Magnet fishing is the coolest hobby you probably didn't know existed

boing
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Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/06/09/magnet-fishing-is-the-coolest.html

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I’d try this in Baltimore, but I’m afraid of how many guns I’d find.

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They primarily explore WW2 sites for discarded war artifacts
such as unexploded muntions?

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Could be profitable:

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Honest question: What do you do when your $500 magnet gets stuck to an underwater pipe or something you can’t pull up? Just cut the line and count your losses?

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Keep in mind that magnet fishing probably qualifies as “OMG strange people doing strange stuff!” to normals.

When the police show up to make sure that you aren’t being Strange With Intent, explain to them how magnets work and you should be fine.

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Basically, you use a line appropriately rated for the strength of the magnet (and hope you don’t hit another $500 magnet that some trickster has bolted to something heavy).

I drag a salvage magnet through the stream and yard here occasionally, and mostly I get magnetite clumped on the magnet to the point where it looks like a banach-tarski fuzzball, and some nails.

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It’s a great way to catch steelhead!

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If you start pulling up magnets from previous magnet fishers, it’s time to back away slowly.

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I’ve watched enough Danger UXB to know how THAT ends…

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Ha.

And swordfish!

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It sounds entertaining, but at the same time I’ve gotten the impression that some magnet fishers find stuff and then leave piles of metal crap in/around the trash cans at the places they visit.

I suppose that’s better than throwing it back, and I’m certain Not All Magnet Fishers, but disposal (and driving a subcompact) is the main thing that’s kept me out of the hobby.

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Well, how do they work?

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{insert obligatory Juggalo joke here}

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I want to do this, but the metal plate in my head might be problem.

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If you need both hands free you have a convenient place to put the lure.

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often reel in non-military items such as stolen safes

Was the safe locked? Someone should start a BBS thread about opening it. I’ve got time to kill.

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I haven’t watched the video yet, but an electromagnet is maybe an option.

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Nope. Magnets, themselves, qualify as “cool swag”.

The coolest thing about this is that it directly cleans up waterways. Not much really ought to be overly magnetic or ferrous in the average stream or river, beyond magnetite and rare iron nodules…[quote=“middlewaytao, post:18, topic:102454, full:true”]
I haven’t watched the video yet, but an electromagnet is maybe an option.
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Yes, certainly, and they’re used for the exact same purpose and nearly the same way. Of course, that means you need power and cabling, as well, so w/e.

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**Every kid who watched Sesame Street in the 70s and early 80s knows about magnet fishing **

Trigger warnings:

  • Free range kids playing in a city.
  • Corduroy jumper
  • Tetanus covered caltrops made of iron
  • Kids problem solving

Danger! VIDEO CONTAINS MAGNET, Children should not be left alone or unattended around magnets.

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