First Sluice

[go4thegold]

Not only do you have to learn your sluice but you have to start learning the geology and how gold works.
A sluice is cool but if it's not catching any gold then it's just a cool looking box.

There's a lot of concept to gold that you should know before you go out and start looking on the river for actual gold.
River Bends, Bedrock, Crevices, Gravel Bars, etc etc.
It's all research before hauling ass and digging up dirt without gold! I mean you might get lucky but it's always better if you know you're in a spot that has potential.
I'm not trying to be hypocritical here because I'm just starting out, but I feel like I'm majoring in Geology right now.

 

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[Duckwalk]

Thanks for the advice. The creek I'm hitting up this weekend showed 4 colors in 2 pans. Not a whole lot but it makes me want to process more material!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Thanks for the advice. The creek I'm hitting up this weekend showed 4 colors in 2 pans. Not a whole lot but it makes me want to process more material!

Congrats on finding a creek with potential, now you just need to find the hot spots where the gold accumulates in that creek.

 

[Duckwalk]

Yeah hoping i can find a little gold streak or something. there are spots i havent test panned yet on the inside of some of the turns in the creek where the gravels and tiny garnets tend to end up. need to hit all of those spots before i even set the sluice down.

 

[goldenmojo]

4 colors in 2 pans is not great but if you are getting nearly the same size gold consistently you can stack 2 classifiers on top of your pan , fill the top one full and dunk the whole stack completely underwater. Shake it violently and if you have your bottom screen is somewhat close to your gold size you can dig classify and pan the whole process taking less than 3 minutes. You will be able to work efficiently to find the pay streak. Be sure to pan out your what is left in the classifiers. Panning well is the secret.

 

[rodoconnor]

One mistake that new guys make is to not run the water fast enough. The video they posted here is good. You want to see the b/s kinda dancing under the riffles and you want to be able to see a little bit of your carpet/moss between the riffles. Join a local club and find an experienced guy to set you straight. Joining a good club can sure shorten the learning time. Good Luck Duck

 

[Duckwalk]

WELP, this weekend was a bust... got T-Stormed out. I dont mind a good storm but you wont catch me wading in the water with lighting all around...

 

[kevin1]

WELP, this weekend was a bust... got T-Stormed out. I don't mind a good storm but you wont catch me wading in the water with lighting all around...

Thunderstorms mean more gold in the creek to be found, there's always an upside if you look for it.

 

[Duckwalk]

Woohoo! Got permission to hunt some private property on sweet water creek here in ga! Very excited. The landowner even said he wants to join me!