Prospecting with a canoe.

[DanFL1962]

Just curious how many of you make use of a canoe to access creeks and streams for prospecting?

I recently bought a canoe and am having a great time taking out my buckets, classifier, and metal detector to prospect as well as search for artifacts along the banks. Using a trolling motor I have made it a few miles upstream, identifying potential areas to prospect. Then I shut off the motor and drift back downstream to those areas. When I'm done I pack it all back into the canoe and drift back to my truck.

Water levels have been very low in my area so there are a lot of sand and gravel bars to explore. As for the gold, its slim pickens here in Western PA, but I’m still having a blast.

I’ve been out 3 weekends in a row digging exposed areas of creek bed at the inner bends. I've also dug around tree roots where the bank meets the waterline. I classify down to small pebble size concentrates and bring them home.

After retrieving a total of 6 five gallon buckets of concentrates, I further classified them at home through a kitchen strainer. Now only fine sand is remaining. (I’ve pulled out two small flakes from the strainer tailings and saved them in my snuffer bottle. Have not confirmed if they are gold or not).

The 6 buckets of concentrates are now reduced to about 1.5 buckets of fine sand. I’ve panned about 1/4[SUP]th[/SUP] of that and am pleased with the amount of black sand I am seeing. I plan on purchasing a Blue Bowl to see if my efforts will be rewarded with some flour gold. (There is noticeably more black sand from the buckets taken at the creek bed. However, of the two flakes I have found, one was from the tree roots at the river bank.)

This recreational prospecting, with a canoe, is a great hobby. I’ve not spent this much time outdoors in quite a while.

 

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[63bkpkr]

DanFL1962,
What a novel idea, congratulations! And you are finding something gold in color as well as getting out into Ma nature for some fresh air and exercise!

Well done and keep it up......63bkpkr

 

[dustytrails123]

Its pretty simple to make your own blue bowl look it up on youtube ....id suggest making a henry poop tube for breaking down them buckets of cons faster very simple and very cheap

 

[Gork]

Just curious how many of you make use of a canoe to access creeks and streams for prospecting?

I recently bought a canoe and am having a great time taking out my buckets, classifier, and metal detector to prospect as well as search for artifacts along the banks. Using a trolling motor I have made it a few miles upstream, identifying potential areas to prospect. Then I shut off the motor and drift back downstream to those areas. When I'm done I pack it all back into the canoe and drift back to my truck.

Water levels have been very low in my area so there are a lot of sand and gravel bars to explore. As for the gold, its slim pickens here in Western PA, but I’m still having a blast.

I’ve been out 3 weekends in a row digging exposed areas of creek bed at the inner bends. I've also dug around tree roots where the bank meets the waterline. I classify down to small pebble size concentrates and bring them home.

After retrieving a total of 6 five gallon buckets of concentrates, I further classified them at home through a kitchen strainer. Now only fine sand is remaining. (I’ve pulled out two small flakes from the strainer tailings and saved them in my snuffer bottle. Have not confirmed if they are gold or not).

The 6 buckets of concentrates are now reduced to about 1.5 buckets of fine sand. I’ve panned about 1/4[SUP]th[/SUP] of that and am pleased with the amount of black sand I am seeing. I plan on purchasing a Blue Bowl to see if my efforts will be rewarded with some flour gold. (There is noticeably more black sand from the buckets taken at the creek bed. However, of the two flakes I have found, one was from the tree roots at the river bank.)

This recreational prospecting, with a canoe, is a great hobby. I’ve not spent this much time outdoors in quite a while.

