I spend alot of time hunting the San Jac River near Conroe. I've had some luck, found 2 earlier this week(Gary and Early triangular). Whats the best way to hunt in and around this river? I usually just walk the exposed rock beds looking for jagged edges.

I haven't been there, but Redman has, and one tip is that the river is surely owned by the State, so taking anything off state land is now a felony if you are caught. Be sure of where these boundaries are at when you go hunting! Good Luck!

I don't think coogfan was asking what is legal and what is not.

A member here named Roy hunts the San Jac pretty regularly. I think it might be the guy you met on the river a little while back? I'm sure he has some pointers.

It was Roy I met at the river a while back. What says you Roy? Had any luck as of late?

hello,i have talked to gamewardens in the area.picking up points is fine in the river.i just walk and most people sift in the rock beds.i'll be posting pics. soon

Looking forward to the pics. Have you been on the river lately?

Well now, Take a look at a Texas road map and you will see that much of the area drained by the San Jacinto River is in the Sam Houston National Forest.
Federal Archeological Resources Act of 1979, Public Law 95-96, U.S.C. 470 prohibits the collection of artifacts on Federal Lands including all National Forests without a permit. Permits are only issued to qualified professional archeologists.
The Antiquities Code of Texas, Natural Resources Code, Title 9. Chapter 19 forbids collecting artifacts on all state lands to include Territorial Waters without a permit. Permits are only issued to qualified professional archeologists.
Federal Admiralty Jurisdiction Code 25 U.S.C., Section 1333 defines those rivers and riverbeds within a state's jurisdiction to be State Territorial Waters.
Part of the area in question is in TPWD Region 9, District 1. Captain Fred Churchill 979 260-1372 is in charge of that district and the associated Texas Game wardens in that district. Give him a call and see if he and his wardens condone the breaking of the above statutes.

ROY.....

Is that really YOU ? ? ? ? ? We thought you might have gone to flint heaven...good to hear from you again.

Your few words in this matter help all surfacers.
I talked to the president of PALEONTALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTIN [ fossil people ] they go on monthly field trips to a wide variety of locations, from road cuts to dam spillways. He said only ONCE in ten years have they ever been asked to leave by a police type.
The The judgement was that it's up to local discression what to enforce and why [ traffic or spillway dangers ??

Last year checked with the LCRA people that have huge jurisdiction rights over the Colorado river, IF your OK with the dry land owners they have no problem with surfacing...ABSOLUTLY NO DIGGING, SCREENING OR SCRATCHING ANYWHERE.

Just TODAY, the Pecker and I walked a near Austin Creek....DIS -ASTER ! ! ! ! Wish you and your expertise were there with us. Found ZERO but the worst probably was that it was heavily algaed over and whatever may have been there was well disguised even after a recent washout rain.

Rotten SLIPPERY...I gotta get off the subject...She's got a few pics She might post [ if and when she stops crying !!]

Redman & Hal, Thank you for your specific inputs here. After all, he did request tips and advise. I know Fred Churchill, he used to be based at Georgetown and Round Rock....and believe me when I say that you don't want to get busted by him! He has jailed and fined Many ah digger in Williamson County in the past.

So besides the legal advise what are some tips for finding points on a rock bed? Should I focus primarily on shapes, color or size? Will I have more luck looking on beds with small rock or Larger peices? Should I focus close to the bank or waters edge? Thanks.

I've had my best luck in gravel beds that get exposed after the waters go down....Most of the stuff is washdown from another site, usually on private property that I can't get on...Don't know if you like them or not, but I find a lot of fossils in those same beds....It is kinda cool to find a piece of stone that was once a living, breathing animal and is sixtyfive million years old

Hey Coog, stop holding out on us and post up your lastest finds!

Coog, your last entreaty really got to me, I dont think you fully realise how close you hit to reality.

Your words "Shall I consentrate on shape, color or size " The fact is that the human eye only transmits information to the brain.....As lofty as it sounds, the brain must be TRAINED to react the way you want it to. The ONLY way is practice and experience and it would be simaltaniously processing all three factors you listed. Thats probably not the answer
you hoped for, but it's true.

Other red hot tips...DONT waste time in drainages with big algae covered slippery rocks.

Yes, depending on the stream, THINGS do classify themselves out. My best example would be Pecker's
creek find years ago of shark / ray TEETH along the lip of a fine silt line along a gravel bar [ THAT is a well trained Brain !! ] Most were about quarter inch, a few half inch.

The mind boggles to consider how long Roy's brain has been in school !

Coogfan, when I have hunted amidst rock beds on creeks and rivers, I concentrate on the gravel bars, and especially sand and gravel that has washed up against a boulder or rock ledge that tends to block or channel flows. Wherever sand and gravel has backed up against something holding it in place can be a good spot, and I do sift it when there is no wet soil and clay. I did this on the upper devils river years ago and had good luck, the same along Barton creek in Austin, and the upper Pecos River. The common denominator was finding points within the bottom 3 inches over bedrock. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the input.