MA/VT/NH Panning

[dvdtharaldson]

Hi ,

This is the first time I have posted on this website. I live in Western MA and am planning a trip during the last few days of September to Vermont to try my luck panning. I was going to try Buffalo Brook and Five Corners in the Bridgewater area. Does anybody know how far down you ordinarily have to dig to hit black sands in those areas? Any comments on whether you have to dig deep or just stay on the surface? I was thinking Irene probably deposited alot of flood gold on the surface. Does anybody know if some of the small brooks high up in the mts. north of Bridgewater contain gold? All I ever hear is Buffalo Brook and Five Corners. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. As you probably could tell I am new to panning for gold.

Thanks,

David

 

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[utah_ty]

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[dvdtharaldson]

I was out panning last week in the Chickley River watershed. I started out in the headwaters and eventually worked my way downstream and found a little bedrock. I found one ultra small speck. The gold that I have found the last couple of weeks in the Deerfield River system looks a little different than the gold I have found in Vermont. It appears to be a little bit on the redder side. I was thinking it might be alloyed with a little copper.

I hate to say it but its time for me to put away the gold pans and take out the chess pieces. Good luck to all you cold weather diehards.

 

[maplesapper]

Hello all, My name is Gregg but you can call me maplesapper. I am new to this forum today and just read the entire thread. Took me a while but was like reading a story on the learning of gold prospecting. I am in SO. NH and have been prospecting for a year very heavily. I have been to Bath NH many times as well as a few other spots and have never come home with out gold. Yet to get super chunky stuff and maybe fine stuff but never skunked.

I highly advise you take the time and do the homework over the winter. use youtube and web sites like hunting4gold.com and facebook and get all the tips and tricks you can. learn how to pan, how to sluice, how to set up the sluice, using jet dry, fine gold recovery tools etc. most importantly how to read a creek. learn the high probability spots ( bends, crevis, natural sluice spots, bedrock, widening areas in the river) this will put the odds in your favor. always dig deep. The gold is the heaviest thing in the river. if your not scraping bedrock or thick clay, your not deep enough.

maybe one more trip out for me this year, who knows.

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

Hey greg if you want your first gold i can accommodate. Ill post when my last trip will be. Crevicing can be year round and is the best bet here in NH

 

[dvdtharaldson]

Hello all, My name is Gregg but you can call me maplesapper. I am new to this forum today and just read the entire thread. Took me a while but was like reading a story on the learning of gold prospecting. I am in SO. NH and have been prospecting for a year very heavily. I have been to Bath NH many times as well as a few other spots and have never come home with out gold. Yet to get super chunky stuff and maybe fine stuff but never skunked.

I highly advise you take the time and do the homework over the winter. use youtube and web sites like hunting4gold.com and facebook and get all the tips and tricks you can. learn how to pan, how to sluice, how to set up the sluice, using jet dry, fine gold recovery tools etc. most importantly how to read a creek. learn the high probability spots ( bends, crevis, natural sluice spots, bedrock, widening areas in the river) this will put the odds in your favor. always dig deep. The gold is the heaviest thing in the river. if your not scraping bedrock or thick clay, your not deep enough.

maybe one more trip out for me this year, who knows.

Hey Maplesapper, Thanks for commenting on the thread, I appreciate everybody's contributions. I like your moniker, I used to do a lot of sugaring in my younger years. Some of the best times I have ever had. I took a 250 gallon oil tank and cut two holes in the top, in which I placed two bottoms of 55 gallon food grade drums. I added a door and I was mapling.

Best Luck,

David

 

[dvdtharaldson]

I got a very important person in my life a Christmas present, me. I got myself a gold n sand hand dredge. If anybody has any suggestions, comments, caveats, or hints regarding hand dredges and their optimum operation, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Have a merry Christmas and buy something for yourself. It might be a good idea to pick up a few things for your spouse as well. A happy wife is a happy life.

 

[KevinInColorado]

My main hint is to suck some water into it as soon as you get it...and as soon as you get to the creek. That way the leather gasket is soft and seals the plunger well. Leather works well and lasts long but it is a natural material so it needs to be soaked.

