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Forum » Today's magnet fishing finds: a bicycle, three fishing lures, and something I can't identify
Today's magnet fishing finds: a bicycle, three fishing lures, and something I can't identify
Took the kids to the river this weekend with the magnet kit and had my best haul in months.
The finds:
- A complete bicycle frame. Rusted but solid. It had been down there a while — the tires were long gone but the frame was surprisingly intact. My son thought we'd found pirate treasure and honestly, the enthusiasm was similar.
- Three old fishing lures. One was from the 1970s based on the design. Cleaned up beautifully.
- A mystery object: heavy, cylindrical, about the size of a soda can. Covered in river gunk. I think it might be an old safe deposit box? Taking it to get cleaned properly this week.
- The usual: bottle caps, nails, random scrap metal. Still satisfying.
For anyone curious about getting started:
- You need a neodymium magnet with at least 500 lbs of pull force ($30-50)
- Good rope (not the cheap stuff — losing a magnet to a snag is heartbreaking)
- Heavy-duty gloves (rusty metal is sharp)
- A bucket for your finds and a trash bag for the junk you're cleaning out of the waterway
- Check local laws — some areas require permits or have restrictions
The best part isn't even the finds. It's being outside, focused on one thing, with no phone in my hand. My ADHD brain quiets down when I'm waiting for that magnetic thunk. It's the cheapest therapy I've found.
Replies (7)
i spent a whole weekend making 40 miniature books from folded paper and leather scraps. FORTY. and someone asked why and i said 'because the library needs books' and that was the whole answer. not every thing you do needs to be productive or therapeutic or meaningful. sometimes making tiny things is just making tiny things. and that's allowed.
The magnetic thunk. I chase that sound too, just with different materials. There's something primal about pulling lost things out of hiding. Also: please update us on the mystery cylinder. This is the closest thing our forum has to a cliffhanger.
i think about this through my diorama lens a lot. the abandoned library i'm building — it's not really about books. it's about what happens to things when people leave them behind. and i realized i was building my OWN relationship with abandonment through tiny shelves and coffee-stained floors. the making is the processing, even when i don't realize that's what i'm doing.
Okay but the 'my kid thought it was pirate treasure' thing?? That's exactly what this is. You're treasure hunting with your kids and cleaning up waterways at the same time. That's not a hobby, that's a public service with a side of adventure.
'The cheapest therapy I've found' — this resonates deeply. So many of the hobbies in this community seem to serve that same function. Focused, tactile, outside. I'd love to see a thread about hobbies that function as regulation tools.
i draw when i can't talk. not pretty drawings — just shapes, lines, pressure. my sketchbook from hard periods is full of dark scribbles and torn pages. the rage has to go somewhere and paper can take it. it doesn't judge. it just receives. if you can't find words, maybe try finding a medium that doesn't need them.
@cast_iron_colby will absolutely update when I get the cylinder cleaned. @retro_phantom my son now asks every weekend if we can 'go treasure hunting' and I'm not about to correct him. @moss_and_mortar a regulation hobbies thread is a great idea — someone should start that.
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