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River / Creek Prospecting - Detecting Or Panning / Sluicing?


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Being the greenhorn I am, I'm looking for a little guidance from the veteran prospectors here.  I recently ordered a new kayak to explore the many rivers and creeks around here and also hopefully find a little gold.  Would I have better luck panning and getting a small sluice box or possibly do better with a detector along the banks and in the channels.  I know that is a loaded question as there are way too many variables to give a definitive answer, but what are your experiences prospecting in and along the water?  I would certainly appreciate some insight.   Thanks.

 

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 Start with a gold pan- preferably a steel one. That will tell you if a sluice box is justified. your questions will best be answered by yourself through experience. When you have become addicted, I can recommend some good recovery programs. A GPX 7000 would make an excellent kayak paddle.

Hope that helps. Best of luck to you! 

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I know of a guy who does quite well working from a kayak in Nor Cal rivers and streams as it provides great access to areas where most can't.  Some tools that come to mind:

Garret AT Gold detector (its waterproof)

Crack hammer

Small plastic drop riffle sluice

Plastic gold pan, crevice tools and sucker devices

***Review vids on crevicing and sniping for gold.

Good Luck!

 

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26 minutes ago, klunker said:

 Start with a gold pan- preferably a steel one.

Why steel?

 

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I would like to know why steel also?

I started panning probably 60 years ago with a steel pan and used one until the plastic ones came out.   I tried one and they work just fine. Been using them for 20 years or so and only chipped one by dropping it..... it was about 25 degrees at the time so that probably was the reason.

I would start out with some crevicing tools, a pan and a 1/4 inch screen to remove larger material.

You can always take a detector, etc. back if things "pan out"

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You will be able to cover more ground with a metal detector.  Although, if you are truly green, I suggest a gold pan and once you have mastered that skill, then upgrade to a sluice box and go from there.

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  • The title was changed to River / Creek Prospecting - Detecting Or Panning / Sluicing?

I came across a steel gold pan once at a garage sale. Bought it and later took it with me to the beach and let it soak in the bay for a few hours while I did some detecting. A week later and totally rusted, I mounted on the wall in my den.

There's an idea on  what you can do with a steel gold pan.

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13 hours ago, deathray said:

What area are you in?

Grays Harbor, Washington.  I've  been thinking about detecting in the nearby Olympic foothills but also want to try in the creeks and rivers around here.

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10 hours ago, Hard Prospector said:

I know of a guy who does quite well working from a kayak in Nor Cal rivers and streams as it provides great access to areas where most can't.  Some tools that come to mind:

Garret AT Gold detector (its waterproof)

Crack hammer

Small plastic drop riffle sluice

Plastic gold pan, crevice tools and sucker devices

***Review vids on crevicing and sniping for gold.

Good Luck!

 

I've been seriously thinking about the AT Gold.  I already have the AT Pro so the learning curve shouldn't be too bad.  I'll have to look into crevice  tools.  

Thanks.

 

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