What is Magnet Fishing?
Magnet fishing: It’s a crazy way to fish out treasure from underwater that practically guarantees you will ‘catch’ something interesting!! The act of throwing a wickedly strong magnet at the end of a rope into a creek, river, lake or ocean to see what you can pull out is called “magnet fishing”. It’s the perfect blend of treasure hunting and fishing, combining the thrill and anticipation of both at a faster pace that is difficult to put down!
Whether your magnet has just snagged the latest apple-watch from the water below a popular jump rock or simply a bunch of nails, the thrill of what you might pull out of the water next makes magnet fishing a fun and addictive outdoor hobby that anyone can enjoy.
What can you find Magnet Fishing?
It’s astonishing what you can find magnet fishing, there is an unimaginable amount of cool stuff lost in Australian waterways never to be seen again. Although Australia isn't known for its extensive metalworking history like other countries, we are still a country covered in very popular lakes, rivers and estuaries and therefore an abundance of places to go and treasure to find.
Whether it was a favourite pair of Ray-Ban sunnies, an Apple Watch watch or simply the spark plug from a boat, most people who have spent any amount of time on the water have probably lost something in said water. Surprisingly, a high proportion of lost stuff contains at least a small amount of magnetic material making them common things that you can find while magnet fishing!
With a high quality, powerful 360-degree fishing magnet you will even be able to find slightly magnetic objects like most electronics! Although most magnets aren’t strong enough to find modern electronics, 360-degree fishing magnets are. They are more than capable of finding phones, smart-watches and action cams which have only trace amounts of magnetic material in them, many of these waterproof devices are also still in working condition!
Interesting Items Frequently Found Magnet Fishing:
- Phones & Watches
- Go Pros and Camera Equipment
- Antiques
- Safes
- Guns & Ammo
- Kitchenwares
- Fishing Gear
- Scooters and Bikes
- Anything else that is magnetic or has trace magnetic metals in it
Best place to go Magnet Fishing?
We are super lucky in Australia to have the warm weather and amazing waterways that make watersports popular! Magnet fishing can be great fun in practically any location where there has been human activity, ranging from wharves and boat ramps to swimming holes and below large rocks or under bridges where people jump from.
On the other hand, very interesting items like weapons can be found in areas where nobody is likely to look for them! The first place that many people try to hide knives and guns is underwater!
The best places to go magnet fishing are areas where people enter, exit or cross the water. Deeper and murkier streams of water can be very easy places to lose things in and tend to be better than shallow clear areas where people can see things on the bottom.
If you already do any kind of metal detecting then magnet fishing is the perfect compliment, and vice versa. There are so many incredible locations out there teeming with treasure that can be explored with a fishing magnet or a metal detector (which can also pick up non-magnetic metals you’ll miss with your magnet). It can also be incredibly helpful to use your fishing magnet to remove some magnetic items from an area before metal detecting. Removing steel from an area can mean you will find a lot more hidden valuable targets with your detector if they were previously masked or covered by said steel.
What is the best type of magnet for Magnet Fishing?
Anyone serious about finding good stuff magnet fishing will no doubt want to be using the best fishing magnet fit for the purpose! Simply put, the best fishing magnets will not only have high holding power but will also have a much larger magnetic field that can pick up objects from further away. These dedicated fishing magnets are an almost solid block of high-grade neodymium and generally have a cover with them made from stainless steel like our 360-degree Magnet Range which helps protect the brittle neodymium from cracking when you cast it out.
Lower-end fishing magnets tend to have a much flatter shape, these magnets are generally less expensive but they do lack the power and magnetic range to grab difficult targets like phones, cameras, watches and safes. These flat style fishing magnets are only strongly magnetic on just one face or two faces if it's a double sided magnet.
The high end LR or 360 fishing magnets are a taller cylinder shape and contain far more of the magnetic neodymium material. Although more expensive they have a far larger and stronger magnetic field and greater holding power than the flat magnets do, these magnets massively increase the chances of attracting and holding onto the goodies when you’re magnet fishing.
They also have the massive bonus of being magnetic on all sides (which many overlook) which exponentially increases the chances that something will be on your magnet when you pull it out of the water!
What strength magnet do you need for Magnet Fishing?
Generally speaking, a fishing magnet with a higher "rated" maximum holding strength will be better than a lower rated one for magnet fishing but there is a lot more to choosing a magnet than these arbitrary numbers!
Surprisingly, a magnet “rated to 100 kg” is probably the lowest rating you’d want to try magnet fishing with! Firstly the ratings on fishing magnets aren’t at all standardised so the numbers on them don't necessarily reflect their strength. Secondly, even if the number is accurate, it still won’t really tell you the full story on how well it will perform at magnet fishing!
