MA/VT/NH Panning

[dvdtharaldson]

Hi ,

This is the first time I have posted on this website. I live in Western MA and am planning a trip during the last few days of September to Vermont to try my luck panning. I was going to try Buffalo Brook and Five Corners in the Bridgewater area. Does anybody know how far down you ordinarily have to dig to hit black sands in those areas? Any comments on whether you have to dig deep or just stay on the surface? I was thinking Irene probably deposited alot of flood gold on the surface. Does anybody know if some of the small brooks high up in the mts. north of Bridgewater contain gold? All I ever hear is Buffalo Brook and Five Corners. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. As you probably could tell I am new to panning for gold.

Thanks,

David

 

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[dvdtharaldson]

Good job WMG, it is always so much more gratifying when you catch some colors with something you made, rather than, with something you bought. Can't wait to see it in action.

 

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[WesternMassGold]

Once again David and I went out to our favorite brook in Mass on Sunday. I went to the spot where i found my first ever picker 2 weeks ago and moved about a foot to the left of spot where i found the picker .
About a half hr after i started digging , i could not believe my eyes.
I found another friggin picker. bigger than the last one.
After about 7 or 8 hours of panning i ended up with 69 pieces,some pretty good size plus the picker.



i actually put it on my scale and it weighed in at 0.04 grams.

 

[dvdtharaldson]

Once again I was happy to be there in real time when you found this picker. This was the biggest piece of color that I have ever seen come out of Massachusetts. It really has some good depth to it, definitely a rare find. That color will be a hard one to beat. Congrats.

 

[brianc053]

You guys are on a good spot there. Wish I could join you. (I may be able to - I may have to come up to Springfield next week May 4th and/or 5th. If I come up would either of you be able to get out for a half-day?).

- Brian

 

[WesternMassGold]

My newest invention >> the "Suck and plug" gold sucker.

As most of you that own a hand held gold sucker know,the moment you lift the nozzle out of the water, the water and sand start running out again.
So i came up with this . i added a string inside the sucker tube on the bottom of the plunger , fed it thru the nozzle and attached a rubber stopper from a bath tub.
As you pull up the plunger handle the string pulls up the stopper and when the handle reaches the top , the stopper closes the nozzle and keeps the dirt and water inside until you lift it
into your bucket or pan to release it.
i had to shoot the video with one hand and pull the plunger at the same time , but i think you get the idea.
i tried it in the river and it works well.
https://youtu.be/Z_VhNa_BEhI

You can also watch this video on you Tube search for gold sucker and watch it in my channel under my Youtube name Sluice Bigelow.

 

[arizau]

My newest invention >> the "Suck and plug" gold sucker.

As most of you that own a hand held gold sucker know,the moment you lift the nozzle out of the water, the water and sand start running out again.
So i came up with this . i added a string inside the sucker tube on the bottom of the plunger , fed it thru the nozzle and attached a rubber stopper from a bath tub.
As you pull up the plunger handle the string pulls up the stopper and when the handle reaches the top , the stopper closes the nozzle and keeps the dirt and water inside until you lift it
into your bucket or pan to release it.
i had to shoot the video with one hand and pull the plunger at the same time , but i think you get the idea.
i tried it in the river and it works well.
https://youtu.be/Z_VhNa_BEhI

You can also watch this video on you Tube search for gold sucker and watch it in my channel under my Youtube name Sluice Bigelow.

Neat idea. Ever thought about sinking a low sided container (with a big rock in it to keep it in place) next to where you are working? Suck and short swing under water to container to dump, repeat.

Good luck.

 

[brianc053]

dvdtharaldson and WMG, I did end up getting out in that favorite western Mass. location today after my work meeting. I got to spend exactly 2 hours digging, and after some test panning I was able to run about 8 gallons of classified material through my sluice. Below is a pic of the results. Yes I took the time to pan the concentrates; I wanted to be sure that my sluice was catching gold. Turns out I was running it too "hot" and I think I was blowing fine gold out of it. I say this because in my two test pans there were some small fine gold, but in the concentrates there were very few and there were only these larger (relatively speaking) flakes.

No pickers, but I'm happy with the results - for two hours of bonus digging!

- Brian

 

[dvdtharaldson]

WMG I saw your video and your gold stick seems to work pretty well. Good idea with the stopper in the end of the nozzle. Hopefully we can get the chance to see how it performs in real time on the water. Time seems to be at a premium for both of us right now.

Brian I am glad you found some color at our "favorite western Mass location". That waterway can be quite fickle.

To anybody who is interested- I am planning on putting together a prospecting trip to Vermont some time early this summer. I was thinking about the Bridgewater area on the Ottauquechee River. Small fines but relatively plentiful. I am thinking about some time in June or July. Since I am monetarily challenged I stay in campgrounds rather than at the Ritz. If your interested PM me and I will try to pick a date(s) that are agreeable to all.

