Meg or large teeth tips

[Sharkee]

Hi guys. I’m new to this forum. I have been hunting teeth for years and I am bored with finding small teeth. I have been searching the beaches and river, but am hoping someone would be kind enough to lead me in the right direction to finding a meg. I do desperately want to find one and I see people posting on FB that they find them all the time. Yay for them, boo for me. All I know is they are finding them on the St Johns, or so they say, but that’s a lot of area and being female, I don’t feel comfortable just venturing out all over alone trying to find out for myself where these spots may, or may not be. If anyone would maybe help direct me in the right area that’d be wonderful. I am definitely not one to share these spots either. I just am so hoping to find one and I know the places I’ve been aren’t the right places. Anyone out there willing to help? Thanks guys for your ear to listen to me vent. And I love all the teeth I’ve seen you all post and I’m so envious. One day I’ll find an awesome one too!

[Nikki in Jax]

Welcome to the forum!

I live in Jacksonville as well and posted a very similar topic to this one a few weeks ago.

From all the feedback I got on my post, it seems as though Jacksonville is a tough spot to find megs, ugh!

However, your best bet would be to explore the many dredge islands in the St. Johns river by boat, canoe or kayak.

One place that came up in discussion was Quarantine Island (that large island under the Dames Point bridge) and those smaller surrounding islands.

 

And totally understand your hesitation going hunting alone as a woman, that has been my biggest hindrance fossil hunting. Not inclement weather, not no-trespassing signs, not anything except being a woman and not being able to explore safely alone haha. 

Personally, the beach has always been a safe place to hunt alone but I do not check out construction site piles, creeks, or anything remote/wooded without my boyfriend or brother with me. 

 

Again, welcome to the forum, it has been a great source of information for me and hope it will be for you too!

 

-Nikki

[Sharkee]

Thank you Nikki for your insight!  I will keep those places in mind and see what happens!  Wish me luck!

[Darktooth]

Have you thought about the Peace River? You could do a guided tour. They find many different types of great fossils, including Megs, and you would have the benefit  of a guide for safety as well.

[digit]

Though it is a bit of a drive from the northeast corner of the state, Dave is correct about the Peace River being a great (and safe) place to join the "Meg Club". While rainy season is really more of a time for surface hunting on the beaches (or snorkeling or diving for teeth), the end of the rainy/hurricane season starts the fossil hunting season in South Florida. Sifting for fossils in rivers/creeks is very water-level dependent and you have to be patient to wait for the rains to end and the groundwater level to drop so that the waterways are safe to enter. My favorite spots in the Peace River are currently under about 8 feet more of water than when I wade in to sift for fossils. This means that a site that I hunt in waist-deep water would now have water well over my head (and I'm rather tall). And it is not just the height that is a problem during this time of the year, with the increased water volume comes much faster current. There are times when the most hard-core Florida fossil hunters (you know who you are) will venture out in less than optimal conditions. Even if you don't mind standing in chest-deep water, it can be difficult to bend over to shovel up gravel and even if you do the brisk current will likely strip it all off your shovel before it makes it to your sifter.

 

This is a good webpage to bookmark so you can keep track of the water level in the Peace River. Fossil hunting starts getting good when the river level is about 1-2 feet below Canoe Outpost's "normal" level which is where their fixed dock and their floating dock line up.

 

http://www.canoeoutpost.com/peace/showpage.asp?page=waterlevel

 

Later in the year (or early next) the river flow will slow and the level will drop enough to signal the start of another fossil hunting season in South Florida. That date can be quite variable (it's been a wet couple of years with a much shortened fossil hunting season the last couple of years). You can find several guides that take fossil hunting groups out to the Peace and its tributaries. You can't go wrong learning how to sift for Florida fossil goodness with one of them. Alternatively, you can post again here when during the fossil hunting season and if some of the South Florida TFF members are free, you might be able to get one of us to show you the ropes (though we don't actually use ropes much).

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken