Agate Hunting Made Easy: How to Really Find Lake Superior Agates - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Rock hounding is more than a hobby for author Jim Magnuson, it’s a serious and rewarding avocation that helps him connect with nature. He has been an avid hunter and student of various gems, minerals and fossils since his childhood, when he first began to hunt for stones in his native state of Illinois. In addition, Jim enjoys sharing his passion not only through showing and gifting some of his finds, but also through writing, another lifelong interest. Throughout Jim’s career as an Information Technology professional, he has developed his technical writing skills while creating new processes that reduce complexity and improve efficiency. These same skills proved to be invaluable as he set out to create a modern-day guide for beginning agate hunters. Jim is also a member of the Minnesota Mineral Club and enjoys attending other rock and mineral clubs as a way to further his learning and branch out into other types of agates, gemstones and geology. Carol Wood took up professional photography as a means of satisfying a lifelong passion for creating and sharing things of beauty. She has a keen eye for seeing perspectives in things that on the surface appear to be mundane or quite simple. Given her training and natural instincts for perspective and complementary lighting that enhances visual clarity, Carol is able to produce high-definition photographic images that enhance but don’t distract from the given subjects. These skills are essential in providing a guidebook that novice agate hunters can use as a just-in-time visual reference guide. In addition to Carol’s photographic pursuits, she also enjoys outdoor activities with her friends and family, especially activities that have both a mental and physical component. As a result, she has become an avid rock hound in her own right and has gradually built a collection of beautiful agates that adorn her home in northern Illinois. Carol’s personal interest in the hobby has helped her to walk in the shoes of the beginning rock hound and thereby envision and create a photographic learning experience.

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Farm Field Picking

Accessibility: Moderate difficulty in gaining access―mostly in finding property owners.

Probability: Excellent probability of finding agates but primarily in the spring after plowing is done and there have been a couple of good rains. Once the crops get over knee high, it’s impossible to hunt.

Finding the fields: The only way to find good farm fields for picking is to get in the car and do some driving. Look for fields with lots of exposed rock on the surface. Then get out of the car to see how many stones are in the field and how large they are. One great tip is to look in the vicinity of active sand and gravel pits because they are always within a larger area of Lake Superior gravel distribution.

Gaining access: Stop at the house near the field you want to hunt in and ask if they are the owner and/or know the owner. Be ready to tell them how you are respectful of the land, will not litter or step on crops, and that you only want to collect a few agates, if you are lucky. If you sense resistance, you can offer them a small sum of money for the privilege of hunting on their property, but usually this isn’t necessary.

Hunting methods for farm fields: Farm fields are fantastic for hunting agates. Because of the nicely defined rows, you know exactly where you’ve already hunted and where you haven’t. Generally the distribution of stones is uneven; some sections will be just littered with gravel and others will have none. Therefore, work the field in sections that contain the most rock. After all, there are only so many hunting hours in a day! Walk down one row and visually inspect the row you are in plus one row each to the right and left. Once you get to the end of the rocky section where you are hunting, shift three rows to the right or left and go back the other direction. While walking in this direction, look down the row you are in and one row to your left and right.