Best Colors,
dvdt

 

[dvdtharaldson]

WMG and I frequented one my favorite Vermont rivers yesterday. It isn't one of my favorites just because it has colors in it, but mostly because of the spectacular character of the river itself. I saw a whole bunch of fiddlehead ferns growing by the riverside. Unfortunately they were past the stage where they would be considered a choice edible. I also saw a snake, who was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him. I don't think he gets a lot of encounters with people, as I was quite a ways off the beaten track. I admired him for a few seconds then went on my way. I don't think he admired me because he was all coiled up and hissing, as the song goes.

I had a personal best day yesterday with 108 pieces found, 19 of which were plus 50. I think the reason for my success was my change in technique. I purchased a portable aluminum bench at the local job lot and it made all the difference in the world for me. I feel as though I processed at least three times as much material as what I used to. I did all my classifying and panning right on the bench. It was the best investment I have made in years. If you have joint problems like I do, and your state doesn't allow free sluicing, a bench is the way to go.

Good luck and best colors,
dvdt

 

[WesternMassGold]

You should have done 1 more pan . i got 109
Gonna post a picture shortly , working on todays clean out. Went out for about 4 hrs to our favorite Mass Brook.
Congrats on your first 100 plus day. Hope you have many more.

 

[WesternMassGold]

Just finished my count for todays trip. did some bedrock cracking.
Picture shows Vermont trip on bottom and Mass trip on top. yesterday 109 . today 32.

 

[dvdtharaldson]

I was planning on taking a trip to the Franconia area of New Hampshire. The plan is to be up there Monday through Wednesday. I am hoping to spend a little time prospecting the area around the Wild Am as well as some tribs of the Ammonoosuc. I have never prospected the area before and could use a little guidance. If you don't mind helping out an old broken-down dilapidated prospector, I would appreciate a PM. If anybody would like to meet to say hello that would be great as well.

Best Colors,
David

 

[WesternMassGold]

We had a nice stretch of sunshine here Memorial day weekend. Decided to go to my favorite brook in Mass again.
I figured i get there before anybody else and arrived at 7 AM, just to see 1 guy already there digging 3 feet from the spot i was going to tackle.
I had already met him before and he was nice enuff to let me go into my spot .It took me almost 2 hrs before i found my first piece.
Pretty small tho. I continued in that hole breaking up bedrock just to come away with only about 10 pieces after about 4 hrs.
So i moved about 20 feet upstream and started breaking bedrock in the middle of the stream close to the spot where Brianc053 found his picker last year.
Lucky me>> Found my 3rd picker this year although it was a tad smaller than my last one, it still made that nice "klonking" sound in the pan.
It seems this part of the brook is slowly running out of gold since it is the only part of the entire river thats not posted.
My total was 26 pieces plus the picker(looks kinds like a boot).

 

[WesternMassGold]

Today i got a chance to once again go to my favorite brook,but this time i also got a chance to meet E.MassAuMan.
We had a great time panning together and cracking bedrock.
Once again i went back to my spot where i found pickers before,but it wasnt meant to be today. Still got some nice pieces and a total of 48.
I hope i get to go out with Doug again and maybe David can join next time. On the other hand then i gotta show 2 people where to look for gold. haha just kidding u guys do just fine.

 

[brianc053]

East meets West! It was inevitable... I'm glad you guys got to meet up.

If there's a gold party in Mass. I want to drive up from NJ for it.
There's a small chance I might get to visit our favorite spot this coming Tuesday for a few hours. We'll see...

- Brian

 

[E.MassAuMan]

Ahh Yes East Meets West
WMG was good enough to ask me to join him
At one of his favorite North Central Mass waterways

Spent several hours banging bedrock and exploring
The river bank
I did best with the Riverbank yielding 6 pieces and hopefully there are as many more in the bucket of cons I brought home




WMG using his very effective Sucker Stick on the big
Chunks of Bedrock he was tackling ( The bigger the bedrock slabs the bigger the gold it seems)

What makes this area particularly productive it would seem is the presence of an elongated Thrust Fault
Where the bedrock has been twisted 90 degrees and facing vertically and the large amount of Quartz. The fault crosses several waterways so a trip to check out a few other spots is warranted in the future

Anyway it was a fun day

 

[WesternMassGold]

it seems i cant stay away from my local river, even if there is only very small gold in small quantities.
So i went out today to give it another shot.
Went to a spot where i know gold has been found and located this "goldish" looking rock sticking out of the bank .


I figured maybe its a sign and the goldish rock was pointing me to the gold. lol
Well it actually did.
Dug down about a foot , spent 3 hrs there and got me 72 small pieces. Not too bad for around here.

 

[WesternMassGold]

Happy Father's day to all . I spent mine at the river, went back to that spot with the goldish rock and pulled out another 56 pieces . then i moved 10 feet upstream to another rock.
it seems there is gold all along the bank at this spot because i found another 80 pieces just a few feet away.

 

[triple d]

I would try crushing some of the gold colored rock. If you can get some smaller pieces of it. It sound like what i have been crushing. And have been finding some gold in it. If its decomposing and looks kind of like slate with a lot of pyrite and mica.I think you may be on to something. Buts yours sounds like you would find a look more. I think its worth a try.

 

[quantumleap39]

greetings and happy friday!! I am planning on panning on sunday up around maxwell and couch. anybody care to join me?