This Month in Magnet Fishing: March 2026 Edition

March came in loud. Between a history-worthy gun find in Massachusetts, a couple stumbling onto six figures in a Queens canal, and a kids' derby in California, this was one of the better months we've had for actual news. Let's get into it.

Okay, this one is genuinely wild.

Nate DeMontigny — you might know him from the Cape Cod Magnet Crew YouTube channel — was out fishing a bridge in Bridgewater, Massachusetts on March 12 with his buddy Sean (the Brockton Magnet Fisher). They'd been at it maybe 30 minutes when Nate pulled up what looked like a grimy little makeup case. His first instinct? Toss it in the trash bucket and move on.

Good thing he didn't.

He knocked it against the bridge railing, the case cracked open, and inside sat a Derringer pistol that looked — his words — "brand new." The case had apparently kept it in remarkable shape despite what looked like decades underwater. Nate told Boston.com the gun looked pristine even though the exterior case was encrusted beyond recognition.

Here's the kicker: Derringers aren't just any small pistol. They're named after Henry Deringer, a Philadelphia gunsmith who made a single-shot percussion pistol back in 1825. The most famous one? John Wilkes Booth used a Derringer to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Now obviously nobody's saying _this_ is that gun, but the find drew immediate attention online — the YouTube video hit over 1,700 views within days of going up, and Newsweek ran a full story on it.

Nate did the right thing and called Bridgewater PD right away. The update, as of the story going live: as long as it comes back clean, he hopes to get it back. Fingers crossed for him.

If you're fishing the rivers and bridges of the Bay State, there's clearly some serious history sitting under that water. Check out our [Massachusetts magnet fishing guide](https://www.magnetfishingisfun.com/where-to-magnet-fish/states/massachusetts) for spots worth exploring.

This story broke at the very end of March and honestly, it almost doesn't feel real.

A couple in Queens, New York pulled a safe from a canal while magnet fishing — not an unusual find, those show up fairly regularly — but this one had $100,000 cash inside. The safe had clearly been sitting down there for a while, and the money inside had no identifiable owner. They reported it to authorities, which is exactly the right call.

The story went viral fast. Every comment section on every platform immediately filled up with people announcing they were buying a magnet kit. Can't blame them.

Here's the thing though: finding a safe is one thing. Knowing what to do next is what separates people who handle it well from people who end up in legal trouble. The same general logic applies as with gun finds — document everything, don't open it yourself if possible, and get law enforcement involved. Our [what to do if you find a gun while magnet fishing](https://www.magnetfishingisfun.com/blog/what-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun-while-magnet-fishing) guide walks through the broader "I found something significant, now what?" process. Worth bookmarking before your next session.

Mid-March, ABC News ran a piece on Evan Woodard — the founder of Baltimore's Magnet Fishing Club — and it's exactly the kind of story that makes you feel good about this hobby.

Woodard meets with a group of volunteers every Thursday at Bond Street Pier in Fells Point, pulling metal out of Baltimore Harbor with neodymium magnets. The group has grown to dozens of regular participants. Among their finds: a restored 19th-century Victorian bench that they've cleaned up and preserved.

What makes Woodard's story genuinely compelling is that it's not just about the finds. He approaches it as a combination of archaeology, community building, and environmental cleanup. The club pulls hundreds of pounds of metal debris out of the harbor on a regular basis. He's also working toward opening a museum — the Salvage Arc Foundation Museum — to display recovered artifacts and connect locals with Baltimore's history.

He puts it simply: "I'm not reinventing the wheel when it comes to magnet fishing. This is a skill that I'm trying to preserve and share for future generations."

That's a good reason to be out there. If you're curious about the environmental side of the hobby — the cleanup piece that sometimes gets overlooked in favor of treasure talk — our post on [the environmental impact of magnet fishing](https://www.magnetfishingisfun.com/blog/beneath-the-surface-the-environmental-impact-of-magnet-fishing) is worth a read.

On March 23, the Cosumnes Community Services District (CSD) teamed up with the Kiwanis Club of Laguna-Elk Grove to run their annual Youth Magnet Fishing Derby at Elk Grove Park Lake in California.

Free for kids ages 5 to 13. Equipment provided. Certificates of participation. A kids' activity table. Registration required, and they filled up.

This is the kind of event that introduces entire families to the hobby in the safest, most approachable way possible. Kids who might never have touched a magnet line get to participate in an organized, community-run cleanup and go home with something to talk about. The Cosumnes CSD described it as "a cooperative activity helping to keep our waterways clean and free from hazardous debris." Exactly right.

Worth noting: the event was popular enough that they've already announced an encore — a similar derby is scheduled for April 18, 2026, so if you missed March and you're in the Sacramento area, you have another shot.

This is what the magnet fishing community looks like at its best. Want to explore spots in Northern California? Our [city guides hub](https://www.magnetfishingisfun.com/city-magnet-fishing-spots) is a good starting point, and our [magnet fishing with kids guide](https://www.magnetfishingisfun.com/blog/magnet-fishing-with-kids-a-family-summer-adventure-guide) has everything you need to run your own family outing.

After that Queens safe story, I had more than a few people ask me what magnet would've pulled that up. Something with serious pull force, clearly — a single-sided beginner magnet probably wouldn't have budged a waterlogged safe.

The FINDMAG 1000 LBS Double-Sided Kit is a solid step up for anyone who's done a few sessions and is ready to fish heavier. The double-sided design gives you more contact surface, which matters when you're dragging across uneven riverbeds. N52 neodymium core, triple-layer Ni-Cu-Ni coating to resist rust, 65-foot reinforced rope included. It's not going to set you back much, and it's genuinely one of the better mid-range kits available on Amazon right now.

Check it out on our [magnets guide](https://www.magnetfishingisfun.com/magnet-fishing-gear/magnet-fishing-magnets) for more context on how to choose the right pull force for your typical spots.

That's March. A historic pistol in Massachusetts, six figures in a Queens canal, a TV segment on one of the hobby's best community-builders, and a kids' derby that probably minted a new round of future magnet fishers. Not a bad month at all.
Got a find from March you think should've made the list? Send it over — we'd love to feature community stories in future roundups. [Sign up for the email list](https://www.magnetfishingisfun.com) and we'll let you know when April's edition drops.