 

[norcalsteve]

My main hint is to suck some water into it as soon as you get it...and as soon as you get to the creek. That way the leather gasket is soft and seals the plunger well. Leather works well and lasts long but it is a natural material so it needs to be soaked.

Kevin,
The big box under my tree is a gold and sand hand dredge from my wife ( i know what it is because she had me order it ) when i open it you recommend filling it with water right away. Should i keep water in it as it might be a few months before i get to use it?

 

[KevinInColorado]

No need to store it thru the winter wet but at least the day before first use,suck some water thru so the leather gets soaked. Then when I arrive at my dig site, I always suck some water into it so I know I'll get good smooth suction when I want it. Great tool! (Full disclosure: I'm friends with the guy who owns the company/ inventor of the gold-n-sand...but that came after I bought mine)

 

[norcalsteve]

No need to store it thru the winter wet but at least the day before first use,suck some water thru so the leather gets soaked. Then when I arrive at my dig site, I always suck some water into it so I know I'll get good smooth suction when I want it. Great tool! (Full disclosure: I'm friends with the guy who owns the company/ inventor of the gold-n-sand...but that came after I bought mine)

Thanks Kevin

 

[dvdtharaldson]

My next purchase will be a bazooka (prospector) gold trap sluice. Does anybody have an opinion on which grizzlies are better for fine gold, regular or large? Common sense tells me the regular because they restrict the size of the particles going into the trap to a smaller size, which should help keep the trap fluid. I have been told that particle size matters on the minis but haven't heard anything about the prospectors.

 

[LostinBolton]

The only sluicing and panning I can do this time of year.... Happy New Year, can't wait for the spring thaw....

 

[KevinInColorado]

My next purchase will be a bazooka (prospector) gold trap sluice. Does anybody have an opinion on which grizzlies are better for fine gold, regular or large? Common sense tells me the regular because they restrict the size of the particles going into the trap to a smaller size, which should help keep the trap fluid. I have been told that particle size matters on the minis but haven't heard anything about the prospectors.

Do they say anything on the manufacturer's website about the choice? I think I might go with the thicker diameter wires if I had a choice (I didn't since I got mine on Craig's list long before they offered the thicker style) on the theory that I could always add a finer mesh to the grizzly with a few zip ties.

 

[dvdtharaldson]

I was just thinking how 2013 was my second full year participating in recreational gold prospecting. I have been at it for 2.5 years, during that time the number of brook trout I have caught has declined by 90 percent. I am sure the trout are happy about that. They have been able to rest in peace for a while.

Looking back on that time, I realized that I learned something after every year of prospecting. During the first year I learned that it takes major dedication. After the second year I learned that the size of the gold particles that you find aren't from pea sized to golf ball sized. After the third year I learned that just because gold is the heaviest thing in your pan, that doesn't mean it will stay on the bottom of your pan. It can and often does hydroplane over cube-shaped and less dense black sands. The last thing I learned the hard way. Happy New Year.

 

[dvdtharaldson]

I just talked to the main man about prospecting in Vermont. I was informed that all classifiers are considered sluices in Vermont and that a permit is needed if you intend to use classifiers on the stream! Those are some strict statutes.

 

[LostinBolton]

Good thing your GPS is broken and you thought you were in NH...

 

[dvdtharaldson]

Yeah,

The old saying goes "it is better to ask forgiveness than permission".

 

[LostinBolton]

Is a Gold n Sands allowed? I am thinking of getting one.

 

[dvdtharaldson]

According to the director any type of dredge or pump is illegal regardless of power source including the gold n sands. Under that statute you couldn't even suck gold up with a straw. I want to clarify something on classifiers. After many back and forth conversations with the director I found out that you can classify material as long as your classifier is able to be placed completely in your pan. If you are new to the thread I am talking about Vermont regs as I understand them.

If your thinking of getting some sort of hand pump don't let VT regs stop you. They are legal to operate in most neighboring states. You may/may not need permits though, I haven't investigated the issue as of yet. Eventually I will.