Your First Panning Experience

[hvacker]

About 10 years old I went to my Mom's cupboard and found a metal pie pan.
I went about 1/4 mile to Crystal Lake in Illinois and began the search for gold.
Luck wasn't with me that day but life goes on.
What is it about human nature that really has little reason to be so optimistic about something that is so random?
Thinking out loud.

 

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[DeepseekerADS]

I've panned my streams a number of times - only black sand and zero color. Two miles down the road on a stream off the same mountain, a nugget was found by someone else.

Why do I keep panning my streams?

 

[Digzit2]

Found my first gold in Indiana, now I try to pan every river and creek that runs through the last iceage moraine.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

My first gold panning experience was a mica panning experience on Gold Creek and I was super pumped but I couldn't figure out why the little golden flakes we're washing out so easy.
The next time I went downstream below the mines and I had much better luck. I watched more videos and educated myself a little more and found my first gold. It was truly unmistakable in the pan and I was hooked ever since.
Now after about two years and after just staking my first claim it's all that consumes my mind.
When we are out prospecting a new area and my wife watches me dig a new hole, she swears only someone with gold fever would go through that much work hehe.
She just doesn't understand but she's there to make sure I eat and drink once in awhile.

 

[N-Lionberger]

According to my mom my first time panning was at the Trinity County Fair, but I was too young to recollect. The first Solid memory was getting a little panning kit from the museum gift shop in Weaverville, it came with a 10" steel pan which my mom burned out for me on our old coleman stove. The kit came with a little bag of paydirt which I panned out in the creek behind our cabin, still have the gold in a little vial in my gold stash, happy at home among my nuggets. I have this strong memory of how different in color the pay dirt was to the dirt in the creek and made a neat little pile under water. Our former neighbor up there RIP Willy was a dredger and had a Keene 4" with bright yellow pontoons, lent me a book about prospecting and informed me there was in fact gold in the creek behind our cabin which I went to town on, per instructions in the book I made a wooden sluice and had a lot of fun tearing that creek apart lol.

 

[Duckshot]

First for me was a kit with paydirt bought at Wall Drug in SD. First wild gold was flood gold from a well known park in WI.

This spring I did some actual prospecting close to home where I have located a stream that seems to have lots of gold, especially for this area of the Midwest. I might be the only person to ever dip a pan there. Im still high as kite dreaming about it, but have not worked up the nerve to ask if I can sample further downstream on private land. I can walk the creek and it looks very promising, but the dirt on the bottom belongs to the property's owner.

 

[63bkpkr]

My first time out with invited guests, the guys with me asked if we could find any gold where we were. I pulled out my cereal bowl, took a hunk of dirt from the bank and panned it out in the bowl. All were surprised when I showed them the gold flake I'd found, including myself!...................63bkpkr

 

[GoldpannerDave]

My family was taking a trip out west, 50 years ago. We went to Knott's Berry Farm, which back then was out in the country. They had a gold panning set-up and I found a bit (probably salted) but I kept it in the vial they gave you. When I was later in gold country (Colorado), I seriously started looking for gold. Went to Cache Creek back in about 1984, when you could actually work anywhere but on claims. GPOC then leased a claim from O'Neill in lower Cache Creek back then and I spent many a happy hour there getting gold.

 

[arthos]

My first time was a couple weeks ago, My brother and I visited the East Fork San Gabriel Mountains Ca, with some pans/classifier, and found some color. Cant wait for the next trip. Here's what my brother and I gathered after about 5 hours at the intersection of Eastfork river and Cattle Canyon. Its not much, we were getting 1-4 specs per pan but it's a start! Just enough to make me thirsty for more!. Man my wrist and forearms were tired.

 

[KevinInColorado]

When I was 6 or 7 I dug a hole in our front yard and came in the house with "gold" to show my mom (I knew it wasn't really gold). The real stuff started in '89 when I moved to Colorado. First wild gold was on North Clear Creek in Gilpin County. Just a few flakes but I should go back to that spot for old times sake!

 

[GoldpannerDave]

My first time was a couple weeks ago, My brother and I visited the East Fork San Gabriel Mountains Ca, with some pans/classifier, and found some color. Cant wait for the next trip. Here's what my brother and I gathered after about 5 hours at the intersection of Eastfork river and Cattle Canyon. Its not much, we were getting 1-4 specs per pan but it's a start! Just enough to make me thirsty for more!. Man my wrist and forearms were tired.
View attachment 1463548

Nice, with some larger pieces. Much larger than I usually see now in Colorado.

 

[Hanzerik]

First time was back around 1989 when I was stationed at Nellis AFB NV. Didn't actually look for gold in NV, but went back home to San Bernardino CA. I went up to the little creek that flows through Cajon Pass and tried my hand at panning with a pan and shovel in hand.. Didn't find much except for a few flakes.

But have really wanted to try it again. All I have right now is a pan, but have been researching sluices.

 

[Medina Joe]

Back in 2013 in the great state of Ohio. Took a whole lota work to find a speck. MAGA

 

[goldog]

Aside from Knott's ...

My first and only attempt at panning was very close to the same spot I settled on as an old Prospector. Big T wash.

It was different back then. My dad took us out. We got a gold pan and went out there. Across the little bridge that's not there anymore. Tried one of the little side canyons and got black sand. No gold. Not even 100 yards from there is my favorite dollar a day spot.