Panning in MA

scott3165

scott3165

Jr. Member
Mar 7, 2011
39
4
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Gold
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Hello All First Time Posting in the Forum,

I live in Massachusetts and just starting panning for gold last summer in VT. I have done a lot of research and looking at TOPO graphs and trying to understand what I am looking at and for.

My question is: Is there a chance to find gold wherever I can find bedrock?

The problem I am running into in the streams I am panning is mica, alot of it. There are alot of huge chunks of quartz rocks which I'm hoping is another sign there might be gold in the streams.

I've been looking where people have already found gold close to me and most of it is 5+hours which makes it hard to go every weekend, especially when gas is climbing well over 3.50 a gallon. So I'm trying to do more research on how and if I can find gold closer to me where it has never been found. I go out and take samples and bring them back to my house to pan out when I have the chance but no luck so far. I just found some bedrock here in MA about 20 mins away and will be going to take some samples once the snow clears up some more.

Any tips would be great for my searching!

Scott
 

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I'm new to this site and never looked for gold but always thought about it because years ago when deer hunting in the Berkshires I was heading back to camp and the easy way up the steep hill was to climb up a washout creek that only flowed when it rained out. It was about three feet deep and five feet wide, I came across what looked like gold! I mean the mother load of gold. it was everywhere I looked. I put some in my pocket and showed a few friends and they said fools gold. I couldn't stop thinking about it all winter so in the spring I went back and did some mining. I landed up pulling a lot of it out of the washout. I have one piece that was the size of my fist but got dropped and now is half the size it was. It looks like gold and is very heavy for it's size but also very hard. I do know it's not gold but is it worth anything? Could there be gold nearby? There's a bunch in this spot and because of the steep angle of the hill it get's washed out and piles up in the flat spots along the hill. It's not hard to find it's the climb down and back up that's hard. Anyone think it's worth it to look for real gold in or around this spot, or is it a waste of time and energy?
 

Its probably pyrite which is fools gold and ya it would be worth it to pan there and see if anything is there you never know. Im new to panning and you learn something new everyday
 

hi im a newbie in mass. been here for 49 years and remember fishing and finding quartz, brown and black sands was wondering if these spots could contain gold and almost forgot a lot of bedrock sticking up
 

Yup sounds like a pretty good spot to do some test panning to see if you get color. Do at least 5 pans before make a decision and if nothing try up or down stream
 

Should I stay away from the pyrite spot and look further down the washout? It's dry unless it's raining out but there is a stream at the bottom of the hill. I could fill some buckets with dirt and carry them down to the stream or should I start at the stream and work up the washout? Can't wait for better weather, turkey hunt the morning and panning in the afternoon. Come on springtime!
 

It shouldn't matter whatever way you wanna do it.
 

I would follow the washout to the stream and start panning behind big rocks or where the stream widens out a bit. If there is color in the washout some of it had to erode out and get washed into the stream. Black sand content should be a clue if there is gold present in the stream. If there isn't black sand present I usually don't waste my time panning .
 

You can find gold without black sand. So you could be missing out
 

Sorry for the dumb questions but I'm so new I have no clue! I know what I found and can't wait to get back out there again. It's on state property, is it ok to poke around and not get in trouble? Not sure about laws in Mass. and gold hunting. Thanks for the answers.
 

Hi there Rockwasher,i have been checking some spots in the Westfield River ,no luck so far , but the 1 thing i can tell you is>> stay out of sight!!! there is no mining laws in Mass but there is a clean water act which pretty much prohibits diggin in the river .On the other hand as long as you dont bring dredges or highbankers and just pan and maybe a little sleuce u might be ok if u get caught by the Conservation officer.
I did come a cross a Conservation officer who was from another town and he made me aware of the rules about digging in the stream.After talkin to the Conservation officer in the town i was panning in they told me its ok as long as i dont bring machinery and just pan with a shovel . so you might get lucky and not get in trouble but if you do get caught i would mention that you could not find any mining rules on the states website and you thought it was ok to pan a little .After all you are doin it as a hobby and not because you want to make a living mining for gold . Even if you tried there is not enuff gold in Mass to quit your job :)
So on that note maybe i see you out there sometime. can't wait for warmer weather.
 

Looking to get a group together to work areas of western Ma. I'm in northeastern ct but will travel.
local clubs mostly MD but looking new friends an gold! PM me.

Also any good places I should try?
 

mace420 said:
Looking to get a group together to work areas of western Ma. I'm in northeastern ct but will travel.
local clubs mostly MD but looking new friends an gold! PM me.

Also any good places I should try?
Click to expand...

There are reports of gold in the Douglas Ma Area as well as the Northwest Corner of RI ( Durfee Mine?) Google to get more information.
I would suggest you get the book by Delos Toole titled "Yankee Placer Gold", contains suggestions for panning in all New England States except Rhode Island.
As suggested, Couch Brook in Bernardston is a good place to start, I prefer Keets and Shattuck Brook a few miles away. Cold River along Rt 2 in Charlemont also has
reports of Gold in the Black Brook Area.

Good Luck.
 

Great information thank you. All are with in a short drive any parking or staging suggestions?
 

I went during the "heat Wave" of dec 27th lol about 45 degrees and had my biggest day ever. i just started last summer ,have a 50 " backpacker sleuce and a pan and my last day i got 43 pieces of gold -20 to -150 in size.
That brought my total to over 200 for the season. not bad for my first year i think.
Money wise its not worth alot but i had tons of fun and lost 7 pounds working the dirt .
I guess western mass has more gold than i thought . cant wait to get back out . Is it March yet?
 

Hello, just wondering the place you pan for gold in MA. Is it a private location? I have never looked for gold but it sounds a lot of fun.
 

hey good for you guys on getting out up here in maine its been cold!!!!!!!!! so just built crevice sucker bought a bazooka stream sluice and acouple of angus mackirks now is just the matter of getting the 4 wheeler tuned and ready..........but glad your finding it for sure I find up here find the exposed bed rock and suck it up and run through a sluice and you will be amazed!
 

I look for places where i can park fairly close to the river and where it's not posted and where u can stay out of sight of passer byes. Never know how the local Cops are going to react.So far i haven't had any problems but u never know.
Also the gold here is very small,sometimes u need a magnifying glass to verify that it is gold. To give u an idea>> I moved about 3000 pounds of gravel this past year and found about 200 pieces worth $ 5 of gold.
So u are not going to get rich but i have fun doing it, getting off my butt and i lost 7 pounds doing it :)
Did some more studying and learning and this year ( 2015) i,m going to go for the little bit bigger gold not just the flood gold. phone 019.jpgphone 002.jpgphone 001.jpg
the piece near my finger is about the average size u find around here.
 

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