Margan Monroe and Yellowwodd S.F.

[hunter_46356]

Just got my permit to prospect in the State Forests, and I understand the restrictions ( no shovels, picks, sluices) but can you take a 5 gal. bucket to classify..... or do you have to classify into the pan only?

 

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[63bkpkr]

Man, I thought things were bad in CA! From what you've discussed I suspect they want you to swish the dirt and water around in your mouth and let the gold settle into the cracks between your teeth.

Attached picture shows a dime with lead shot, smashed lead shot and gold flakes taken in a few hours on a stream in CA

Ok, so you are in Indiana aka the mid-west, so are there any Bed Bath & Beyond stores there? If so go to the section that offers drawer organizers which are made from expanded metal and have 1/16"+ mesh opening and for all intents and purposes make a mighty good classifier so if the state allows you to use a classifier you've got one you can swish around in water in your gold pan. If no BB&B stores then hit up the drawer organizer section at a Wally World or K-Mart. The ones for pencils or paper clips are nice hand sized units that like I explained also fit nicely into and medium sized or larger gold pan. OR if you want a DIY project, pop rivet some 1/8" hardware cloth to a metal can (like after the contents have been removed and the can is to be thrown out) but only cans that can be opened from both ends with a can opener will work for this. I made my first one from a tuna fish can and sitll use it.

Good Luck, have fun being outside..........63bkpkr

 

[hunter_46356]

Morgan Monroe and Yellowwood State Forest are probably some of the best gold bearing areas in Indiana. I haven't been there yet but have done a lot of research and read a lot of post from those who have. Guess there a fair amount of flour gold, flakes and the occasional small picker. The State Forest have water clarity concerns so they won't allow dredging, sluicing, shovel or picks. They only allow garden trowels and pans. I guess I'll have to call the DNR Dept. and ask about classifiers and buckets!

 

[63bkpkr]

Hi Again,
Since there is a Lot flour gold and the occasional picker then you will benefit from classifying (pre-sorting) the dirt to remove larger items and as I mentioned earlier this can be done in your gold pan or you can do it into any size bucket or TUB if they are allowed. With the right size Tub one can sit down and pan in the tub versus breaking your back knealing and leaning over the creek/river. Classifiers are simple things and should be no big deal to the agency you are talking with but do ask about them as well as buckets/tubs as you do NOT want to do anything that is not allowed. And smile and tell them thank your for the information.

Good Luck and remember, every flake you find or every piece of flour gold you find is money in your pocket and it all adds up..63bkpkr

 

[hunter_46356]

Talked to the property manager for Morgan Monroe and Yellowwood State Forest. He was OK with the use of classifiers (after I explained what one was) but said using a bucket would be taking it to far. (I Guess they assume I would use the bucket to dig with instead of classify into). Not going to argue with him for the simple fact it's the only productive “in state prospecting opportunity". I'm guessing there has to be someone here who has been to MMST or Yellowwood. What have been the experiences and what do you carry in to prospect with?

 

[63bkpkr]

Wow, no buckets either! Ok prospecting equipment that fits their demands.

I assume that there are some rocks along the sides of the creek/stream/river, between and under these rocks is where the gold will settle as well as in cracks in the bedrock, undercuts along the stream bank and under/behind anything that blocks the water from flowing down hill. A short lesson: A boulder sitting in a river, this could be VW Bug sized to 2' x 1' but a boulder in the way of water flow, at the front of the boulder there is a high water pressure zone and it carries all sorts of sediments including gold and causes all the material to pass over the boulder. BUT at the back side of the boulder there is a natural low pressure zone and the heaviest and some of the lighter material drop out here. So on the down river side of boulders are where one should look for gold or other heavy materials. How are these areas worked?

Is it ok to move rocks/boulders if so move them and collect the dirt that is under them and process it. Processing dirt: have a classifier, pour dirt into it, shake classifier with gold pan under it (this is dry classifying and assumes your dirt is also dry); have a classifier, pour dirt into it, hold classifier in water like in gold pan and shake classifier wetting all the dirt. Either dry or wet the fines will drop through the classifier into the pan and now they can be panned. Learn how to pan "heavy materials" out of dirt at home by using lead shot or BB gun BB's in dirt and when you practice getting all the lighter materials out of your pan and all the BB's or at least most of them are still in the pan then you have a pretty good panning method. If you expect to find gold all the BB's should still be in your pan so work at panning technique "at home".

