Prospecting Northern Sierras Feather River Tributaries

[northern_sierras]

Hello. I live out in the northern sierras (plumas county). My backyard is forest and small year round creeks everywhere. I decided to start prospecting these creeks, all of which eventually flow into the feather river. I know this area is known for the gold rush and placer gold, so i like to think there would be gold in these tributaries. I've been panning and just today, i started sleucing. I think im panning right because I end up with a nice batch of black sand which I think is heavy, but not as heavy as gold. I really dont know where to look so Im just digging behind rocks and in crevices, running the dirt through my suece and then panning it out after a while. I took some pictures so hopefully you guys can give me some pointers..

There is a lot of quartz in the creek also. Please see attached pictures. Also, this is a remote area and the only creeks I will be prospecting this summer will be extremley remote.

 

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[Alex Burke]

Do you have a back-hoe? Just kidding lol. Do you see any specs of gold in the black sands I would watch this video on panning first to make sure you can confidently sample different areas. http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/g...ng-your-cons-black-sand-gold.html#post3375649 I dont know where to tell you to start really try to take many diff samples from as close to the bedrock as possible. Move the bigger rounded rocks and get samples from deep in creek below drop offs.

 

[Jeff95531]

You know, I'm pretty new here myself, but I can tell you this. Keep doing EXACTLY what you're doing. If that is gold at the bottom of the pan below the black sand, you may have something pretty special. If I sound a little skeptical, you'll understand once you have been here awhile. Good luck tho and keep us posted!

 

[Fullpan]

Welcome to tnet, Northern! - You are lucky to be in a rich county for gold. If you have not seen any actual gold in your pan yet, you should go to a popular
panning spot such as the Feather river bridge on the La Porte rd. and learn to pan from the "hard core" prospectors there. Second, when you get back to the
feeder creeks/gulches leave the sluice at home til you find a spot to run "production". Crashing thru undergrowth, climbing up and down steep terrain, is
exhausting with a sluice. You prospect with a pan and mine with a sluice as an old timer recently posted on this forum. Last, do the research - learn which
creeks are flowing thru gold areas of the past, and learn the signs of past mining such as ditches, piled, stacked boulders along the creekbanks, and metal mining
debris. If you have more questions, the guys here love to help answer them for you.

 

[northern_sierras]

Welcome to tnet, Northern! - You are lucky to be in a rich county for gold. If you have not seen any actual gold in your pan yet, you should go to a popular
panning spot such as the Feather river bridge on the La Porte rd. and learn to pan from the "hard core" prospectors there. Second, when you get back to the
feeder creeks/gulches leave the sluice at home til you find a spot to run "production". Crashing thru undergrowth, climbing up and down steep terrain, is
exhausting with a sluice. You prospect with a pan and mine with a sluice as an old timer recently posted on this forum. Last, do the research - learn which
creeks are flowing thru gold areas of the past, and learn the signs of past mining such as ditches, piled, stacked boulders along the creekbanks, and metal mining
debris. If you have more questions, the guys here love to help answer them for you.

Thanks for that info. I'll leave the sluice and just carry my pan until i find something. You know i fly fish at feather/laporte bridge and see the people digging holes everywhere, but never paid much attention to them. I always thought you will find more gold where people dont go. I have an online business so I only work maybe 5 hrs a week. I'll be checking out all the tributaries this summer and keep this forum posted.

When you start prospecting a stream, do you just start at the bottom and work your way up, panning as you go or is there a better way to find out if gold is in the creek? I've done some research on the local streams and found an article back in the 1930's of a homesteader buying shoes for his kids with gold nuggets he found in a stream about 2 miles over from mine. Most of the streams eventually flow into another stream, so would it be smart to start low and work up? Thanks for the help

 

[Alex Burke]

I would go to google earth and mark all the major bends in the waterways on your property to start and you'll be able to see where the creeks originate sometimes on GE. You can also see where faults and places where water may have ran in the past that you may want to test, and maybe creeks you didnt know were there. You can run google earth on phone or just save screenshots and check off the spots as you go and plan your route ahead of time, I don't know how big your property is so this might be overkill lol.

 

[Fullpan]

Once you know the waterway is gold producing, its true that the farther from bridges/people, the better the gold generally.

Yes, most prospecting proceeds upstream, and its a little easier to head down when the day's over.

The homesteader article is a good first clue.

