Trash To Treasure Ratio

[Blackcoffee]

When I first began fly fishing, I caught zero fish and lost a bench if flies to bushes and snags. Since I couldn't count fish caught, I started tracking flies lost, with the goal of minimizing that number. Gradually it dropped to near zero, and number of fish caught began climbing, along with the size of my grin.

 

So, maybe this is too analytical an approach, but what would you say your "trash-to-treasure" ratio is, per outing, and how has it improved, or not, over time?

[Reno Chris]

Trash to treasure ratio has hugely to do with the locations you're hunting.  You could hunt some places around Rye Patch in Nevada and work hard to get one or two trash targets in a day. In places in California where the old miners camped right on the gold, you can dig 50 targets before noon if you can get them out of the ground that fast. The ratio of gold to trash is better in the desert locations but there are just fewer targets overall.

[Steve Herschbach]

I am digging more trash and less treasure these days. In the good old days good targets were common and cherry picking fruitful. As good finds get harder to make one has to pull out all the stops and dig a lot more "iffy" targets and purposefully go after trashier sites where good finds still lurk.

[Chris Ben]

Fortunately all the signals I get in the current area I'm working are gold. Zero trash, but not necessarily a lot of gold lol

Chris

[Ridge Runner]

I've spent two weeks one time just nugget hunting around Rich Hill. I came out with both hands running over with trash and not one nugget. I'd have to say now days 60% to 70 % trash. The day pull tabs came out it was down hill from there. I believe at one time kids had lunch money with them but now it's paid by check. This way that kid don't have it to lose on the play ground.

Chuck

[Au4Gold2]

For me its lots of trash....I can go 3-5 days ..and its trash trash trash..pretty discouraging at times. But experience reminds me...that the gold will ALWAYS show up. Because I use disc. I dig less trash...but always dig the not so sure tones. Just today I got this double bleep signal...loud and close to surface...thought it was trash..but ended up a .96 gram flat long nugget. Total surprise...  

[strick]

44 minutes ago, Ridge Runner said:

The day pull tabs came out it was down hill from there. I believe at one time kids had lunch money with them but now it's paid by check. This way that kid don't have it to lose on the play ground.

Chuck

Good one Chuck!

I often think that I'd like to invite one of my non metal detecting friends along to go for a hunt but then I think of all the trash I have to dig for a good target (gold/silver ring or nugget) and quickly realize that they probably would not have much fun. Sometimes you can find a low trash spot with lots of good targets but that s not the norm. Having said that the hobby is productive that I dont think I will be quitting any time soon.

[IDdesertman]

Interesting point Chuck, I hadn't thought of that but I bet the kids don't carry lunch money like they use to. I remember it was like 80c or something like that for me. I always had change with me for lunch.

 

Matt

[auminesweeper]

Even in junk filled site I don't dig too much trash unless it is washers or big Iron down deep and a few pull tabs and can slaw, But most of the time it is less than 50 50.

john