For example, a flat style magnet with a max holding strength of 200kg will not have the range or real-world holding strength of an “equivalent” LR/360 magnet. Because flat style magnets have a larger face, it means that most magnetic items will be making contact with a lower percentage of the face and therefore have less real-world holding power!
For any magnet to achieve its max rated strength it will need to make full contact with a thick, flat steel plate! Fortunately for us magnet fishers, there are very few situations when our fishing magnets will achieve this as it becomes near impossible to remove a strong fishing magnet!
Is a bigger Fishing Magnet better?
The short answer is: absolutely yes. Larger and more powerful fishing magnets have significantly greater ranges, meaning you’ll be able to pull up more with each cast and thus increase your odds of finding valuable items. Not only that, but for valuables that contain very little magnetic material, you significantly increase the odds of successfully pulling them up.
Best Magnet Fishing Kits?
A good magnet fishing kit makes it easy and convenient for you to start magnet fishing straight out of the box because everything you need is included!
The obvious essentials in a magnet fishing kit are a strong magnet and a good rope but the best magnet fishing kits also include:
- A Hard-case to safely store the Magnet in (for your safety not the magnets!). A hard-case will keep a fishing magnet from making direct contact with magnetic items and possibly pinching you when being carried or getting stuck on something unintentionally.
- A Stainless Magnet cover to protect the fragile magnet itself during use.
- Gloves to protect your hands and provide extra grip.
-
Threadlocker so you don’t lose your fishing magnet from a loose bolt!
How safe is magnet fishing?
With some fishing magnets rated to well over 1000kg, it’s important that while you’re out having fun treasure hunting to keep safety in mind. It’s very difficult to get pinched by most flat style magnets because their effective range is relatively low, so it's unlikely a finger will get caught even between larger chunks of steel. The LR (Long Range) magnets however can certainly pinch hard so it's recommended to keep your hands away from the face of them when they are near any large steel objects!
It’s easy to get carried away when you're at or heading to your next magnet fishing locale, so the best piece of safety advice is simply to only hold the rope and avoid grabbing the magnet itself! Other than removing small items from the magnet, there is rarely a need to actually touch the fishing magnet itself. It's easy to remove larger finds by stepping on them and pulling the magnet off by the rope, making it nearly impossible to get your finger pinched. If the magnet is really stuck to something then using a screwdriver or other leverage tool will totally eliminate any need to touch the magnet!
For people just starting out magnet fishing, the flat style magnets or smaller sized 360 magnets are much easier options to handle!
Can you find coins and jewellery Magnet Fishing?
Interestingly, the most common way to find jewellery and coins with your fishing magnet is when they are inside something magnetic like a safe, wallet or purse. This is because Australian coins and most jewellery is not magnetic, however many foreign coins and some strange alloys of jewellery can in fact be magnetic! .
Magnet Fishing In Australia, Is it allowed?
Magnet fishing is a new, exciting and growing hobby here, and just like regular fishing it’s fully legal in Australia. At the end of the day, whether it be treasure or a bit of scrap, you’re pulling things out of the water that shouldn’t be there which benefits everyone. It’s a great idea to take any scrap you find with you too, because a fishing magnet can pretty easily pay itself off with any scrap metal you cash in (especially at the current scrap metal prices). It pays dividends to leave places cleaner than when you found them, so what better way to make sure you’ll always have the opportunity to pull up some treasure.
What are our top tips for Magnet Fishing you should know?
- Research possible past and present locations for human activity to give you the best chance of finding awesome treasure.
- Return identifiable items where possible, some of our best and most memorable finds were the ones that resulted in a big smile or a few happy tears.
- Use caution when handling strong fishing magnets due to the risk of pinching, don’t get too carried away pulling the magnet off your next safe!
- Leave every location cleaner than when you found it, you can even pay off your magnet even with the scrap you find alone.
- Wear protective magnet fishing gloves with good grip for hauling up your next treasure.
- Apply thread locking product to the threads on your fishing magnets loop to ensure it can’t unwind, bringing your session of outdoor fun to a premature end.
- Pack a bucket and/or durable trash bag as it makes it easier to haul & dispose of any scrap found even if you're not selling it for extra money at a scrap yard.
- Keep away from pace-makers, while magnet fishing can be enjoyed by anyone it’s important to stay safe near devices like these.
Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave a comment or contact our friendly and professional team at any time if you're interested in the exciting world of magnet fishing or for anything else!
You can check out our range of magnets HERE.