It was easy for me to drive over to Plumas co. from Reno when I was actively prospecting. Been to Grizzly crk., Indian crk, the old copper mine n. of Taylorsville, slate, jamison, nelson, spanish, etc. Point being, I have some claim overlays on Google E. if you need specific locales. PM me whenever you get more into
this.

 

[63bkpkr]

All those creeks and so little time.........

Shucks northern_sierras, I'd be going nuts with streams that look like that all around me. As has been suggested do some research to see if there have been any gold mines or placer mining done in your immediate area as that is an important clue and an obvious one at that. Of course as the story goes a couple of miles from you there used to be a fella that bought his kids shoes with gold nuggets, see if you can confirm that story. Putting yourself into an area that has produced gold before is useful as when you find 'some' you and all your work will have been justified. If you can find a geological report on your area it could be helpful to understand what the areas where gold has been found compare to your specific location. Or, research can save a lot of time out in the field. But then of course if you enjoy roaming through the country side with an 85 pound pack full of gear on your back well heck, have at it (I do.) {take a close look at the picture to the left}

or better yet

 

[Jeff95531]

Shucks northern_sierras, I'd be going nuts with streams that look like that all around me. As has been suggested do some research to see if there have been any gold mines or placer mining done in your immediate area as that is an important clue and an obvious one at that. Of course as the story goes a couple of miles from you there used to be a fella that bought his kids shoes with gold nuggets, see if you can confirm that story. Putting yourself into an area that has produced gold before is useful as when you find 'some' you and all your work will have been justified. If you can find a geological report on your area it could be helpful to understand what the areas where gold has been found compare to your specific location. Or, research can save a lot of time out in the field. But then of course if you enjoy roaming through the country side with an 85 pound pack full of gear on your back well heck, have at it (I do.) {take a close look at the picture to the left}

I could not have said it better myself and if I could, I would retract my previous statement. The pain meds had not kicked in and I was a little opinionated and grumpy. I apologize. Good luck to you and your sites, as they remind me of my spots. Pristine and begging for further investigation. Something we all seek. Congrats! The one thing I have learned here is learn all you can and apply it to what you have. I am a total newbie and there are threads here that are so good, you will be tempted to read rather than prospect. Get out and apply the knowledge, you will be rewarded.

 

[TerryC]

It is difficult Not to find gold in CA. Quartz is the most common mineral on earth and gold very rare yet they are often found together. Go figure. Actually, read up and study the sulfides! Gold is usually near the sulfides. Galena (lead sulfide) pyrite (iron sulfide) chalcocite (copper sulfide) etc. TTC

 

[Jeff95531]

And yes, some of the BEST knowledge I have gained here, is if you strike out, go to a known gold location. You may very well be on one right now! Since you are already there, continue with prospecting with samples you like. Your procedure is sound. That alone will tell you to go or stay. I wish you all the best and HH!

 

[Hoser John]

Buddy up if possible as danger abounds in them hills. From pot farmers,crankster gangster labs to bears and accidents happen with great frequency. Always err on the side a caution. Great lookn' gold but check for claims and private property also. Pioneer down in Auburn has some great geological maps to assist you on finding then great contact zones and faults. From the looks of your pan,take that sluice and preclassify down to 1/2" when ever possible as you have some nice small gold,which is where the real money lies sometimes. Get a BIG gun and know how to use it too. Work off of bedrock,cracks,crevices,under big obstacles,logs,inner side of bends. Have a ball as that pan you showed is excellent-John

 

[TerryC]

Buddy up if possible as danger abounds in them hills. From pot farmers,crankster gangster labs to bears and accidents happen with great frequency. Always err on the side a caution. Great lookn' gold but check for claims and private property also. Pioneer down in Auburn has some great geological maps to assist you on finding then great contact zones and faults. From the looks of your pan,take that sluice and preclassify down to 1/2" when ever possible as you have some nice small gold,which is where the real money lies sometimes. Get a BIG gun and know how to use it too. Work off of bedrock,cracks,crevices,under big obstacles,logs,inner side of bends. Have a ball as that pan you showed is excellent-John

I'd like to expound on John's sage advice. As a career cop, I can add that it is VERY important to train with your firearm well and lots! When the time comes to use the firearm, you will instinctively revert to the way you trained. More than one cop has died because he trained wrong. The draw from the holster will be the longest 2 seconds of your life! Train well and survive! And ALWAYS cheat in a gun fight. There is no honorable gun fight! TTC

