above or below bridge

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

The picture below is taken from the bridge looking up the river, the bridge is slightly wider than the river entering it.

There is a really hard flow of water down through the bridge then it widens out slightly below the bridge.

Where would be the best place to dig and pan, above or below the bridge? I tried a couple test holes about 1/4 mile below the bridge as I could get to the river. I found some garnets, not many and very small and just a little black sand. However I was limited in time as I went there to check it out and had to leave to get ready for the hurricane, it was already pretty windy and showery, but I didn't want to waste a day.

Almost got stuck there as I lost my car keys when they fell out of my jacket into the stream and I didn't notice it until I took my jacket off, they were 15 feet back down the stream at another test hole. I still can't believe my luck in finding them.

I see alot of bedrock above the bridge and realize I should have sniped the bedrock rather than waste time digging test holes. I don't know if there is any gold there as I have never heard of any, but it is on the east side of the Berkshires and in a steep valley.

 

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[Goodyguy]

There is no sure fire way to find where the gold is hiding other than test panning likely places.

In my neck of the woods I must visualize where and how the flood waters move the gold and check my intuition and educated guesses by test panning. A lot of the time I find gold where there is a sudden widening of a creek or river because gold tends to drop out due to the slow down of the current. Same as it does in the inside bends where the current is weaker and on the downstream side of boulders, etc.

GG~

 

[Lanny in AB]

If you're in an area where there's fine gold--flood gold deposited in the upper sections of gravel bars, work about the top six inches. Look for rocks fist-sized and larger as indicators. Pan the top end (closest end to upstream) when you test. If you're finding garnets and black sand, then you're doing something right.

Have you read everything you can get your hands on about your area's gold production history? Have you checked for any information the State may have on gold prospecting? Is there a gold prospecting club in your area?

If there's any coarse gold in your area, testing the bedrock is an excellent idea as it will trap anything every that moved over it.

All the best,

Lanny

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

If you're in an area where there's fine gold--flood gold deposited in the upper sections of gravel bars, work about the top six inches. Look for rocks fist-sized and larger as indicators. Pan the top end (closest end to upstream) when you test. If you're finding garnets and black sand, then you're doing something right.

Have you read everything you can get your hands on about your area's gold production history? Have you checked for any information the State may have on gold prospecting? Is there a gold prospecting club in your area?

If there's any coarse gold in your area, testing the bedrock is an excellent idea as it will trap anything every that moved over it.

All the best,

Lanny

There is nothing I have been able to find about gold in that part of Mass, mostly more north, this is along the Connecticut state line. Haven't found anything from the state on gold prospecting. I remember talking to the State Archeologist a bunch of years ago about metal detecting and was told that you could detect but you cannot pick anything up off, or out of the ground. I will do some more searching in the archives etc.
I have posted questions on a couple clubs facebook pages but no one has gotten back to me, I think they are two new.

Granville State Forest has that nice looking stream but I have never heard of gold being found, of course I have never heard of anyone working the stream.

Below the bridge where I did a couple test holes behind a couple rocks and found a few garnets, not that many and some sparse black sand. There is lots of quartz in the river although not as much as the Wild Ammonoosuc in New Hampshire.