Canals are the most popular places to Magnet Fish and for good reason. Canals are tried and tested and have a really good hit rate for people looking to find lots of items. Canals were previously used as the main mode of transport for many countries across Europe and it wasn’t uncommon for things to fall into the water when being loaded onto the canal barge. They are usually easy to access from residential areas which mean people often dispose of unwanted items here. There are many canals that haven’t been drained in a very long time which increases the chances of you finding something historic. In fact, it was reported that a drained Dutch canal revealed 700,000 items which included some dating back to the 1500s. There’s some serious history to be found.

Bridges are usually easily accessible and used by hundreds, thousands and sometimes millions of people. This increases the likelihood of people dropping items and valuables into the water. You may even find a bridge that is less populated but very old. The age of the bridge is a very important factor as there’s a higher chance of finding something historic. Bridges in old rural villages are great for this kind of Magnet Fishing. Since many bridges are easily accessible by car, many criminals use bridges as dumping grounds for unwanted items. This is why you’ll find many safes or weapons underneath bridges – especially in areas with a high crime rate. We advise you to go to the police station if you find something suspicious because it could help with an ongoing investigation. As a side note, please be careful if you’re targeting areas with a high crime rate. It isn’t uncommon to find people and youths using bridges as shelters and it’s surprising how many of these people accidentally drop their valuables into the water.

Piers and harbors usually have people nearby for an extended period of time. Whether that’s due to fishing, docking boats or for work. The longer these people are in these areas, the higher the chance they will drop something into the body of water. Not only that, if you’ve ever seen a boat dock in an area, they usually bump their fenders (they cushion the blow when they hit the harbor) and this sends a shudder through the boat. These bumps have been known to knock items overboard. Here you can find items such as knives, compasses, tools, phones, money boxes etc. It isn’t uncommon to come across high-value items too – the list really is endless! If you’re in the right harbor, you could be in a tourist hotspot that is sure to have items in the water. If the area is busy enough, you can go back multiple times a year as there’s surely a top-up of items waiting to be retrieved. People have been known to find money, watches, wallets, sunglasses and other valuable items. You can be more methodical in your approach and research old harbors where you’ll have an increased chance of finding historic items like an old spyglass, compass or other ancient naval and fishing equipment. If you find historic items, there will always be a collector or museum who would be interested to buy.

Magnet Fishing in rivers near populated areas (like cities) is very interesting and can yield some very fascinating results. Just to put this into perspective, 40,000 people walk over London bridge every single day. That’s 14 million a year – double the total number of people who live in Hong Kong! Cities in the 21st century are highly populated, very busy and things are dropped in the rivers every single day. This is perfect for Magnet Fishers. Aside from people accidentally dropping items in these rivers, crime rates are much higher in cities than rural areas and that means criminals are wanting to dispose of unwanted items. It’s important to note that you could find some sinister things so please hand any suspicious items into the police.

The first and most important tip when Magnet Fishing in lakes – make sure you have a long rope! Many people purchase their rope based on how far they’d like to throw their magnet. In fact, depth is just as important so make sure you get at least a 30m rope for those extra deep lakes. There are over 40,000 lakes in the UK alone so it’s very likely you aren’t too far from one. In fact, lots of natural lakes are known to be over 10,000 years old which is bound to be filled with interesting historic artefacts. There are many man-made lakes in the UK which, more often than not, are the result of a mining pit being flooded. Redundant mines are often flooded once operations have ceased and people have been known to find 18th-century mining equipment when Magnet Fishing in these areas. Remember, do your research to increase your chance of finding something interesting. Also, ensure you are considerate of other users such as fishermen because your magnet hitting the water creates ripples that can scare fish away from a very large distance. This is a defense mechanism for the fish as they mistake these ripples for a large predator. If you plan on Magnet Fishing in a lake, it’s always best to speak with any fishers to politely ask if they’re okay with you magnet fishing there.

Notice we say abandoned wells. This isn’t to say you can sneak up to any farmer’s well, throw your magnet in there and run. That’s crossing many unethical boundaries. It is very important the well you use is abandoned and not owned by anybody, otherwise, taking money or valuables is considered as theft. Abandoned wells can be a very easy target because people have been known to throw all sorts of weird and wonderful things down these. Who knows what you’ll find?