Cosumnes River

[sidvail]

Advice on how to work this spot on the Cosumnes river. I stopped by here last week and spent the day panning. Tried spot 'A' for about 10 pans (3 different holes), then moved over to spot 'B' for another 10 or so pans. Better color at 'B', but still very small flour. A lot of black sand which I took home.

This is pretty close to Rancho Murieta above Dillard road bridge.

It looks like a large flood plain there with the south bank being 10-20 feet higher. I'll be going back this week to test a little more, but wonder if I should try something further away from the water. Maybe some of those gravel trails that run between the bushes.

Any advice? I can get to this spot pretty easy and would like to make it a daily if I'm not wasting my time. What do you think?

 

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[63bkpkr]

Sidvail,
I've never been on that river but the general rule of thumb is to sample the down river side of obstructions to the rivers flow, large boulders and trees are the typical culprits. Further up from your Point B and near a bend is what looks like a major outcropping with a significant channel behind it that looks interesting to me however, any boulders in the areas of A or B would suffice for sampling. Any exposed bedrock and do you have a detector? Have you looked up the history of the river to confirm significant quantities of gold have been taken from it? Best of luck........................63bkpkr

 

[sidvail]

Pretty much what I was thinking. No boulders at all, with largest cobbles being softball sized. Tried the base of a few bushes that were in direct path, but nothing at all there. Thinking of 'C' on the south side of river as it's a sharper bend, but the water really picks up speed there at the narrows. Maybe right before there?

Pretty interesting history here. A cook of Sutter found it while searching for missing cattle and established an Inn there in 1850. No real mention of gold, but a lot of mentions about Sutter, Leland and miners frequenting the inn. I've read a couple of posts about panning at nearby Rancho Murieta with nice recovery. Thought I'd give this spot a try.

Sid

 

[63bkpkr]

Trying IS what prospecting is all about. Without it we'd all be at home wishing we new what to do....................63bkpkr