Ben Demchak took up magnet fishing, the practice of tossing a high-powered magnet attached to a synthetic rope into a body of water in search of submerged metal objects, five or six years ago. An archaeologist by trade who regularly travels across the country on survey jobs, he was fascinated by the lost items that lay submerged beneath the rivers, lakes and streams in the places he was visiting.

Fueled by Youtube and TikTok videos of people hauling handguns, knives and shopping carts out of the water, magnet fishing took off during the height of the pandemic, when people were looking for outdoor activities to alleviate boredom and get them out of the house.

When Demchak noticed the rise in popularity, he started his own business, Kratos Magnetics, to offer stronger and more affordable magnets in the U.S. market.

While Demchak has made some major finds of his own, he explains that the day-to-day reality of magnet fishing is much less exciting. Sure, there's always a chance for those big finds, but if you want to land the most interesting finds, it takes patience, determination and consistency. You can't expect to find a lost gun every time. More often, you're pulling out rusted scrap, ferrous rock and bottlecaps. So. Many. Bottlecaps. Or even another fisherman's magnet.

Photographed for the New York Times.