Shoals and Ledges

[Sorehands]

I am brand new to gold prospecting and this site - have been test panning some streams in Georgia.
I am finding a LOT of ledges and shoals - most are too deep to reach
What is a good way to approach these streams?

I am trying the usual locations - top/back of gravel spits, inside corners, pinch points etc. - but am not sure if most of the gold is trapped under the shoals
Should I work the top end (headwaters) of a stream? Look for long stretches without shoals and then test around the first few ledges?
Is it better to dig in front or behind?

I am finding some flood gold but feel like I am not "doing it right".

Besides getting a dredge - do any of you more experienced folks have any recommendations?

 

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[mxer47]

You can buy or make a hand held suction device. Use the search function of this sight to look up gold sucker. Oh and welcome.

 

[dave wiseman]

Learn what bedrock is and get down to it!!!

 

[Sorehands]

Thank you! I will give it a try

 

[63bkpkr]

Learning

Welcome Sorehands,
Another area to learn about is reading a river. There is a lot of info on that on the internet & you tube. Reading and thinking about what is presented in several of the sites on this topic will give you some good food for thought that you can put to the test quickly as it requires only some time and no new equipment save for using your eyes and recalling what you read.

To my way of thinking gravel bars (I assume this is what you mean by a shoal) are high spots. Why are they a high spot is a question that can be answered by doing some Serious digging and that may not give you the answer or some serious looking/exploring. Is there a hunk of high bedrock under the gravel, some large boulders or upstream of the bar is there an obstruction in the water that caused the gravel bar to build?

To my way of thinking a gravel bar is a high spot so most of the heavy gold fell down to the bottom early on and only the finest gold is on the upper layer of the gravel bar and usually only the upper layer, 2" to 4". Glacial gold is fine. Fine gold will sort of float till something causes it to drop out of suspension, actually it is held up by fast currents any energy loss in the current and the gold drops. Again, to my way of thinking.

Sometimes even with the best of knowledge of "where gold should be" it ain't. Something unusual along the banks or on the bottom of the stream, some form of obstruction to the water flow, changed the "usual gathering places".

The Reading a River inputs will be a magnificent help to you so you can picture where, and understand 'Usually' why stuff drops out where it does.
Best of success.....................63bkpkr
All of this material was removed from underneath what looks like "Solid" bedrock, not boulders but bedrock. There was actually a crack in the bedrock that allowed the gold and the dirt to build up in the crack. The tip off is a fine green line that indicates plant growth and therefore a crack. Not all cracks yield gold and this is where my Whites GMT or the best of the Fisher Gold Bug series come in, you detect and listen for the good target sound.

 

[Sorehands]

Thank you Fullpan - I am actually calling a shoal a stone slab or "strips" of bedrock perpendicular to the river. I have had some luck doing what you suggest - crevicing - but have not added the metal detector.

 

[Fullpan]

I am following your thread, and wish you the best - however, I think you meant to thank the other posters above, namely, 63bkpkr,lol.

 

[Sorehands]

After looking at products, watching a million utube videos, talking to another experienced prospector and all the good ideas on this thread, I am going to get the Gold n Sand Sucker with the 5 Gallon material recovery bucket, plus the rig that takes the sucker directly to my MacKirk Sluice-box.

It looks like I could put a long nozzle on them front end to get down to the really deep water bottom ledges.

This certainly will not replace honest digging and test panning and digging and sluicing and digging and digging.....

It does look like having all those pieces and hoses etc. that it could be complicated to set-up and keep Murphy out of the process.

Has anyone used them Gold n Sand linked to a sluice-box? How did it work? What tips could your share?

Thanks!!!!

 

[KevinInColorado]

My best friend has the header box for his. I just have the GnS X-tream. The header box works well for him from what I've seen in person. I know he's happy with it.

GnS pump hints:
1. Soak the leather pump seal over night at the beginning of the season so you get good suction (just suck some water out of the sink and leave the water in it)...and/or when you get to your work site put the whole body of the pump under water and pull a few strokes to get some water in there. Lay it aside with water in it until you need it...wet leather seals well!
2. Like any dredge you can jam it down in the material...don't hog the nozzle. Instead keep it just above or aside the material and let the suction pull your material in. Just like with a gas powered monster dredge you'll jam it up if you hog the nozzle.
3. Get your bucket fairly full of water from the start and if it's totally under water, set a big rock on it so it doesn't want to float away.

 

[Sorehands]

Thank you KevinInColorodo - good pointers - I have convinced the Missus to get the whole combo for Xmas - so will give it a go. The hardest part will be to stay in the house long enough for Christmas Dinner instead of sprinting to the nearest stream