Is There More Treasures Than Gold In Utah Rivers?

Magnet fishing is all the rage on YouTube. It's where you take an industrial strength magnet, hook it to a rope and throw it into a body of water. By dragging the magnet across the bottom of the lake or river, you hope to catch any metal objects that have been dropped there.

Most times it is fishing gear, pocketknives and sunglasses, but some have found guns, bicycles and canon balls. Here’s some tips for those who want to get started magnet fishing like not smashing your hand between the magnet and a piece of metal. 

I decided to try my hand at magnet fishing here in Southern Utah. I purchased a strong magnet from Harbor Freight, attached a cable to it and I was ready. 

When magnet fishing, you’re looking for a dock or a bridge or maybe a canal near a place people often pass where metal objects may have been dropped by mistake and lost in the murky water. I pondered the best place here in Washington County. We certainly have plenty of bodies of water. 

I decided to visit the Virgin River where residents often visit to skim board. There is a diversion dam here as well and I figured anything washed down the river would end up here as well.  

Standing on the side of the diversion dam, I threw the magnet into the raging torrent. The current carried my magnet over the diversion dam before it finally hit the bottom underneath. I carefully dragged it across the bottom and up the side. As I pulled it free of the water, I was surprised to discover... there was absolutely nothing attached to the end. (The picture of the knife was what I was hoping for.)

With the help of some young men, we continued to toss the magnet in and fish for lost treasures. After about a half hour of dropping the magnet in different locations along the bank, we still had not caught anything metal, just water plants that got entangled. 

I’m not giving up though. I’ll try again at one of the reservoirs where people load their boats or stand on the pier. I am starting to think some of those videos of magnet fishing on You Tube could be rigged. But even if magnet fishing turns out to be a bust, its fun hanging out by large bodies of water in Southern Utah.