Magnet fishermen hunt for sunken treasures in Quebec’s waterways

Frédérick Hardy reaches back with his left arm and holds a climbing rope with a heavy magnet on the end.

He tosses and throws the weight as far as he can into Montreal’s Lachine Canal, near the Atwater Market.

“It’s like playing the lottery. You throw, you don’t know what you’re going to find,” said Hardy.

He has found everything from iron rails to mortar shells. And he also found enough change.

“People make wishes,” he said. “Sometimes the wishes come back to my magnet. Sorry.”

Magnet fishing is a growing trend all over the world. And based on involvement in online magnet fishing communities, Page maintainers estimate there are thousands participating in the hobby across Quebec.

People usually get into it hoping to find interesting or even valuable items while clearing waterways.

Not always ‘finders keepers’

Serge Côté, who lives in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, has written two books on the subject, including a magnet fishing guide to the province.

In his Facebook group Peche à l’aimant Québec, which has some 2,600 members, hobbyists post discoveries such as rusted bicycles and street signs. There are old springs, caps, tools, washers and screws, but also old coins or wagon wheels.

In a recent post to the group, someone pulled out an entire golf cart. The author wrote that the police were called and determined to be a stolen cart from a nearby camping marina.

Sometimes the magnets find guns, ammunition, telephones, watches, safes or bags of money. But, Côté explained, they’re not all finders-keepers.

He said it is important to contact the police when a weapon or something that may have been stolen is found.

When Hardy found a gun last month, he called the police. He said they told him it was unusable and he could keep it. So he cleaned it up and put it on display.

“It’s an old Swedish rifle,” he said, estimating it dates from somewhere between 1942 and 1960.

The hobby is becoming so popular that the province’s first-ever Global Magnet Fishing Day event is scheduled for July 15 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., about 25 miles south of Montreal.

It’s going to be a full day of magnet fishing in the Chambly Canal, where organizers like Côté and Hardy expect there will be some particularly interesting treasures.

“We’ve heard from word of mouth that it’s a place worth exploring,” said Côté, who described the event as an opportunity to introduce more Quebecers to the activity.

“A group of magnet fishermen go magnet fishing together, to show that it is an ecological way to clean the water.”

Hardy said cleaning up the water is one of the main goals of magnet fishing, and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu welcomes the initiative.

“We hope this event will help raise public awareness of the importance of caring for our waterways,” said municipal spokesperson Marie-Pier Gagnon, noting that the canal is managed by Parks Canada.

Besides being aware that you can’t just keep everything suspicious, Côté said there are few rules around magnet fishing. You just have to stay away from private property if you don’t have permission, and avoid archaeological sites.

In his 12 years of magnet fishing, Côté said one of his most memorable finds was an old Volkswagen that came out of the water in two pieces.

“I had to find people to help me,” he said. “It was too heavy.”

A hobby for all ages

Anyone can magnet fish, Hardy said. Magnet and rope kits can be found online, but it’s important for people to find a magnet that fits their strength. A powerful magnet can lock onto something too heavy to pick up.

“You can get rid of cars and old boats if you want,” he said. “But you have to be careful or you’ll lose your magnet. It happened to me.’

Hardy has a YouTube channel, Joker’s Magnet, where he posts videos of his adventures in Quebec and the United States.

As for all the metal he gets from places like the Lachine Canal, Hardy said he often threw it away for pocket money. But it’s not really the extra money that keeps him interested. It’s the thrill of finding surprises, but also helping to clean up the environment, he said.

Some, like Montreal-based Pierre Brise-Bois, hope to find evidence that could help police solve a criminal case.

“I want to find a gun or something to help the police with an investigation,” he said.

Recently, Brise-Bois retrieved a Bixi from the Lachine Canal, he said. He has found more than 15 bicycles, he said, and a complete car door.

“It’s like a big bag of surprises,” he said. “You never know what you’ll get.”