PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Sick of fish that won’t bite? It turns out there’s a much surer way to reel in a big catch: Magnet fishing.
Antonio Hernandez, 25 from Cherry Hill, tosses high-powered magnets attached to 100-foot ropes into the Delaware River, and on the Schuylkill River along Kelly Drive just north of the Girard Avenue Bridge.
“When the currents are stronger or the water rises, it tends to move more stuff downstream so things that used to be embedded rise to the surface,” said Hernandez as his line “dances” with his latest attempted catch.
“When something is long and awkward, normally if I pull in a block of something, the current kind of jiggles it as I’m moving it. The rope is kind of twisting like it’s dancing.“
You can buy magnet fishing kits online. Some contain high-powered magnets, ropes, and gloves.
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The magnet Is attached to a long rope, and then it’s dragged along the bottom of the river, attracting metal objects that are then pulled up to the surface.
For every 300 pounds of metal he pulls in, Hernandez gets about $30 at an area scrap yard.
He catches nails, railroad spikes, parts of cars, tools, jewelry, and a whole lot more.
“It’s kind of funny because one time I started pulling up something … and I thought it was a human hand, and I’m here freaking out, ‘Oh no, I have a body! I’m attached to somebody’s implant!'” Hernandez said.
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“It turned out to be just a mannequin … just a mannequin hand. It had some screws in it, and that’s what I got up.”
Hernandez has fished out some knives, and even guns. He reports weapons he has found to the police.
Our adventure on Monday had Hernandez calling 911. What did police determine the object resembling a gun to be?
“Um, well it turns out … It’s not a gun. It’s shaped like a gun. It feels like a gun. It’s metal,” Hernandez said.
When the suggestion came that it could be an antique toy, he said, “That would be exciting! It would make a perfect trophy case item.”
Not everyone is happy to see him along the water, however. Those who are fishing for actual fish sometimes don’t appreciate his presence.
“I scare away the fish,” he admits. “Every time I throw It in, I make big splashes, so I try to be respectful. When If I see people already fishing, I tend to stay away from them. I go upstream or downstream so I don’t mess up their catches.”
As a peace offering, Hernandez gives the fisherman lures he pulled out of the river whIle magnet fishing.