Ryan Kirk Three Types of Magnet Fishing Finds

Three Types of Magnet Fishing Finds Ryan Kirk

Magnet fishing is something that has started creeping into news and internet headlines over the last few years. With news titles like “Man Finds Unexploded WWII Mortar Shell in River” and “Safe from Robbery Recovered By Man Fishing with Magnet”, I found myself fascinated with magnet fishing. The idea of tying a rope to a magnet and then tossing it into some water to find hidden treasure lurking just below the surface was thrilling. Quickly, I ordered a magnet and, once it arrived, I rushed to toss my magnet into any canal, lagoon, or bayou in the city to see what I could find. I soon discovered that the items I pulled from the water all fell into three categories: trash, mysteries, and treasure.

Trash is by far the most common thing that I pull out of the water with my magnet. Things like fishhooks, bottle caps, screws, and nails are numerous but all are easily dealt with by putting them into the nearest dumpster or recycling bin. Pulling up a large section of pipe or twenty feet of rusty steel cable can pose a challenge when it comes to disposal simply due to its size but they are not impossible to deal with. The most challenging piece of trash that I ever had to deal with was the first gun that I pulled out of Bayou St. John. As soon as I pulled it out of the water I knew that I had a potentially dangerous situation to deal with. I called the police and explained to the dispatcher what I had found. I expected that finding a potential murder weapon would be a high priority for the police. I was wrong. After waiting for two hours for the police to arrive, I found myself in the position of having to take the gun home with me as it was already getting dark out. As I was driving home, I happened to pass a police officer so I decided to stop and see if he could help me. After I explained how I had found the gun, and he had recovered from his disbelief, he was able to take the gun so that it could be tested by the NOPD crime lab to see if it was tied to any crimes. I never heard anything back from the police about that gun but I was just happy to be rid of it. In the end, pulling

trash out of the water is a common occurrence, and it can sometimes present difficulties, however, I’m always left with a feeling of satisfaction that I have left the water a little bit cleaner and safer.

In between pulling up different pieces of trash, I will occasionally pull my magnet out of the water and be confronted by a mystery. I will stare in befuddlement at something that I have managed to pull from the murky depths. Often these mystery items are covered in mud or rust. So much so that I am not able to figure out what they are until I am able to take it home and clean them off. I have even resorted to posting pictures of some mysterious items online to get help from other magnet fishers with trying to identify them. In some cases, the mystery is not what an item is but why it is in the water. Just a few weeks ago I was magnet fishing in Mississippi and I started pulling up metal links that are used with heavy machine gun ammunition. I was perplexed as to how militarygrade machine gun links made their way into the Pearl River just outside of the Stennis Space Center. As I was trying to come up with an explanation, a Mississippi State Police Officer who was patrolling the river in a boat pulled up to the bank where I was at to see what I was up to. As I explained what I was doing I showed the officer the links that I had just found to see if he had any idea why they were there. The Officer told that the Navy Seal Boat Teams will often have training missions on the river and that he suspected they were the source of the links. Without the Officer’s help, it’s likely what the source of the links would have remained a mystery much like many of the other objects that I have pulled from the water.

Finally, so much better than trash and rarer than a mystery, the best magnet fishing find… Treasure! Now, I’m sure that when most people hear the word treasure, images of gold bars and rare coins come to their minds, but unfortunately for magnet fishers, gold and silver are not magnetic. There have been stories of magnet fishers pulling up safes that have had money and jewelry in them or even finding rare artifacts from WWII or WWI, but with the exception of a nice knife that I found, I have not been so lucky. However, I have found one item that I will treasure for a long time, a rusty butter knife. I found the butter knife on one of my first magnet fishing adventures. I went to Bayou St. John on the first day I got my magnet. After a few hours of finding nothing but bottle caps and bits of rusty metal, I was ready to pack my gear up and call it a night. I was a little disappointed

that I had not pulled up anything impressive on my first outing. I decided to cast out the magnet one more time before I headed home for the night. As I was pulling the magnet back in I felt the magnet attach to something much bigger than a bottle cap. I was excited that I had finally found something big. As the magnet broke the surface of the water I saw my “big” find. Attached to the magnet was a rusty butter knife. The sight of it made me burst into laughter. I took the knife home and it now proudly sits in a flowerpot on my patio. Some people might say that a rusty butter knife is not a treasure but to me it certainly is.

In the end, I’m never sure if I’m going to pull up trash, a mystery, or a piece of treasure. I do know that I’m never disappointed when I go out magnet fishing. Even if I only catch a rusty fishhook or I end up having to make a trip to the nearest police station to turn in a pistol. I know that I have made the water a little bit cleaner and have made some great memories along the way. You never know, you just might see my picture under the headline “Man Finds Safe Filled with Gold While Magnet Fishing”. After all, stranger things have happened.