So now you have a trowel, a classifier and a pan. Additionally for working around rocks and cracks and pockets you need a scraping tool, a piece of dry cloth and a cheap 1" paint brush. The scraping tool is nothing more than a 1/8" diameter steel rod with a point on one end and a "Beaver Tail" flattened end on the other end. The rod should have some length to it say 16" or long enough to work the particular spot you need to work. The beaver tail end should be bent at about a 90 degree angle so it can be used as a scraper. (note: make the point first when the rod is still straight) What you are doing with this tool is removing small rocks and dirt from a crack you've found in a rock, bedrock or between large rocks that you can not move. The setup for this type of work is as follows: spread the dry cloth/rag out as close as possible to the mouth of the crack you are working, use the scraper to remove the contents of the crack, use the brush to move the dirt onto the cloth. Once you have a nice pile of dirt carefully fold the rag over so the dirt is not lost and transfer the dirt into your pan. Once you have a good sized pile of dirt in the pan then pan it out. Note here that the gold is more than likely at the bottom of the crack but you should find signs of gold in the dirt as you get closer to the bottom of the crack. And these form the basic tools of prospecting along with a hat to keep the son off of you, lunch, water to drink, possibly a soft cushion to sit on while you work or rest (the cushion or foam pad is going to get dirty) and oh yes, a sample bottle (like a 35 mm film can or other plastic bottle) {glass bottles out in the filed break too easily and should be used for keeping samples in at home}. Oh and a simple magnifying glass is nice say about 10 power. Remember if a flake you've found is gold then when you press on it with a small knife blade it will fold NOT Break. Learn how to identify gold from other 'colored' objects.

So go find some gold..............63bkpkr

 

[hunter_46356]

Wow , you should get the Admins to make this a sticky for newbies.

I guess I forgot to mention I have been panning, all though only a few times, I have been successful and almost all of it has been flour gold. I'm pretty confident in my panning abilities. I have also made a home brew typical sluice and a wood Bzooka that actually works too. I can only thank the many people here and reading alot on this forum.
I was hoping to find some one who has been to the Morgan Monroe or Yellowwood to see what they use in this particular area.

63bkpkr Thanks for your reponse as there are a few items that I'm definatley going to add to my prospecting weapons. "GTG"

 

[63bkpkr]

GTG,
You are welcome for my input. All I'm doing is trying to give back to others as the folks here on TNet certinally did give to me when I asked my questions. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things already so just keep on learning and asking questions when something does not make sense or when you get stumped...........63

I'm kinda surprised that others have not pitched in on your thread. give it another day

 

[hunter_46356]

63....Gotta thank you for your kindness and guidence. I'm not much on the tech-no stuff, you know puters, texting and such. I had to kind laugh cause at the end of my last post to you I left "GTG" trying to be text-ty tech-no and it showed I guess. My name is Craig, the "GTG" was meant to be kinda my signature (I guess thats what they call it)...."Get the Gold" Don't worry the laughs on me! I'm enjoying reading many of your past post, lots of real good info. Thanks.

 

[63bkpkr]

Good Morning hunter/Craig,
And a smile back at you for the GTG sign off. I'm not much into the new technologies like I do not text by choice as it is another monthly fee I do not care to afford. I also do not feel I'm loosing much by not texting, as it is, not many people call me anyway and then to have to learn what all the shorthand texting letters mean, naa not for me.

