Underwater Sniping n00b sharing some vids and my story. :)

[NeoTokyo]

Heya Everyone;

Brand new to the forums and about 3 weeks new to underwater sniping.

I have tried panning several times as a kid and prospecting is rich on both sides of my family though I NEVER had any luck at it.
I only ever found a few specs of micro gold, would get frustrated and run off to fish or swim.
So I have had the basic panning equipment my entire life, just never really did anything with it.

My first ever gold nugget was a small jelly bean sized nugget given to me by a nice man out on the American River by Colfax Ca some 15 or so years ago when I was a boy.
I think the road was Iowa Hill Road just off hiway 80, there is a campground down there too.

I held onto that nugget for about 5 years till I lost it, or my father got ahold of it.

Fast Forward to 3 weeks ago and several failed panning trips in between and you find me surfing around on YouTube.
I was not looking for prospecting video's but I clicked mindlessly on a related video (as many of us do sometimes on YouTube) and it was the "Gold Sniping New Zealand" video.
I dont know why but that video sucked me in and for the next couple hours I was watching all the sniping, panning, sluicing and dredging video's I could.

I then started researching this area, coming to forums to see what tools you guys use and I even called BLM to figure out where I could do it.

I then put together my bag of tricks starting with snorkeling equipment and a few basic tools (I will have my complete tool list at the bottom) and we headed out.

When I went out I just randomly plopped in the water where I found some bedrock, it wasnt too long after that I started to find gold - WOW! I thought and was instantly hooked.

I took home several nice sized flakes my first day and went back out the next.

My second day I found a very nice Nugget, a little larger than a Gold Fish Cracker but the same shape.

Its been about 3 weeks and we have about 15 grams of non-nugget gold, I dont know how much weight we have in nuggets but its pretty decent.

We are 100% addicted now and wish the water would stay calm and swimmable all year round.


I would like to hear from other snipers out there and if you have any hints or tips for tracking down nuggets.


Gear:

US Divers Mask, snorkel, flippers. (Hers)
Oceanic Ion 3x Mask, snorkel, flippers. (Mine)
A few flathead screwdrivers from short to 3' long
1/4" squared 12" long flathead prybar
36" Wrecking Bar
Rock Hammer with 1" Flat spade end (Estwing Geo hammer soon to come)
Assorted Tweezers
Gloves
2" trenching spade
Small scoops
Hand broom
Bazooka Gold Trap Sluice Box (Miners version)
2 large Garrett pans
1 small 8" blue Keene pan
2 sniffer bottles
Coleman MAX LED and Bubba Flashlight's
Stanley LED Underwater Spotlight (520 lumens)

Now for some videos.

I am only going to link up my last 4 vids but you can go to my channel to see the rest. CrainRacing - YouTube

Thanks.

-Eric-

 

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[StevenHavillJr]

Not gonna ask for the specific spot, but what is the general location for the area you are in?

Also awesome videos I have you on subscribe on youtube.

 

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[NeoTokyo]

Liked the video!
There was also a good article about underwater sniping in the latest issue (Sept/Oct 2012) of "Gold Prospectors" magazine

GG~

I will have to read that one, thanks.

Not gonna ask for the specific spot, but what is the general location for the area you are in?

Also awesome videos I have you on subscribe on youtube.

On the west coast.

Ok, a little more specific, Shasta County. :}

 

[Jason in Enid]

Great video, and GREAT gold! But it just makes me sick that you can't get a dredge in there. With such good gold and light overburden you could really get some gold if you could only use a dredge.

 

[NeoTokyo]

ugh dont remind me! lol

The slope over 100' run doesnt drop enough from that point to be able to gravity dredge either.

Its still a ton of fun though, I really enjoy uncovering that gold stuffs.

My 6 year old has an eye for gold too and I think my underwater video's will help train her eye better.
She kept point on the screen saying "Theres one, you missed it, theres another, you missed it AGAIN!" lol
I told her that I got it all when the video shut off.

Next year she is getting her own mask and snorkel.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Have you considered one of the hand-suckers like the "goldnsand" ? If they are allowed, I know you can connect the output hose directly onto a sluice.

 

[NeoTokyo]

Yup those are allowed and I have put some thought into it.
I have a Bazooka I could use with it too, but for this season I will finish it out by hand.

 

[Jason in Enid]

You have a lot of options to consider over the winter months!

 

[blynch35]

real nice video. one day im going to have to try it, looks real easy

 

[NeoTokyo]

Thanks guys, its pretty easy as long as the water isnt too deep and the current too great.
If you had an air hookah and weight belts you could snipe deeper, faster water.

I should mention that Gold is not in every crack or under every rock, I have to cover a lot of area to get what I am getting but when I do find decent gold its usually grouped together so you would want to work an area as a larger whole.

 

[Jack Hamilton]

I really liked your vids Neo. I'm impressed with your finds. Great job! I used to live in Redding in 91-93. Wish I'd gotten into prospecting back then, I was just getting started with my wife and focused on starting our family. Never knew what opportunities were nearby. Now we live in so-cal. Would love to make it back up to the Lakehead area and give that a try...we lived there for a short spell. Cheers, keep up the good work.

 

[NeoTokyo]

Ahh cool, when I was a kid in the early 90's I went to school for a year in Lakehead off Antler School Rd.

I lived in Redding from the mid 90's all the way til 02', I really wish I had started this way back when.

 

[NeoTokyo]

Heya everyone;

I made a Gold Sniping Page on Facebook and would like anyone that wants to share stories, pics and video's to check it out and friend me on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/103548246469377/

 

[NeoTokyo]

Here is my most recent video.
We are pretty much done with this area and its time to move on to the next.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Nothin' quite as much fun as snipin' gold, underwater, from the bedrock. Nicely done.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[NeoTokyo]

Thanks Lanny, it is a ton of fun, till you run out of fresh bedrock. lol

Between my wife my myself we have a little over an ounce not counting nuggets and specimens.
Not bad seeing that the 5th of next month will mark 2 months of doing this a couple times a week a couple hours at a time.

That list trip filled my 1/2 ounce vial of fine gold up all the way.

We separate chunky pickers from fine stuff, the nuggets and specimens also get their own vials.

 

[Lanny in AB]

Glad to see it's paying off. Some of the best memories I have of prospecting have been made while I was out sniping.

We were dredging one season, and I saw a bedrock shelf with a bedrock fall to the side of where I was working. I detached myself from the harness (very turbulent water) and worked my way over to the shelf and fall. Right there, grinning at me in the sunshine were two gram+ nuggets trapped in that fall! Well, of course I quickly liberated them and gave them a new home in my plastic bottle.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[NeoTokyo]

Awesome story Lanny, always great to find nuggets.

Here is my summer's hauler for the 2 months (Well about a month and a half of a hand full of days.)

Lots of small nuggets, good specimens, great clinkers and smaller flakes.

Close Ups.

 

[Fullpan]

Who says you need drugs to get high

 

[NeoTokyo]

Who says you need drugs to get high

I KNOW! RIGHT?!

Each little flake is packed with endorphins and adrenaline!

My wife says its like Super Mario pounding the blocks for Gold Coins "BRRRING BRRRING!" ONE UP!

Honey Hole!

 

[NeoTokyo]

Got another video for ya guys, this time I am testing out a Keene A52 sluice box.