Idaho panner

color blind , I'm father than 75 miles ,Twin. I share your frustration with the mini-micro gold
 

Thanks for the reply rodoconnor, That kinda makes me feel better, I was ready to head your way this spring-maybe we need to head a little further west or north.:dontknow: It's a guessing game but it's out there! Just trying to fine tune a miller table we just built. Works pretty well on that baby powder stuff we have, haven't got it completly figured out yet still alot of it in the out-side bucket.:icon_scratch:
 

CB PM me I know a few places on the Snake that are a little better than average.
 

Anyone from (Near) Idaho Falls finding anything within 75 miles bigger than flour?
You need to get up in the batholith country. I know lots of places to find color, but it's all really fine. Nowhere within 75 miles of IF, though, at least for the chunkier stuff. Napias creek going to Leesburg, near Salmon has a bit of chunkier stuff, or it did years ago. Also, you might try over near Caribou Mountain. Barnes Ck, Bilk Ck., Anderson Gulch, and Iowa Ck. Barnes Ck was dredged back in the day, so what was on the bottom is now on top of the tailing piles. Pay attention for claim markers...some of that country still has active claims.
Jim....in Blackfoot
 

We have been Salmon way (But we were Pan-less ???) and have wanted to get back. We have an acquaintance who has given us a few areas to try that way, getting the time is the hardest part of panning sometimes. We have been around Caribou and ran into claims and decided not to risk it so we went to the North a ways and panned on McCoy and got some color. We hit the Hobback a few times last year and pulled out alot of color (Very fine but a bunch of it). I got a bad case of spring fever this year and I am all out of winter running cons, I'm ready to get out and find some chunky stuff! Thanks for the info Jim in Idaho!
 

We have been Salmon way (But we were Pan-less ???) and have wanted to get back. We have an acquaintance who has given us a few areas to try that way, getting the time is the hardest part of panning sometimes. We have been around Caribou and ran into claims and decided not to risk it so we went to the North a ways and panned on McCoy and got some color. We hit the Hobback a few times last year and pulled out alot of color (Very fine but a bunch of it). I got a bad case of spring fever this year and I am all out of winter running cons, I'm ready to get out and find some chunky stuff! Thanks for the info Jim in Idaho!
You're welcome, and I hope you find some good stuff! When you get the time to go for a few days, you should research the old mining areas, and go there. I know of people who have found some decent gold in the central Idaho country....mostly around the old mining towns.
Jim
 

You're welcome, and I hope you find some good stuff! When you get the time to go for a few days, you should research the old mining areas, and go there. I know of people who have found some decent gold in the central Idaho country....mostly around the old mining towns.
Jim

hey Jim i do all my goldmineing in the idaho city area and also over on the payet river over the hill from centerville there is a lot of good gold in the area and it isnt floor gold most of what i geat is large flakes and some nuggets. in the creeks around there. on the payet river u get good rice size gold there but u have to be willing to go were the other dont and what i mean the areas were it is extremy hard to geat to. i use a dreadge on the river and on the creeks but i also use a pan and high bankers. also another good area to go is up around oregrnde area on ur way to elk city idaho there is good gold in that area also.

i have some secret areas i go up in the high mountian areas around the bufflo hump area but i have to keep it a secret. sorry i have to keep that one to my self.
 

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hey Jim i do all my goldmineing in the idaho city area and also over on the payet river over the hill from centerville there is a lot of good gold in the area and it isnt floor gold most of what i geat is large flakes and some nuggets. in the creeks around there. on the payet river u get good rice size gold there but u have to be willing to go were the other dont and what i mean the areas were it is extremy hard to geat to. i use a dreadge on the river and on the creeks but i also use a pan and high bankers. also another good area to go is up around oregrnde area on ur way to elk city idaho there is good gold in that area also.

i have some secret areas i go up in the high mountian areas around the bufflo hump area but i have to keep it a secret. sorry i have to keep that one to my self.
Yup, it's definitely out there. Good to hear you're getting your share. You're working the batholith country, and that's a good thing....that's where most of the chunkier gold is. Over here in eastern Idaho the best we get is the flour gold in the Snake, and a couple of other rivers. I'm surprised they let you dredge the Payette. The Big Lost river here dries up in the summer, and they still have it off-limits...figure that one out????????????
Jim
 

Jim
yeap there whas a lot of dredgers there on the payet river this yr they were all doing relly good adverging araound 1/2 to 1 ounce a day some were geating more but u know us miners we never say just how much we get 8-). i am hopeing to be moved back up to Idaho this spring if everything works out like i hope.
 

Color-Blind I am around 100 miles south east of Idaho Falls in Wyoming. I know a lot of the Snake River and it's tributaries have gold in them, but it is extremely fine flower gold with the occasional decent sized flake (if your lucky). On the Snake it's self a lot of the gold bearing gravels can be around 30 to 50 feet above the high water mark. I agree with Jim, the Caribou Mountain area is probably the closet area that has decent gold in the area. I know the area well, and know there are a lot of claims in the area, and some of them are not marked the best. I do have a map as that shows claim locations in the area (as of two years ago) If you want I will share this map with you, but keep in mind it is two years old. The best thing to do would contact the National Forest Office in Soda, or BLM office in Boise, and ask for the record of claims in that area. It is in the Caribou National Forest, but I know the last time I called for info they forwarded me to the BLM office in Boise. If you happen to get to that area this summer let me know what you find.
 

Thank's for the reply Wyoming Prospector. Were excited to get some spring under our feet and get out panning. We have been panning in the Snake for a number of years but mostly around I.F., we have found some nice flour gold but I think my family would like some new scenery to look at so we thought we would try the East side of Caribou in some of the streams that dump into Salt River, we know the area fairly well but never have panned there. Alot of my wife's family is from the Soda and Greys area but I have no clue how to get to where I don't even know where I need to be when it comes to that area (Did that make any sence?). The closest we have come to Caribou for gold is up McCoy's Creek. As far as our success there, well....let's just say we had fun getting out. Any information you would be willing to pass on or even a dirrection to get pointed in would be appreciated. Thanks again for the reply.
 

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