) I was hunting in waist deep water and I tried to get to some of the deeper spots but they were near shoulder deep. It is pretty much impossible to dig when you are up to your shoulders in the river. Not only is it impossible to bend-over while shoveling but when you are submerged to that extent you weigh less (buoyed up by the water). Pushing on the shovel to try to dig into the gravel bed just lifts you off the ground. Additionally, when the flow rate of the river increases. The flow rate at the moment is around 700 cubic feet per second which is about 7 times higher when I was in the river back in June. In addition to hardly being able to stand up in the current flow rate (without an anchor) you'd hardly be able to keep any gravel on your shovel as you raised it. We are currently in "fossil HIDING season" and it will be some months before the rainy season subsides and we return to "fossil HUNTING season". Please reconsider thoughts of going fossil hunting on the Peace River at the present and either wait till the river is low and slow enough to get into safely or try prospecting in some of the feeder creeks that dump into the Peace as they drain a bit quicker between rains and might possibly be more manageable. The Peace River is not to be messed with during the summer (unless you are just planning on a canoe trip ON the river and not IN the river). Those renting canoes from Canoe Outpost (Arcadia) are not being allowed to load fossil hunting gear. This is not even canoe paddling season but what they call "float the river season" where the current is so strong that all you need to do is steer as you are carried down the river. The meg teeth will wait. Bookmark this page and check it again when the rainy season is over and the river level starts dropping. http://www.canoeoutpost.com/peace/showpage.asp?page=waterlevel Be save and be smart--it will lead to many more years of fossil hunting in South Florida. Cheers. -Ken I really appreciate all the help and Thank you Ken for the information. Tomorrow is my planned hunting day and now I am not sure what to do. I was thinking of trying some possible land sites as well but now knowing that the peace is a bad idea right now it makes me reluctant to head that way for the 2 hour drive just to strike out getting onto a land site. I'm not sure what to do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Given that the Peace River is now some 4-5 feet above the level needed for successful hunting (or even standing upright in the river without being pushed over), I'd suggest that your hunt for a meg tooth there be postponed till the river is done hiding this season's fossils. The above link can be used to keep track of the level throughout the year. Unless you have some other leads on (legal) land sites to be able to hunt megs down this way, I can't think of where you might go with that goal in mind. If you were just to be looking for a place to go out and fossil hunt, I'd suggest something like the spoil piles offshore from Yankeetown where Eocene echinoids can be found. Doing a search for "yankeetown" on this forum should provide you all of the information you need to find this locality. A kayak or canoe would be needed to reach the offshore islands. There might be some creeks or other localities further north in Florida where you might be able to hunt some megs. I know that forum members @Cris and @addicted2fossils (Kyle) have been leading trips as guides to spots they know up in the greater Gainesville area. I think they may only be doing outings on weekends and so you are still at loose ends for a place to go on a Thursday. Can't offer any really solid alternatives for a meg hunt tomorrow but I will strongly caution against trying to hunt the Peace River when it doesn't want to be hunted. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossilis Willis Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 As frustrating as this might be, keep in mind the same forces of nature preventing you from hunting are the same forces that make it possible to find megs at all. A swollen river can move a lot of material around exposing(or concealing) the very treasures you seek. Be patient, stick with it and take the advice offered to you by experienced forum members, you'll find your meg. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarandWide Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 On 7/9/2019 at 2:00 PM, Fossilis Willis said: It seems to me that high expectations can be a recipe for disappointment. When I visit a new area, I try to think of it as recon. That way if I don't find anything, it's not really a defeat since all I was really after was intel. And if I do find something, it's just a bonus. If you plan on coming home empty handed it's hard to be disappointed.That's just my perspective. I wish you best of luck and hope you persevere over less than ideal conditions. I look at it the same way . When you approach a new spot as a recon, you may leave empy handed, but the trip was not wasted, because you've(hopefully) gathered valuable information. Sometimes I drive home, having filled up my field journal, but not my fossil containers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxsg Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 I want to say thank you for all the advice and that I have managed to get out to the peace river area twice in the last few weeks and did not come back empty handed. Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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