This has been a popular idea for some years in Yukon Territory. During the peak years of the 1980s and 1990s, many prospectors would use canoes and boats to float down the Stewart River in the late summer when the water was low. In the 1880s, before the Klondike gold rush, the sand bars of the Stewart River were being mined. The upstream end of the sand bars contain much fine gold. One particularly rich sand bar was known as Steamboat bar. This is not far from McQueston. Although I am mining in the Klondike now, my wife and I floated down the Stewart River in the 1980s. We did this partly to do a little fishing but also to have a look at the sand bars. The gold would be contained on the upstream ends of the bars. Much black sand had accumulated there with fine gold. You could see 40 to 100 colors in a pan, yet it was not worth mining because the flakes weren't much more than a micron.
Some would also float down the river on rafts so they could take along suction dredges. A few who found a good enough deposit would make a buck. Every year these sand bars are renewed by the spring floods to a certain extent. The original deposits took centuries to accumulate enough gold to make it worth while for the old-timers. The few years that have redeposited gold there makes it unlikely someone could make even wages, but for those wishing to experience the thrill of seeing a little gold in the pan as well as having a nice canoe trip, it would be worth while.
Since the 1980s the mining rules have become very strict in Yukon Territory. Suction dredges on the Stewart River are taboo. Also, if you are American, remember you are a foreigner there and immigration laws might come into effect. For someone who is there as a tourist with a pan it is usually OK.
Anyone traveling to Dawson City, Yukon Territory, can rent a canoe at the Dawson City Trading Post. They can transport you and the canoe to the Mcqueston River just above Steamboat Bar. From here you can float down the Stewart River, into the Yukon River, and back to Dawson City. This would only take about a week's time, but you could take longer if you wished.

 

[Hoser John]

I like the stability of my kayak better but different strokes and tons a au 2 u 2 -John

 

[Gork]

I like the stability of my kayak better but different strokes and tons a au 2 u 2 -John

The reason that many who prospect the Stewart River use a log raft is that it can be a large stable platform to carry anything used for placer mining as well as camping equipment for at least a week. A kayak has little capacity for this and the Stewart River is not considered a dangerous river, so specialized equipment doesn't have to be used.

 

[Hoser John]

i UTILIZE A FISHING KAYAK PLATFORM WITH SEALED HATCHES,OPEN BUNGEE STORAGE AND SIT ON STYLE ,NOT TAMALE STYLE. oops sorry and carry quite a bit of stuff to far off places,almost time to hit the water yet again YAHOO and ifn' it feels good--go for it and tons a au 2 u 2-John

 

[Swampbuckster]

I live on a chain of lakes and love the fact I can get to two of my creek locations by boat. I have a 12 ft v bottom with a 6hp Johnson. Makes for a quicker trip then driving and walking to them, and easier to load up cons from the creek to run back at the house then having to carry the buckets through the woods to the truck. I have thought about the idea of hitting up a few small rivers with my kayak though and give it a shot.

 

[russau]

watch out for your state DNR!! here in Missouri the MDNR has amde public statements that your not allowed to pickup ANY artifact from the rivers, and they will cite you if they find one in your poccesion! during the fall, or when the rivers are running low, they watch for people that are out there looking and will question/search you if they think thats what your doing! know your rights and the law or get PREPAIRED !!!!!!

 

[Swampbuckster]

They just changed the law here in Mi. You are allowed to pan anywhere as long as it's not a designated trout stream and your not disturbing the river banks (erosion purposes) Also you can run a hand sluice between I think July and August with a $50.00 permit and have to state a 300 yard section of river/creek the box is to be used in. Oh yeah, and once you're done collecting a half ounce of gold, that's it. That's your yearly limit. Get outta the river, go home and wait until next year....

 

[russau]

but still remeber about the state DNR guys watching! 1/2 OZ....how do they know if youve reached your yearly limit? aint noway your gonna do a 1/2 OZ for a dredgeing trip! what gold??

 

[Swampbuckster]

but still remeber about the state DNR guys watching! 1/2 OZ....how do they know if youve reached your yearly limit? aint noway your gonna do a 1/2 OZ for a dredgeing trip! what gold??

Well you're suppose to call your local CO and say politely: "Sir, I've reached my half ounce limit for the year. I will rightfully put away my shovel and pan and we'll see ya next year." Hahahahahahaha Sometimes laws are a tad bit wacked.