As you go through my past posts you will quickly see the novice prospector show up but you will also see some awesome country and a bit of gold. I've enjoyed photography since my 'granny' gave me the camera she found stashed in her wood pile and that is one thing I keep up with, a camera that is. I tried digital movies and like taking them but then I found the involved process of editing them to put together a finished movie to be troubling, ie: learning the software. I might give it another shot especially since the cameras have come down in size and weight and cost. My digital still camera takes low quality movies but I'm about quality so just looking at those bothers my senses. Also in my posts you will find tons of information offered by other TNeters and that is where the real value of my old posts comes in like the videos the fella sent that show the the crisscrossing "V" pattern the water makes in the sluice when the sluice is setup correctly. As I've been told many times processing more dirt is how you get more gold so in 2010 when I purchased the sluice box I got a chance to see that happen, moving more dirt & finding more gold. I've always found a bit of gold by scratching out cracks but slucing/panning but those large flat nuggets in 2010 was a total Thrill to find. I donated those nuggets to the cause of fighting this dredging ban and I worked Hard to get those out of the ground so I hope they help.

I bought a 2" Portable dredge in August of 1992, carried it in three times and then mothballed it when I found nothing due to my lack of knowledge on how to use it. Just plain dumb that I did not seek out knowledge from seasoned pros on how to use the thing. I still have it, will be using the gas motor/pump combo this summer as part of my high banker (Keene A52 sluicebox w/ CAsluicebox high banker mod w/Keene Tanaka 2.5 HP motor and P90 pump) and I AM really looking forward to the adventures of this years prospecting! The entire camping and dredge package with wet suit and gasoline weighs in at ~ 200 lbs and it takes me three trips to get it all in and out and as you can see from some of my pictures most of the places I go are very remote taking at least a day and a half to get it all in and the same time or more to get it all back out. The vertical climb out is typically 3000' and for a guy who wil be 68 in late April 2012 well, that is a hump.

Keep reading and learning, enjoy being out in the fresh air and the best of luck with the hunt and feel free to ask questions anytime and take some pictures and share them on this site. Note: pictures taken on cell phones carry a GPS trace on them that others viewing your pictures can trace and then locate where you a re finding the good stuff. Modern day Techno Claim Jumpers!

63bkpkr/Herb

PS As each of my three children turned 4 years of age I would take them one at a time into the canyon with me and share the beauty of the river, mountains, forests, the animals, swimming, fishing, camping, campfire stories and such with them making for awesome one on one bonding time and memories. The adult and child Must stay together all the time but it is worth every minute of effort required to get those little ones out there.

 

[Hoser John]

DEMAND TO SEE ALL RULES IN WRITING AS RANGERS LIE THEIE ARSES OFF 99% OF THE DAM TIME-trust writing as all else is BS---John

 

[B H Prospector]

To all prospectors new and old,
Go to the GPAA web site goldprospectors.org and go to the article page. Go to the November 2011 archive and read the article about the Oregon sherriff and then follow the links to the report he wrote about the U S Forest Service. You will learn just how full of BS they really are. And quite illegal. Every miner should have a copy of this report with them when in the field.

B H Prospector

 

[russau]

if not haveing a copy of this report,just knowing the info in this report should open a lot of peoples eyes asto the BS some gubermint officials are trying to force feed us! know your rights and dont back down!

 

[Bucketfreak68]

I will concur the the DNR down there are all liars I've been going to Yellowood for years until the year before last I won't bother to go there again check out the DNR web site for Indiana before you let them feed you a line I'm an avid backpacker as well as being into prospecting there are trails that are several miles long myself and others know they are there and DNR will tell you they don't exist,they will lie about such things for fear of having to do anything but sit in the information centers in air conditioning twiddling their thumbs.
Another word of warning watch where you step while in these areas Yellow Wood is chalk full of timber rattlers as well as copperheads I'm sure Morgan Monroe is as well and don't let anyone tell you rattlers will always warn you because that's a crock though I've not seen them I've heard there are cotton mouths in these areas as well as far as gold well the only thing I can tell you is this from all that I've been told about the area there's really nothing anymore special in that area than anywhere else in Indiana.
At any rate I wish you good luck with your trips there and hope you come home with several ounces of the good old AU.

 

[russau]

when going to and getting your free "permit" they also give you a copy of the rules. and remeber, when on "state" land, you do as their rules allow you. there is NO other rules to follow! its not federally owned land and the 1866/72 laws dont apply! know where you are and the rules, them decide for yourself if the ranger is messing with you! but remeber, if you violate their "rules" they can and will revoke your free permit for 1 year!