Magnet Fisher Returns Stolen Goods After 12 Years

What is Magnet Fishing?

Magnet fishing is the act of throwing a very strong neodymium magnet into outdoor waters in the hope of retrieving valuable magnetic objects.

About Scott Bryant (Patriot Magnets)

Scott Bryant, 38, otherwise known as Patriot Magnets, is a mental health care assistant from Rochdale who quickly made his way into the newspapers with his unbelievable magnet fishing story.

 

Getting Started

In November 2018, Scott was introduced to magnet fishing by one of his family members and he hasn’t looked back since. After shadowing the family member a couple of times, he was keen to get more involved and began watching magnet fishing videos on YouTube.The first video he watched was from “Brummies Outdoors” and, coincidentally, this was their first ever magnet fishing video. Scott was excited to dip his toe in the water and bought a 60mm single sided fishing magnet (capable of pulling 110kg) to see what all of the fuss about. Safe to say, he was not disappointed.

 

Day #1: What a find!

Late January 2019, Scott went magnet fishing in his local canal in Castleton, Rochdale and only had 2 hours before he had to be elsewhere. So, he picked his spot, launched his magnet into the water and his journey began. Within a very limited timeframe, something incredible happened. He felt his magnet latch onto something heavy. After some toing and throwing, he managed to hoist the item from the canal bed, onto dry land and he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was his first safe! Within the first 2 hours of magnet fishing, he found something that takes others a tediously long time to find. Unfortunately, on closer observation, he noticed it had been cut open from the back and all of the contents were taken.

 

Scott knew this could be vital evidence for an unsolved crime so he sought advice and contacted the non-emergency police number. After a grueling 15 minute wait on hold, he was advised to put the safe next to a public bin, contact his local council and to request retrieval. He drove passed the safe several times through the week and he knew it was never going to be picked up, so he took it home and cleaned it up.

 

Day #2… Covered by the media

Two days later, Scott went back to the same location and continued to magnet fish. After a short while, he caught something again, except this time it was heavy – really heavy. Despite his 60mm (110kg pull) fishing magnet being strong enough to lug a safe out of the water a few days prior, it struggled with this larger item. Not to be beaten, Scott invested in a stronger fishing magnet capable of pulling 770kg. Two throws later, the new behemoth magnet latches onto the item that formally defeated him. After a lengthy battle trying to get the item to land, it finally resurfaced and he was utterly awestruck. He found his second safe and this is where things quickly got interesting. He noticed the door was open, filled with canal silt and muck with a watch clasp poking from inside. Scott emptied the safe and found a name inscribed silver bracelet, a silver chain, 2 watches and an expired driving license. Excited, he brought the contents home, cleaned them up and showed his wife. After a short discussion, they mutually decided to try and find the rightful owner of the contents by searching the name from the driving license through social media. After scouring Facebook, a possible match was found. Scott contacted Robert and explained the situation – Robert was ecstatic. Robert explained that he was the victim of an armed robbery in his home 12 years ago where the burglars stole the safe which had sentimental items that were passed down from relatives. After Robert explained the items that were stolen, Scott knew this was the right person.

 

Scott was excited to return the items to the rightful owner, just as Robert was to finally see them after a long 12 year wait. The news quickly spread and the story was everywhere. Rochdale online, Rochdale observer, Manchester evening news, ITV news and Granada News all covered the lovely story.

 

What other things has he found?

In just the short 3 months Scott has been magnet fishing, he has found some incredible items. So far, he has found 5 safes, machine gun bullets, knives, daggers, wheel clamps, cash boxes, cash tills, jewelry, keys, tools, bicycles and a ton of scrap. As expected, there are also many less glamorous items that are pulled from the water so Scott calls his local scrap man to collect at an agreed location.

 

Scott is a very successful magnet fisher and, after getting involved in the social media community, decided to start his own YouTube channel to share his adventures. He can be found by searching his name “Patriot Magnets” and he is found by this name on all social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Reddit.


What Fishing Magnet does Patriot Magnets use?

 

  • 60mm     single sided fishing magnet (110kg pull)    
  • 60mm     double sided fishing magnet (300kg pull)
  • 770KG     double sided

The single sided and double sided both have pros and cons which is why Scott uses both. The single sided fishing magnet is great for edging along the canal and vertically lifting items from the water. The double sided magnet is much larger and covers a much larger surface area which significantly increases the chances of finding something.

 

What other equipment does Patriot Magnets use?

  • Blackspir 9mm Braided Rope x 30 meters (with a Palomar Knot)
  • Grappling Hook: Heavy Duty Grappling Anchor Hook with 10 meter Nylon Rope
  • Filming: Samsung S8 and Akakso EK7000 4K Ultra HD sports cam, I edit it     Cyberlink Powerdirector 16 Ultra.


Finds of Fame

The Best:
The safe with contents inside

The Worst:

A sealed duffle bag full of hypodermic needles inside

Would you like to be featured as our Magnet fisher of the month? Get in touch!

From Patriot Magnets:

I am so overwhelmed with my YouTube views and channel as I’ve only set it up 4 weeks ago, I put videos up every week so please be sure to subscribe to see the latest.

 

My advice to beginners to magnet fishing:-

Get a strong pair of waterproof gloves, safety first ladies and gents. Research your locations and areas, do not enter the water, the price of a magnet or other items is not a patch on your life. Most of all, have fun and be safe.

 

I have plans for the future to meet up with other magnet fishers and to expand the hobbie to new people.

 

Thank you,

Scott Bryant.

Patriot magnets.