Visiting CA in July

[OwenT]

My family is going to be in Fresno for a week this summer and I figure I will have a day or two to break loose and go prospecting. It will be my first time ever finding gold in CA. I was looking at going to the Merced River, given all the nice stories that we have from our friend Eagle about the places he would frequent. I'll probably just have my pan and bazooka possibly, and if there's somewhere favorable, I'd love to try sniping. I also really want to try metal detecting sometime, and maybe I should try it while I'm down there. Is there another area that I should look into that's not too far from Fresno? On the Merced, it seems like it won't take me more than about an hour and a half to get to a spot.

 

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[firebird]

Unfortunately the recent snow melts have made the bedrock inaccessible on the Merced River by Briceburg which is the only public area here you can legally prospect for gold without having to worry about getting into someone else's claim or getting into trouble with the BLM cops. I was there last November and had no idea I was standing on the middle of the river, now it's completely underwater. This is what it was on November 27, 2018, I was panning for gold by those rocks there.



Here's what it was last week.



I really wish I got into this hobby earlier during the drought. Seems like it won't be accessible like this again for several years.

 

[Underburden]

In the low water picture there is some interesting looking bedrock in the lower right corner. Hope the water level goes down enough for you to work that spot.

 

[OwenT]

I was looking at the landmatter maps and there are a fair amount of claims in the area but it's by no means "claimed up" so I'm confident I can find some good open areas since I'm willing to do the research. Maybe not on the river itself, but in some minor drainages even, seems like the whole area has decent gold.

 

[firebird]

I was looking at the landmatter maps and there are a fair amount of claims in the area but it's by no means "claimed up" so I'm confident I can find some good open areas since I'm willing to do the research. Maybe not on the river itself, but in some minor drainages even, seems like the whole area has decent gold.

Yeah the creeks all over the area have gold in it, would be your best bet since the water levels are lower there too. The easiest accessible creek is the one right by this rock shop here a few miles before you enter Mariposa on Highway 140. He owns the creek behind his shop and will let you pan there for $10.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/dials-rock-and-fossil-shop-catheys-valley

 

[OwenT]

Yeah the creeks all over the area have gold in it, would be your best bet since the water levels are lower there too. The easiest accessible creek is the one right by this rock shop here a few miles before you enter Mariposa on Highway 140. He owns the creek behind his shop and will let you pan there for $10.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/dials-rock-and-fossil-shop-catheys-valley

Good to know, I'll probably stop by. $10 is probably worth it, especially if I get some extra tips on where to go potentially.

 

[dave wiseman]

What most people fail to check is the bedrock higher up on the banks of a big river.Remember that the rivers were once higher up tens of thousands of years ago.Break open those crevices and scratch out the gravel,clay and sand..then enjoy your yellow.

 

[SchoolOfHardRocks]

What most people fail to check is the bedrock higher up on the banks of a big river.Remember that the rivers were once higher up tens of thousands of years ago.Break open those crevices and scratch out the gravel,clay and sand..then enjoy your yellow.

Great Point! Often times those are the best cracks to find... just imagine how many 100's even 1000's of prospectors comb the exposed bedrock on a river bed... but how many take the time to hike up the mountain side to check a crevice. Especially given the amount of lode and placer gold in the sierra nevadas… just my 2 cents.

 

[63bkpkr]

From the above Water Flow Charts of the Merced river you can see a wide spread of flows for the three years depicted, 2017, 2018 & 2019 to date.

2017 was a 9000 cfs water year, 2018 was a ~ 14,000 cfs water year and 2019 is a bit yet to be determined However the weather conditions for each year were different, compare the flow rates by month & amount. The temperatures in the Sierras are starting to warm up so the flows should begin to increase as the snow melts.

We've a month to go before your arrival in Cali., much could happen on your river of choice so I would advise checking the water flow data for the Merced.

The attached charts are from "USGS Real Time Water Flow Data" from the water check station # 11266500 on the Merced River. Also the Starting Date of each of the charts are slightly different so you may want to re-do the charts by starting at January to have a better idea of what was going on. Have an enjoyable time during your visit!.............63bkpkr

 

[ratled]

Contact Untied Prospectors club and see if you can get a guest membership for a day or two to check it out. I don't think they have this anymore but it's worth a try

 

[et1955]

Sorry you won't be near my claims, remember you can always mine on my claims. Was up on Horseshoe bend fishing Sunday, great time with you there, this time no rain.

 

[OwenT]

I wish I could go but I don’t think we’ll be stopping in that part of the state.

 

[OwenT]

Yeah the creeks all over the area have gold in it, would be your best bet since the water levels are lower there too. The easiest accessible creek is the one right by this rock shop here a few miles before you enter Mariposa on Highway 140. He owns the creek behind his shop and will let you pan there for $10.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/dials-rock-and-fossil-shop-catheys-valley

Just thought I’d follow up on my trip. After going to the museum I spent most of the day panning at Mike’s (Yosemite Rocks and Gifts formerly Dial’s rock and fossil shop) on Agua Fria creek. He showed me around and there’s good potential, plenty of nuggets been found in the area and they had a record flood 2 years ago and he said it was pickers all over. I didn’t hit it but but I found a few respectable flakes. Good experience for $10 though.