jcbshark Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Yesterday I went out to do some digging in spots I had scouted last weekend.I spent the first half of the day trying about 8 different areas but not producing very much.Problem was the layer I digging wasn't very deep before I hit a shell bed that produces plenty of inverts but not much else.Last weekend when I snorkeled it surface picking was decent but I didn't know how thick it was,or wasn't in this case.I walked upstream till I didn't see good evidence of fossils,then hopped in my truck and went as for as I could go downstream.It started turning very swampy,and as the water got deeper and deeper I started feeling like I wasn't on top of the food chain.Since I was alone I didn't want to risk my neck too much so I did a couple of unproductive sifts and turned around to check a few other spots.I started at 8 in the morning and by 1:30 I still didn't have much to show for the amount of work I had already put in.I was about to head for my truck and went past an area that was all sand about a foot deep and had a drop off that went to 3 feet.Even though it was all sand I decided to check it since I have had some nice things that get deposited at the bottom of these types of drop offs pop out before.First sift had a perfect horse tooth,broken whale tooth and a gator osteoderm.Finally it appears this hunt may pay off! Next sift has 2 decent little Megs in it.My back was killing me from tromping thru the woods carrying all my stuff and setting up camp to hunt a dozen different spots but it's amazing how some good finds can make the pain subside,at least temporarily lol.I managed to tough it out and dig for about 2 hours more but lacked the drive I had in the beginning of the day.Hopefully next weekend I can finish excavating this spot.some frags out of the last hole for the day3 horse teetha little piece of jaw with 2 teeth in it,not sure on it's rightful owner if anyone wants to guessmako and hemiscouple decent megsgator osteoderm and a vertgar scales and fish vertsa fair bit of tigersand some assorted small teeth 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...
caldigger Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Nice take! Glad your day started paying off. Dang, I wish I never left Florida now. But I wasn't into and aware of the fossil opportunities at that point in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Jeff Really nice variety. I really like the horse teeth and jaw. It is always good when you find a new site and then find nice fossils. Hopefully when you go back you will have a killer day. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrieder79 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Congrats and way to stick with it and I'm glad you got some finds. Sounds like one of my marathon hunts. My motto is: If you aren't dizzy by the time you're leaving, it wasn't a proper fossil hunt. Luck is the most important skill of a fossil diver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsessed1 Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Nice finds. I really like the wide variety of fossils you find in the Florida creeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted December 15, 2013 Share Posted December 15, 2013 Funny how the good fossils are always in the last place you look for them, much like missing keys (though for a different reason). I tend to have more persistence when shoveling in the Peace River than my back would prefer I had. It's especially hard to leave when you've found some nice things at a spot and so once it starts getting late in the day I opt for my patented 7-screen countdown approach. After the back twinges start approaching the intensity that you know that ibuprofen will be the first thing you reach for upon your return to the car I start counting down the screens left beginning at 7. The main rule is once you get to the zero you leave - no excuses! The other rules to this departure "dance" are that a nice find in the screen (e.g., a large tiger shark tooth, horse molar, gator osteoderm) will delay the countdown by 1 screen and at any time during the countdown a major find (whole meg or something else that instigates involuntary whooping and hollering) resets the count back to 7. Most days the count proceeds steadily down to zero and, having given the river the chance to tempt me to stay longer, I obey the rule and pack-up my things and head for home. There have been days when the meg tooth shows up on the very last screen letting me know the river has a sense of humor and likes toying with fossil hunters. Thanks again for showing us what can be pulled from the creeks if we are persistent. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Nice take! Glad your day started paying off. Dang, I wish I never left Florida now. But I wasn't into and aware of the fossil opportunities at that point in my life. Thanks,this state is a treasure trove for fossil hunters no doubt! I wish I grew up here,I can't imagine how the hunting was here even 30 years ago. 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...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Jeff Really nice variety. I really like the horse teeth and jaw. It is always good when you find a new site and then find nice fossils. Hopefully when you go back you will have a killer day. Marco Sr. Thank you Marco,if you and/or your kids ever make it back here I'd love to take you out to hunt! 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...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Congrats and way to stick with it and I'm glad you got some finds. Sounds like one of my marathon hunts. My motto is: If you aren't dizzy by the time you're leaving, it wasn't a proper fossil hunt. Thanks,I'm glad to see you new site paid off as well.You had some nice finds as well 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...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Nice finds. I really like the wide variety of fossils you find in the Florida creeks. Thank you,I love the variety as well.When I first got into hunting all I wanted was Megs,like plenty of people.Not that I don't love finding Megs anymore but I must say when I started enjoying all the other odds and ends we find here my level of satisfaction in any given hunt really went up.What really makes my day now is finding anything I don't have already have! 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...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Funny how the good fossils are always in the last place you look for them, much like missing keys (though for a different reason). I tend to have more persistence when shoveling in the Peace River than my back would prefer I had. It's especially hard to leave when you've found some nice things at a spot and so once it starts getting late in the day I opt for my patented 7-screen countdown approach. After the back twinges start approaching the intensity that you know that ibuprofen will be the first thing you reach for upon your return to the car I start counting down the screens left beginning at 7. The main rule is once you get to the zero you leave - no excuses! The other rules to this departure "dance" are that a nice find in the screen (e.g., a large tiger shark tooth, horse molar, gator osteoderm) will delay the countdown by 1 screen and at any time during the countdown a major find (whole meg or something else that instigates involuntary whooping and hollering) resets the count back to 7. Most days the count proceeds steadily down to zero and, having given the river the chance to tempt me to stay longer, I obey the rule and pack-up my things and head for home. There have been days when the meg tooth shows up on the very last screen letting me know the river has a sense of humor and likes toying with fossil hunters. Thanks again for showing us what can be pulled from the creeks if we are persistent. Cheers. -Ken It's awfully funny how similar this "dance" sounds lol.I would imagine there are enough dancers on here to fill a football stadium!Hopefully you can meet up with us for a hunt next year. 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...
