If you have been paying attention to the news lately, you may have noticed some coverage on magnetic fishing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems the hobby has exploded into popularity over the past few years. Why is that? Well, many of us are looking for new ways to keep ourselves occupied and getting to spend time outside is certainly a bonus!
How does this work, though? Is there any truth to the concerns that this hobby is unsafe, and what can we do to mitigate those risks? Thankfully, despite some of the reactions from governments across the world, there are plenty of ways that we can stay safe while still enjoying this activity. You can read more about that here to start off with, but I will be explaining as well.
What is it?
To start off with, let us cover what magnetic fishing is. Though you might expect it has to do with catching fish, in reality it is a combination of hunting for treasure and aiding the environment. Essentially, you take magnets, and you attach a rope to them, then you drag it through a body of water, and you try to find items beneath the surface.
Why do people do it? Well, for the most part, they are looking to remove trash from the local ecosystems. If you did not know, a lot of junk items end up in our streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans. Unfortunately, often times these objects are made of metal.
It is easy to assume that picturesque waters go untouched, but that is far from the case. This is part of why so many people have picked up the mantle of trying to remove the pollutants. What are the specifics of that, though?
What Can We Find?
To some extent, the tools that you use will influence this. Largely, I am referring to the strength of the magnet. If you are uncertain about what I mean by that, you might want to look here
https://brutemagnetics.com/collections/magnet-fishing for some examples. Usually, the magnets designed for this purpose are five-hundred pounds or above.
So, what can we find then? A surprisingly common find are coins. They could be from all over the world, and sometimes we hit the jackpot and find really old ones! For any coin collectors out there, that could be a huge bonus. What else, though?
Outside of coins, more often than not what people discover can be classified as trash or scrap. Bicycle rims, scraps of metal, or other various bobs and bits. To some extent, it will be influenced by where we go. For example, if you are doing this activity near a railroad you might end up finding railroad spikes.
Something of note is that this is where safety concerns arise. You see, if you are magnet fishing on a historical battleground, for example, you might find a little more than you bargained for. A lot of people underestimate how long that unexploded ammunitions can survive for, for example.
If it is unsafe to visit these places to attempt to magnet fish, why do people do it anyway? Well, one of the answers is likely do to some of the stories out there about finding ancient vaults of weapons or solving old mysteries. These things sound appealing and make people want to take the risk. Is it worth it, though?
More often than not, the answer to that is a resounding no. It is never worth risking yourself or others for the miniscule chance of finding something amazing. More likely, you will just find ammunition or something else dangerous.
How We Can Stay Safe
This is all not to say that we cannot keep safe and have a great time magnet fishing in the meantime. I simply want to emphasize that we should stay away from potentially volatile areas. How can we keep ourselves out of trouble (or at least do our best to try)?
One strategy is to research where we are going. Look into some of the history in the area. This is a bit more difficult in places like France in Europe, where the hobby has gained a lot of notoriety, as there are so many historical battlefields. In the United States, there are slightly less instances of this.
Of course, that does not mean that we should be flagrant about our location choices. You see, there are still old Civil War battlefields, for example, and others. Still, the geographical space here in the United States means there is a lot more areas that probably will not contain live rounds of munitions.
Now, how else should we protect ourselves? While this hobby is far from regular fishing, some of the gear that we can invest in is quite similar. For example, getting a warm jacket and some waders is probably a good idea. Now, I am not recommending that you go out into the water all of the time (far from it), but to protect your feet they are still worth having.
If you are anything like me, you are probably familiar with how uncomfortable rope burn feels – I certainly remember it from games of tug of war in my childhood. That is why when I go magnet fishing, I opt for a pair of sturdy gloves. You see, we have to thread ropes through the magnets to do the hobby, so you will be handling them a lot.
Is This Hobby Worth it?
In all honesty, it depends on how you define “worthwhile.” You probably will not hit the jackpot and find something worth millions of dollars. However, if you find removing litter from our waters to be rewarding, then the answer is probably yes.
For the most part, only you can make the decision of whether this activity will be something you should pursue. I find that it makes for a fun outing with my family if I am looking for something to do outside.