 

[Vance in AK]

Northern Sierras, you have plenty of advice here, but I want to say I envy you! I grew up in south central OR (K Falls), & worked all over Oregon & northern CA logging in the mid 70s-80s. I have lived in AK since '88 with the exception of 5 yrs in Montana. I got to see a LOT of Alaska as a helicopter mechanic.
Of all the places I have lived & worked, Plumas county is probably my favorite! I spent most of a season hauling loggs of Beardsley grade & running skidder up there on weekends ('87?), living in a trailer park near Taylorsville & hauling logs into Quincy. Also would run over to Truckee area & take a load to the port in SAC at times. LOVE the Quincy/T-ville area!!! Unfortunately I was just getting interested in prospecting then & really didn't get to play at all.... Have FUN!

 

[Fullpan]

Northern Sierras, you have plenty of advice here, but I want to say I envy you! I grew up in south central OR (K Falls), & worked all over Oregon & northern CA logging in the mid 70s-80s. I have lived in AK since '88 with the exception of 5 yrs in Montana. I got to see a LOT of Alaska as a helicopter mechanic.
Of all the places I have lived & worked, Plumas county is probably my favorite! I spent most of a season hauling loggs of Beardsley grade & running skidder up there on weekends ('87?), living in a trailer park near Taylorsville & hauling logs into Quincy. Also would run over to Truckee area & take a load to the port in SAC at times. LOVE the Quincy/T-ville area!!! Unfortunately I was just getting interested in prospecting then & really didn't get to play at all.... Have FUN!

So, that was you that forced me into the ditch back in 87' - you guys never heard of brakes? lol - good times.

 

[Vance in AK]

So, that was you that forced me into the ditch back in 87' - you guys never heard of brakes? lol - good times.

Probably!
Sorry!!!

Where you in that part of the world then?

 

[Fullpan]

Who remembers exact years anymore, its all a blurr cronologically for me! lol. I spent most time exploring s. of hwy 70 and s. of feather river above La Porte
The back rd. from La porte to Cronberg?, the rd. past Gibsonville that eventually comes out at Plumas-Eureka S.P., Did you work for SPI? It seems they're
the only outfit left still trying to log. The greenies are attacking them from all directions - doubt if they last much longer.

 

[ratler]

Hi everyone, nice to talk to you. I'm real new to this site so forgive me if I mess up.Bought a minelab 705 gold pack 2 weeks ago . I've been detecting off and on for 30 plus years but just now am getting serious . Back in the 70's my friend and I got alot of 1751-1914 coins from his old family reunion site in the Lake of the Ozarks area. But now I'm mostly interested in the gold,as I've moved out here to Oregon. I bought 2 gold nuggets .5 grain and a 1.5 grain. They only cost me $8.they are really small.The 1.5 is ok , but the .5 is so tiny I didn't think the 705 would pick it up. I put then in gem jars on top of the ground and in prospect mode the 705 picked them up with no problem. This is a good detector!I'll try them at different depths to see if it will pick them up under ground next.get back with the results in a bit.

 

[Vance in AK]

I worked for "Bearcat Logging", an independent. BUT, while we were in the area we were doing SP contracts & hauling most of our logs into the SP mill in Quincy. We mostly stayed north of 70/89 & east of 89 although we did some work around Grayeagle. We also had a job that I would be on at times near Sandridge (I believe) off of I80. We would cut across on 89 From Sierraville. That's stuff went to SP in Quincy or the port in SAC.
Anyway, BEAUTIFUL country!!!!

 

[Vance in AK]

Hi everyone, nice to talk to you. I'm real new to this site so forgive me if I mess up.Bought a minelab 705 gold pack 2 weeks ago . I've been detecting off and on for 30 plus years but just now am getting serious . Back in the 70's my friend and I got alot of 1751-1914 coins from his old family reunion site in the Lake of the Ozarks area. But now I'm mostly interested in the gold,as I've moved out here to Oregon. I bought 2 gold nuggets .5 grain and a 1.5 grain. They only cost me $8.they are really small.The 1.5 is ok , but the .5 is so tiny I didn't think the 705 would pick it up. I put then in gem jars on top of the ground and in prospect mode the 705 picked them up with no problem. This is a good detector!I'll try them at different depths to see if it will pick them up under ground next.get back with the results in a bit.

Welcome Ratler!!!
I think you may have posted this in the wrong section or thread though... You are FAR from the first!