Shellseeker Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Thanks,this state is a treasure trove for fossil hunters no doubt! I wish I grew up here,I can't imagine how the hunting was here even 30 years ago. A fossil friend recently showed me the remains of her collection primarily found without digging in the Peace River from the early 1970s. This example was found in 71 or 72 sticking out of the sand after the rains subsided a few miles below Zolfo Springs. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 A fossil friend recently showed me the remains of her collection primarily found without digging in the Peace River from the early 1970s. This example was found in 71 or 72 sticking out of the sand after the rains subsided a few miles below Zolfo Springs. CompleteTusk-Cm.jpg WOW beautiful tusk Jack,if I found that I may suffer a heart attack on site lol 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...
digit Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 After seeing that tusk I think I need to get back to work on my time machine....now where did I put that flux capacitor? Thanks for sharing (and starting my morning out on an envious note). Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Very nice haul and mix of terrestrial and marine species. Your efforts certainly paid off. I wonder about the geology and age of these finds. Mind sharing a little info. about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Awesome Jeff. Looks like you may have fond yourself an area to try gain. It is always nice to find new places, and Florida does indeed seem to be full of them. Cannot wait to see what you find next. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Thank you Marco,if you and/or your kids ever make it back here I'd love to take you out to hunt! Jeff Thank you for the offer. Hopefully my sons and I will make it back to Florida. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 Once again it is proof that persistence pays off! Sometimes it isn't as quick as we would like it, but to the persistent collectors go the spoils. Congrats on finding yourself some decent finds and managing to avoid those higher on the food chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Very nice haul and mix of terrestrial and marine species. Your efforts certainly paid off. I wonder about the geology and age of these finds. Mind sharing a little info. about that? Thank you Jeff,the age of this material ranges from Miocene to Pleistocene,generally the marine stuff is the older of the two.I'm not sure what the formationis that it comes out of,sorry. 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...
jcbshark Posted December 16, 2013 Author Share Posted December 16, 2013 Awesome Jeff. Looks like you may have fond yourself an area to try gain. It is always nice to find new places, and Florida does indeed seem to be full of them. Cannot wait to see what you find next. Thank you Don,while Flordia is great for fossils you certainlyhave your fair share up there as well 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...
jcbshark Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Once again it is proof that persistence pays off! Sometimes it isn't as quick as we would like it, but to the persistent collectors go the spoils. Congrats on finding yourself some decent finds and managing to avoid those higher on the food chain. Thank you Daryl,and persistence definatly does pay! You know what kills me though is having to pick up and leave a spot that I've already committed time to.I do love looking for new ground but on the same hand once I start digging in an area I get "the next shovel may be the one" syndrome and I almost have to talk myself into leaving my hole lol. 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...
beachbum Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Nice finds Jeff. Hopefully your return trip will be just as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Nice finds Jeff. Hopefully your return trip will be just as good.Thank you Jim,hopefully I' ll hunt tomorrow: ) 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...
RichW9090 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Can you provide better pictures of the jaw fragment with two teeth? I just can't make anything out - the picture is too dark. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Can you provide better pictures of the jaw fragment with two teeth? I just can't make anything out - the picture is too dark.I will try tonight Rich.It's a little hectic at my house with Christmas right around the corner.Thanks for looking. 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...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now