Sanibel Shelling 101

A lot of people have asked me my secret to finding such awesome shells at the beach, so I thought I would share my methods.  Mind you, the ideal way of finding great shells involves lots of bending over and getting tossed around in waves.  I can't do that, but that doesn't stop me from my passion for beach treasures!

The beaches I most often visit are on the gulf coast, near Ft Myers, Florida.  Sanibel Island is my favorite, but there are lots of beaches in the Ft. Myers area that have great shelling opportunities.

The first thing you have to understand is that there is no ONE beach, or ONE time of the day, or ONE time of the year that is better for shelling.  The tides come in and out, the wind blows east, the wind blows west, the water temperatures and currents continually change, so you can't easily predict where the best places are to find shells.  If they were easy to find, they wouldn't be such special treasures!

I do know that the best time is right around low tide.  About an hour before the lowest tide, and for about an hour after.  You can find tide charts online, and depending on the phase of the moon, the tides are higher or lower, often going into negative numbers.  Negative tides are a great time to see varies live shells, sand dollars and star fish.  NEVER take a shell that has the live creature in it!

Now that we've got that said, you will need some basic tools and supplies.

A beach umbrella and a chair:  You will want to take a break on occasion, and have a shady spot to sit and sift through your finds.  The best way to install a beach umbrella is to use a hand shovel to dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep.  Then screw the base of your umbrella into the bottom of the hole.  Fill it back in about 1/2 way, then pour some water in the hole.  Then add the rest of the sand, tamp it down with your foot, add a little water, and mound some more sand around the base, then tamp it down with your foot.  That umbrella won't go anywhere!

A Beach Cart:  Because my friends and I have several chairs, towels, umbrellas, a cooler with water and snacks, a couple of hand shovels and a few shelling rakes, we bought a beach cart.  It's a big help!!  We bought this at Sam's Club, but I've seen them in Florida Walmarts and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Now a lot of times, especially on Sanibel beaches, you will find large piles of shells, sometimes 5 to 6 inches deep.  This is one of the least taxing ways to shell.  I purchased a small bath matt, with rubber backing and some thin memory foam.  It makes sitting on that pile MUCH more comfortable.  I use my hand shovel to dig around in the pile.  The top may be picked over by other shellers, but I find all kinds of good shells several inches down.  The sandbox sifter and kitchen colander are often helpful if you are sifting for very small shells.  Bring water and sunscreen!!

That is my friend's walker, made especially for the beach with

big balloon tires and a seat!

If you aren't finding piles of shells, its time to walk the beach.  Often there is a high tide line with varies shell pieces and sea weed.  Use your shelling rake (the black basket on a stick in the picture above) to move the seaweed around and to uncover the half buried shell pieces you find.  Often those "pieces" are nice shells buried in the sand, and seaweed often has shells caught up in the debris.

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Pick through the high tide line

This treasure was found under the sea weed

but alas, he was alive, so I put him back into the water

If you are hot and not finding many shells, try the surf.  You have to kind of train your eyes to focus on finding things that are "different".  Look for different shapes, different colors or different sizes.  That way you will find shells other than the typical bi-valve shape of clams and arks, which are the most commonly found.

Among all those white, common shells, are some treasures.  Click on the pictures to enlarge them and do some cyber-shelling to see what you find!  It pays to dig around!

If you still aren't finding anything, its time to take your hand shovel and do some digging.  Dig around in the sand between the high tide line and the surf.  Sometimes there is just a thin covering of sand over a shell pile.  Or dig at the surf line, or in one to two feet of water.  I also know several great shellers that snorkel.  Digging in the water is physically taxing, and can be a little risky, because along with the shells, there are sting rays and crabs and jelly fish that also inhabit the water.

So while its a bit like looking for a needle in a hay stack, but with some patience and time, the sea will reward you with beautiful, one of a kind shells!

This man found this shell in about 3 feet of water, feeling around

with his feet.  I had shell envy, so I got in the water and started feeling around

with my feet.  I found this big guy!

But alas, this one was still occupied, so after the photo 

opp, back in the water he went!

So once you have found the shells, you have to clean them up!  Soak them in a solution of 1/2 water, 1/2 bleach for about 30 minutes.  I've left them overnight before, so time doesn't really matter.  You just want to kill any bacteria and get the smell of decaying sea critter out of the crevices.  Often there will a barnacle or two on an otherwise perfect shell.  Using a dental pick (found at the flea market), they will pick right off.  Also, sometimes you will find that small shells have lodged themselves into the opening of a bigger shell.  Use the dental pick to get them out.

To keep them colorful and shiny, put a few drops of mineral oil on a rag and rub it all over the shell.  I've also given them a coat of Krylon clear gloss spray paint, but the die hard shell collectors advise against this.

There are lots of good books and websites you can use to identify your shells.  Happy shelling!