Midwest stream bedrock question

JHuck

Jr. Member
Aug 10, 2016
35
27
Boone County Indiana
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
As part of my growing interest in prospecting, I've been looking at satellite images of local streams in Central Indiana and I came across a remote section of a stream that has 100 or so feet of fissured bedrock that forms one side of the stream bank and it appears to slope down into the bed. I'm thinking the cracks in the rock would be a good place to start above and below the current water line. Is this correct? Luckily this section of stream is navigable so it appears to fall outside of needing to get any landowners' permission.
 

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Same here, been dredging all over Indiana for years and only had one run in where I was in the wrong. DNR and the Sheriff was called and the landowner made me do a clean out of my dredge sluice and throw the gold back into the creek. :BangHead:

I had been dredging around a culvert that went under the road and thought the right of way would be public access. Wrong! Not in that county.
According to the sheriff I could have been charged with criminal trespassing and theft and had my vehicle and equipment confiscated, but while waiting for law enforcement to show up I convinced the irate landowner that I had made an honest mistake and would abide with the law. The sheriff asked the landowner if he wanted to press charges and he said he was willing to let it go this time.

Since then I always check first before dredging and get permission when needed.

GG~

This is good advice for someone like me just starting out. I went ahead and pulled up the GIS plot map of the area to confirm right of ways. Thankfully the current county right of way at the river access point is quite wide.
 

6 inchs or totally dry don't matter when it comes to a labeled "navigable waters" in a state ! It pertains to back when it was labeled as navigable , then it will always be that even if now-a-days its dry!

My understanding for Indiana is that the designation goes back to when the state was first created.
 

that i did not know. thanks for that bit of info. i still believe its better to foster a good relationship with landowners instead of just doin what you want. I used to go by the motto of better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. but as i have gotten older i have learned better.
 

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