I usually test pan at the creek before spend energy lugging around buckets of material, that way I know there is at least some color in it. Also I usually check multiple spots starting with the most promising looking and working down to the places that seem very unlikely to hold gold. Just yesterday I spent about four hours hiking down a river doing test pans. I have a spot nearby that has been producing steady gold, but I was always wondering if the next area might hold something better. So I took a day off from my normal place to go searching. I spent the night before searching satellite maps and looking for access points. After deciding on the best place I headed out. Turns out the best looking spot had nothing, and a less likely looking area held a good amount of gold. Trick is to try as many places as possible until you get a good feel for where gold gets deposited, then it should become a little easier. Once you find a promising spot, run as much material as you can! The more dirt you move, the better your chances of finding some color. And if you can't pan it or sluice it at the creek at least try to classify it down as much as possible, this will save your arms if you have a long trip! Keep at it, if there is gold in the area, you'll find it eventually! Good luck!
