Newbie on a panning trip...help!

[Locke]

Hi everyone! Well went out to Auburn Recreational are in Northern Cali. to do some panning today. Did all the right stuff [I think?] scraped out cracks between boulders on the exposed river bed. Then sorted the material…1/4in sorter and 1/40 sorter, got the concentrate, tried panning it AND…Nothing! Not even a spec (the area is pretty popular and I keep hearing “color in every pan”). There is plenty of that gold flaking looking stuff but its brittle and either breaks or flakes, thus not gold. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks, and happy hunting.

 

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[Jeffro]

Sounds like you're in a spot that everybody pounds year after year.... which is pretty much what everybody does their first time out, LOL!


Follow those cracks into the bank, if you can.
Get off the main path somewhere that hasn't been pounded to death.
Dig in the hard stuff, not the loose stuff. It's tougher, but more rewarding if you hit the right spot.
Get rid of the 1/40 sorter, stuff that small you probably don't wanna keep anyways, just panning. Screening down to 1/4 inch is just fine for panning.

Once you do get into a spot with good gold, just pan down to the black sand and dump it in a bucket to take home. More material moved= more gold. Check every now and again to make sure you're still getting gold, though.

Its all a learning curve, we all went through it. You ain't alone there, lol!

Try practicing a bit at home before your next trip. Take some copper BB's or small lead sinkers and pound them flat with a hammer, then practice panning over a tub. If it takes you more than 2-3 minutes to pan down a pan, you're going to slow. This helps when you get back out there cause you can move around quickly to get to the good spots. Then set up a sluice.

There is sooooo much to learn and its not as simple as it looks, but you'll get it!


best of luck out there.

 

[extractor]

practice with bbs /look for a less worked spot

 

[JamesE]

If you go on farther up I 80 into Colfax, there's a state campground about 3 to 5 miles out of town, Bear Creek or something (ask a local). Anyway, there is or was an island /sandbar that had alot of fine gold flake and flour. It's been 6 or 7 years since I was there last so it's possible the bar has changed or washed away. The rule was : NO power equipment of any kind, we stuck to panning, a rocker might be legal. As far as panning goes there was something in every pan, and fun practice (or kids trip) BUT you'll be there a year to get a DWT., it's real fine stuff. It occurs to me it may be a county park, camp area is pretty small. Colfax Post Office or county sherriiff could tell you. And it occurs to me that with the rains a couple years ago, the whole place could be 10 miles downstrem! Best to you and yours, Jim

 

[aarthrj3811]

Hey Locke…The Auburn Rec area is big…There is a lot of sand bars…Most of the bars you are not allowed to dig. On the west side of the river you have Mammoth and Rucky Chuck Bars….At Mammoth Bar you need to park before you get to the bottom and walk down to the river. Rucky Chuck (may not be spelled right ) there is a jeep trail that goes up river from the camp ground. The area close to the bars has been worked over and over….Bear River camp grounds is where I learned to pan around 30 years ago…Art