Is deeper better?

[bottlecap]

Last weekend I found a pretty good spot for gold. It was on a river behind a really large boulder, the boulder was about 5'x4'x4', I know large rocks can be hot spots but I was wondering if it pays to try to get deeper on the back side of the boulder? I was able to get a couple shovel fulls out and it is tough digging going deeper but I want to try it. No matter what the response is I'll probably try but I am trying to understand how gold placement works. Could there be more gold from older deposits deeper or did I probably get the majority of it because it was stopped from sinking any further by the layer of boot sized rocks and gravel?? Like I said I'll give anything a shot but I am really trying to figure this whole thing out. Thanks!!! If I give it a try I'll let you know how it goes!

 

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[rodoconnor]

You never know till you try. That being said, as you dig down you should notice obvious flood layers. Test the layers to hopefully locate the best paylayer. When dealing with superfine flood gold ,it usually can't work it's way down deep. Sometimes it'll only be in the top 6" or so. Good luck with the hunt

 

[goldenmojo]

If the boulder is completely in the water and not stuck in the bank take the width of the rock in feet and multiply it times 3. From the centerline of the width measure downstream the multiplied answer you got and place an imaginary mark. Then from that mark imagine two lines extending back upstream to the sides of the boulder. If you have that then work all the material inside that area paying special attention to what size and how much gold you get from each part of the area Take it down in layers 1 foot at a time. If you work it in a very detailed way and keep track of what was where you will be able to determine in the future what you are looking at depending on the size, angle, water flow and other variables you encounter. Good Luck.

 

[bobw53]

Gold is where you find it... Sad but true.. The best thing you can do is try and figure out what happened when, and unfortunately you may not figure that out until you've done a lot of
needless digging.

If the boulder is completely in the water and not stuck in the bank take the width of the rock in feet and multiply it times 3. From the centerline of the width measure downstream the multiplied answer you got and place an imaginary mark. Then from that mark imagine two lines extending back upstream to the sides of the boulder. If you have that then work all the material inside that area paying special attention to what size and how much gold you get from each part of the area Take it down in layers 1 foot at a time. If you work it in a very detailed way and keep track of what was where you will be able to determine in the future what you are looking at depending on the size, angle, water flow and other variables you encounter. Good Luck.

I don't know anything about gold in or near water, but I'm filing this in the back of my brain for when I get the chance... I do have a comment though... I watched a video a while back, and the
guy was talking about the direction of flow.. The direction the water is going today while it is nice and low and slow might not be the direction the water flows when its high and fast. I'm thinking your
downstream point needs to be based on the direction of high fast flow, not the direction its flowing today.

 

[kcm]

...And for Heaven's sake, don't let the boulder roll on top of ya!! Even if you have strong, young help out there, it might already be too late if that thing suddenly shifts.

...I can just imagine you out there alone - digging up under the boulder - then the boulder drops on your hand....and not a soul around to hear you.

......If a person screams in the rock pile but nobody is there to hear it, does he actually make a sound?

 

[kcm]

Good point, Bob. If there is a small bend in a river, that bend can easily disappear during a flood. Water will still be going around the bend in the lower levels, but the upper (fast) water may be running pretty darn straight, or even go towards the opposite direction of the bend.

 

[arizau]

Last weekend I found a pretty good spot for gold. It was on a river behind a really large boulder, the boulder was about 5'x4'x4', I know large rocks can be hot spots but I was wondering if it pays to try to get deeper on the back side of the boulder? I was able to get a couple shovel fulls out and it is tough digging going deeper but I want to try it. No matter what the response is I'll probably try but I am trying to understand how gold placement works. Could there be more gold from older deposits deeper or did I probably get the majority of it because it was stopped from sinking any further by the layer of boot sized rocks and gravel?? Like I said I'll give anything a shot but I am really trying to figure this whole thing out. Thanks!!! If I give it a try I'll let you know how it goes!

That particular boulder has probably not been there very long in geological terms and gold has probably been deposited as long as it has been there so there may be gold as deep as the base of it. When it does move again, and it will, then some of the gold that has not settled into the bedrock it lies on, presuming it is on bedrock, will move too. If there is bedrock and there are cracks in it then there will probably be gold trapped in them. Try to clean any of the cracks that you can wherever you find them including outside the current river channel. Read this article and particularly the second to last paragraph about buried, ancient river channel placer deposits to get a better understanding as to how gold deposits. Alluvial placer deposits, geology, exploration, mining, use - Page X
There is a lot of other good info too if you click any of the blue links.

Good luck and heavy pans.

 

[winners58]

its hard to get the gold behind boulders in moving water, gold is heavy and keeps falling to the bottom of the hole.
I would suggest getting hand sucker tube,(hand dredge) or build your own or modify a shrimp gun.
also works good dumping a bucket of water in a hole or crack to get all the goodies out.
here's the one I have; Gold Prospecting Equipment by Gold-N-Sand

or build one but with a small tip/extension

 

[goldenmojo]

Gold is where you find it... Sad but true.. The best thing you can do is try and figure out what happened when, and unfortunately you may not figure that out until you've done a lot of
needless digging.



I don't know anything about gold in or near water, but I'm filing this in the back of my brain for when I get the chance... I do have a comment though... I watched a video a while back, and the
guy was talking about the direction of flow.. The direction the water is going today while it is nice and low and slow might not be the direction the water flows when its high and fast. I'm thinking your
downstream point needs to be based on the direction of high fast flow, not the direction its flowing today.

