Panning in Ct Lead mine brook

[Godric]

Has anyone here went panning at lead mine brook and surrounding area? how is it? Im going to drive up there nxt week been doing a little research .. anyone know the parking situation out there? Ive tryed goole earth cant really get an idea

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Dak]

Any color? Family had a place on lead mine lake growing up, nice clear water. I found this looking for lead mine brook. The road that we used to get to the lake is gone since the 70's. Have not been up in that area much since.

Leadmine Brook originates near Leadmine Mountain in Sturbridge. The small second order stream flows in a southwesterly direction into Leadmine Pond. Upon leaving the pond the stream continues south, running parallel to Interstate 84 and receiving the discharge of a small, unnamed tributary and associated wetlands. Immediately after crossing the highway and the Massachusetts-Connecticut border, Leadmine Brook flows into a small impoundment that drains into Hamilton Reservoir near the village of Mashapaug, Connecticut. Total drainage contributions upstream from the LE01 biomonitoring station are 2.47 square miles.
Habitat
The LE01 sampling reach began approximately 600 m upstream from Interstate 84, and was accessed via an abandoned rest area (vacant paved lot) located along the southbound lane of Rt. 15 in Sturbridge. The reach was of fairly high gradient in a dense hemlock forest that provided a mostly closed (90% shaded) canopy over LE01. The stream was approximately 3 – 4 m wide and with depths ranging from 0.2 m in the riffle/runs to about half a meter in the pool areas. Cobble was the dominant epifaunal substrate, though there was a good variety of other rocky types as well, providing optimal benthic habitat for macroinvertebrates in the numerous riffle areas. Fish habitat was excellent, with large boulders, several submerged trees, and snag areas in deep pools offering ample stable cover. Channel flow status was optimal, with water easily reaching the base of both banks and leaving virtually no exposed substrates. There was an absence of aquatic vegetation with the exception of a few patches of mosses, while a thin film of green algae (periphyton) covered rocky substrates on about 5 – 10% of the stream bottom.

 

[Jdarby]

I can't speak to the Lead Mine Brook that is said to be over by Sturbridge, but there is a Lead Mine Brook in Litchfield County that is known to have gold. I panned it a little bit some 30 years ago with no great success. Here is an article about the brook, minerals and mining in the area.....THE HARWINTON LEAD MINES - Fact or Fiction

I do remember as a child we would occasionally go to the White's Woods preserve in Litchfield, CT. In their gift shop I remember them selling one or two Lincoln cents that had been plated with gold that was supposedly taken from Lead Mine Brook in Harwinton.

 

[ctjonb]

there is another one in Ct I have been there its limited but there is a couple spots to park, otherwise lots of hiking,
by the church on rt 4 or the lower end off south rd I believe it is, or look for thomaston Dam it flows through there and dumps into the naugatuck, bring pepper spray I camp over the hill from there and been seeing a lot of bears this year,
good luck to ya