What is magnet fishing? Beginner's guide | Magnetfiskebutiken

So, what is Magnet Fishing?

Magnet fishing is a relatively new hobby that is growing explosively throughout the world, more and more people want to try it.
No, we are not fishing for fish while doing this. In magnet fishing, you use an extremely strong magnet (Neodymium magnet) at the end of a strong rope. With this, you simply "fish" for metal objects that have been dumped in our waters.

If you're lucky, you might get a piece of Swedish history on the magnet, but be prepared that you might find some stolen goods or even dumped weapons. You should of course report this to the police immediately.

Are there different types of magnets I can use?

There are 2 different types of magnets that are the most common types of magnets, but we only recommend one of them. Below we will go into more detail:

Neodymium magnets
Also called "Rare Earth Magnets" are probably the best in all situations when it comes to magnet fishing. They are extremely powerful and are definitely not something that should get into the hands of children! If you get your fingers between the magnet and a heavy metal object, it can have really unpleasant consequences!
Ferrite magnets
Ferrite magnets are the same material as your fridge magnets (ceramic) and cost less than neodymium. But are nowhere near as powerful as neodymium magnets and break much more easily.

So these are not something we recommend for magnet fishing.

Why the extreme power?

Now you're probably thinking - "why on earth would I need a magnet with 400kg pull force for magnet fishing?!".
These 400kg are measured on a completely flat piece of pure thick steel, more precisely 10mm thick.
When magnet fishing, you will find things that have been in the water for many years, so there is most likely a lot of rust. Rust and other coatings significantly reduce the pull force of the magnet.
The grip surface also has an effect, like a steel pipe for example, where there are not many millimeters that lie against the grip surface.

So, the higher the pull force of the magnet, the greater the chance that you will lift the heavy treasure chest!

Do you need a permit for magnet fishing?

No, there are no permit requirements for magnet fishing like there are with, for example, metal detectors. But of course you have to ask the landowner for permission if you intend to magnet fish in a private area. Common sense goes a long way!

One tool you can use is ledningskollen.se, to ensure that there are no pipes in the water that you could risk damaging.

Finally, always take care of the scrap you leave behind! If you find something large that you don't know what to do with, you can try contacting the municipality and asking for help with removal. If they can't help you, you are responsible for having it removed.
If large piles of scrap are left along our waters, we risk giving magnet fishing an incredibly bad reputation.

Maintenance of the magnets

What kind of rope should I use for magnet fishing?

We recommend that you use a braided rope with several separately twisted inner strands. This is so that the rope does not "untwist" as easily as, for example, regular rope does.

The length of the rope depends a bit on how you want to magnet fish. If you magnet fish from a boat or pier, where you "dip" the magnet instead of throwing it, then 15m of rope is usually more than enough. However, if you want to throw the magnet out and then pull it in along the bottom, then 30m of rope is preferable.
Also look at the specified breaking strength of the rope, too low a breaking strength can result in the rope breaking and you losing your magnet.

After a lot of testing and contact with different suppliers, we have developed a rope that we think works really well in practice, you can find it HERE.

Worth mentioning again, greater pull force on the magnets can result in greater personal injury if the magnet is handled incorrectly.

So, what is Magnet Fishing?

Are there different types of magnets I can use?

Neodymium magnets

Ferrite magnets