True what you said about direction of flow in high water and the other variables. This method is just a basic template to learn how to sample by layer and watch for all the differences one will encounter while prospecting. Everyone here has something good and true to add and that's what makes this the best place to learn. Good Luck in your pursuits.

 

[bottlecap]

Awesome info guys thanks!! I forgot to let you in on something quite key The boulder I am referring to was completely under water 3 weeks ago, actually a couple feet underwater, last weekend to my surprise the river had dropped enough the boulder and all the other boulders on that shore line were completely dry however the gravel around them was still almost saturated with water. The boulders along that shoreline are lined on the bottom edge of a shelf so if you were standing right next to the boulder area on the wet gravel the actual "high and dry shoreline" where the established forest area is would be about eye level, essentially it is a miniature cliff that has a boulder wall along the edge of it.

 

[goldenmojo]

Can you post a pic?

 

[bottlecap]

I am kicking myself for not taking one. I will definitely take one and post it next time I get up there!

 

[goldenmojo]

It helps to take many pics while out at a spot and store them in a folder. As your knowledge increases you can go back and find out many things you did not know that will help in your prospecting like the water flow patterns or new areas that you would not have thought to check just because you didn't know.

Here is a pic of a situation that was holding lots of small gold. I don't remember the exact distance but it was probably at least 50' back from the waterline and 10-15' elevation above the current water mark. When I was new I did not know to look that high up and in under places like this. ( Thanks to Lanny I now do) If you have areas similar to this you these you might check them out. Small hand tools.

 

[bottlecap]

Goldenmojo- You know that is a great idea! It is amazing how many of these spots I have been to in the past fishing spending countless hours at and I never noticed the gold potential, the only spots that stick out from past memories are ones that were a problem, too muddy(bad for gold), too shallow, too rocky(good for gold usually), the places that are good for smallmouth bass are usually good spots for gold

 

[Jeff95531]

its hard to get the gold behind boulders in moving water, gold is heavy and keeps falling to the bottom of the hole.
I would suggest getting hand sucker tube,(hand dredge) or build your own or modify a shrimp gun.
also works good dumping a bucket of water in a hole or crack to get all the goodies out.
here's the one I have; Gold Prospecting Equipment by Gold-N-Sand

or build one but with a small tip/extension
View attachment 1296806

Agreed! I found my first picker on the first day that I used my modified shrimp gun. Only thing with mine is it really needs a one way check valve. It will save you a lot of aggravation.

 

[kcm]

It helps to take many pics while out at a spot and store them in a folder. As your knowledge increases you can go back and find out many things you did not know that will help in your prospecting like the water flow patterns or new areas that you would not have thought to check just because you didn't know.

Here is a pic of a situation that was holding lots of small gold. I don't remember the exact distance but it was probably at least 50' back from the waterline and 10-15' elevation above the current water mark. When I was new I did not know to look that high up and in under places like this. ( Thanks to Lanny I now do) If you have areas similar to this you these you might check them out. Small hand tools.

Great info! And kudos to you for your source of this great info!!

I remember reading/watching/hearing (can't remember which) about a spot in, I think So Cal where there was a very dry area several hundred feet above the waterline. However, there was large cobble and rounded boulders, and GOLD!! LOTS OF IT!! ...An old episode of Gold Fever show, maybe??

I never would have thought about looking up high - especially for "river gold"! Just goes to show that gold is where you find it. ...Sure wish I would've become interested in geology when I was younger!

 

[bottlecap]

If the boulder is completely in the water and not stuck in the bank take the width of the rock in feet and multiply it times 3. From the centerline of the width measure downstream the multiplied answer you got and place an imaginary mark. Then from that mark imagine two lines extending back upstream to the sides of the boulder. If you have that then work all the material inside that area paying special attention to what size and how much gold you get from each part of the area Take it down in layers 1 foot at a time. If you work it in a very detailed way and keep track of what was where you will be able to determine in the future what you are looking at depending on the size, angle, water flow and other variables you encounter. Good Luck.

Very interesting! This boulder would be completely under water every spring when the river floods from all of the snow melt that comes down from up north. Like I had mentioned a few weeks ago when I was there it was completely submerged.

 

[bottlecap]

Hey guys had a great weekend panning and turkey hunting! Finally remembered to snap a picture of the spot I was trying to explain and couldn't resist posting the picture of the turkey I shot Sunday! Had a turkey by 8 am and was panning by 11. So here is the spot I was referring to when I started this thread, found a little more gold behind that big boulder.

 

[kcm]

Well THAT certainly helps narrow down the methods of how to move it! C'mere...lemme slap ya around with a turkey feather! ...That's odd - why are you sittin sideways in the picture?

I don't think an airbag is gonna do you a lot of good.

 

[goldenmojo]

Thanks for the pic it gives a little to work with. I suggest you work on this side of the boulder (as pictured) also. Dig that hump of cobble behind the watermelon sized rock clear into the bank where the boulder has the little shadow. Dig down deep and sample pan as you go counting the colors per pan. The boulder looks stable but if you dig three or four feet down be careful not to undercut it to much and roll it over. Learning to clear a pan in a couple of minutes while keeping the gold is the best skill you can have. I would suggest working that cutout down by the leaning tree also and just general sampling the whole area of small boulders. Across the river from this spot is there a cobble bar or behind where you are taking a picture is there a cobble bar or does the cobble just hug the bank? It looks to be an outside sweep you are working. As always gold is where you find it so every pan becomes a sample pan. If you find more color in one place than another look at the river and conditions carefully and try to imagine what caused the gold to drop in that particular spot and you will be a little closer to finding gold on a regular basis. Good luck. Send more pics.