I'll give resurrecting this thread a try. I'm new here, live up by the Lake Michigan shore. I do a little metal detecting (I've got a toy one, too, pretty much, but I keep threatening to upgrade), but a lot more rockhounding and artifact-hunting. I also do a fair amount of gold prospecting from here down to Brown County -- you'll find gold doing that, but to see what you've really got you'll need a Blue Bowl setup, because most of the gold is flour gold. It's high in quality, though, and the first sight of it in your pan hooks you. The best I've found is in Morgan-Monroe State Park -- permits are free and are issued at the park office. You're limited to using only pan and sluice, but you can have a pretty decent take on a good day.
Happy hunting!