if you have found a couple flakes for a couple pans,then you now know that it is a gold bearing run.on the question of bedrock with digging to find it,as slow as that water looks it is likely going to be covered in dry times,look for the bedrock in the banks,then turn and look to the opposing bank,see then the otherside and extend your arms with one arm pointing to one side,the other arm pointing to the opposite side,the straight line you create with your arms will give the location of the sill in the streambed,be sure to take note that the rock you are pointing to are the same compisition and color. then it wont be very deep,on that line of where you think the sill may be,go out with dig bar and drive it down and rotate it till it begins to (screw) down through the gravels,keep doing this until you are stopped by rock,drive the bar on the rock a few times to be sure it doesnt budge,if throw it pretty hard you may even feel a very slight vibration,you will then know that it is bedrock,and aprox how deep,gravels and cobbles will not carry a vibration.and that quartz is a very good sign,now what i would do ,since you have found flakes and you know that the run is gold bearing,i would go down stream of the quartz, if it possible to discern where the majority of large quartz is, and test the gravels ,not just a pan or two,but some extensive testing several locations imediately down stream of the very quartz,i am talking take a five gallon bucket of gravels from each spot you chose ,take note to each sample buckets location,label 1,2,3, so on,and what was in each sample, just be sure to keep your samples from each spot the same amount ,so half a bucket for the first one, half a bucket for the rest. after you done this downstream of the large quartz. then go upstream of the quartz if possible to discern,and do the same, but then label them differntly a,b,c, and keep exact amount agian in each sample,i.e half bucket, then when you look at your findings you should see a pattern begining ,more gold downstream of quartz,then i would search for the source of quartz, if the gold stays the same up and down stream, then just be happy that you have access to a gold bearing stream, and move as much mateirial as possible!wow my spelling is bad today, coffee not working yet i guess. happy hunting!
