Smyth Creek California Gold Prospecting-Season One

[southfork]

Where's your wet suit mask snorkel sniffer bottle snacks water insect repellant and those little bottles to put all your gold in and a metal detector. Have fun .

 

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[Jeff95531]

Wow. It's been almost 7 months since I've followed up on this thread. I've had a great deal of responsibility added to my life which I welcome. But, I had to learn how to schedule prospecting time for balance. I've learned a lot along the way, on many levels, and I'm happy to report that Smyth Creek One has been abandoned and Smyth Creek Too has been prospected with excellent results. It's a lot further than I'd like, but the gold is there. My best ever prospecting trip! Thanks especially to Lanny and GI and Kevin, Mike, AZ, 63bkpkr and any/all I'm forgetting!

Here are the results of my last trip. A little over 3 gallons of 1/2 classified, all the way down to the bedrock, in the confluence of two washes. Classified down to 1/8 inch at the sluice. Promptly blew gold out of the end of the sluice 3 times before I talked to Golden Irishman and determined the material was just too thick to be fed as fast as I was feeding. I wound up with a gallon of cons. Finally got to panning and I pull 3-5 nice flakes per cup. Gold in every pan! A lot too small for me to recover so I'll be shipping it off to Dizzy Digger (check your PM Mike) for final processing. I'm heading back tomorrow morning at sunup to find the source. Heavy rains coming so last shot at the low points behind boulders. Taking a rake for leaves and hip boots for wading out. Pics will be coming, lots of black sand to clean out first. Wish me luck!

 

[delnorter]

Good prospecting Jeff. It's good to hear your adventures again.

Mike

 

[yotaboy86]

Wow. It's been almost 7 months since I've followed up on this thread. I've had a great deal of responsibility added to my life which I welcome. But, I had to learn how to schedule prospecting time for balance. I've learned a lot along the way, on many levels, and I'm happy to report that Smyth Creek One has been abandoned and Smyth Creek Too has been prospected with excellent results. It's a lot further than I'd like, but the gold is there. My best ever prospecting trip! Thanks especially to Lanny and GI and Kevin, Mike, AZ, 63bkpkr and any/all I'm forgetting! Here are the results of my last trip. A little over 3 gallons of 1/2 classified, all the way down to the bedrock, in the confluence of two washes. Classified down to 1/8 inch at the sluice. Promptly blew gold out of the end of the sluice 3 times before I talked to Golden Irishman and determined the material was just too thick to be fed as fast as I was feeding. I wound up with a gallon of cons. Finally got to panning and I pull 3-5 nice flakes per cup. Gold in every pan! A lot too small for me to recover so I'll be shipping it off to Dizzy Digger (check your PM Mike) for final processing. I'm heading back tomorrow morning at sunup to find the source. Heavy rains coming so last shot at the low points behind boulders. Taking a rake for leaves and hip boots for wading out. Pics will be coming, lots of black sand to clean out first. Wish me luck!

smyth creek 1 if it is what i think it is had done decent for me i wouldnt check it off it makes for a good quick trip when time is limited i also have another spot thats quite the drive that does well but its hard to get there often because of the time needed to drive in and out of there.I hope you have great luck with smyth creek two though!

 

[Jeff95531]

yotaboy86- My main problem for #1 was access or rather the lack of. I'm 57, weigh 267 and packaged up in a body that feels much older. If you want, we could go together as I'm sure you're right...should be plenty there for both of us. PM me if you want. But for now, couldn't be happier with #2. It was 46 this morning so I'm just now getting out the door.

 

[goldenmojo]

Jeff good to see you cleaning up on the gold. Hope you continue your success.

 

[yotaboy86]

yotaboy86- My main problem for #1 was access or rather the lack of. I'm 57, weigh 267 and packaged up in a body that feels much older. If you want, we could go together as I'm sure you're right...should be plenty there for both of us. PM me if you want. But for now, couldn't be happier with #2. It was 46 this morning so I'm just now getting out the door.

ok ill keep your u in mind on our next trip to that location and yes access is a real butt kicker im 28 and 250 and feel like 68 when im done haha

 

[63bkpkr]

Howdy Jeff,
Sounds like you are having fun, nothing like having fun! This morning the temp was likely 75 at 5:50 AM and with now large booms coming out of the sky as well as heavy rain. I might just have a wet 32 mile commute on my Kawasaki tonight.

I seem to have lost that 'Texas Gold' spot, can't find it again. Oh well.

Things here are progressing though I am uncertain of the outcome so I'm looking at sending out resumes including to companies in CA. We will see what happens.

Among things that are coming my way is a blind date. More on that later.

Hope you keep having fun!...................... 63bkpkr/Herb

 

[KevinInColorado]

Great to hear of your success!

 

[Jeff95531]

Thanks Kevin/all. I was only able to sample one source of two this morning and preliminary checks show no gold. (Too pooped to pan for now.) THAT is good news tho as it tells me not to waste my time there and the main channel is the producer...so next time I'll be looking upstream from the original pay-streak. I'm gonna spend the next few days indoors during the rains, clean up my take, photos, pan the new stuff & repeat. The heavy rains predicted may release the ocean-locked salmon into the Smith, so schedule is subject to change at any time. Will update soon.

 

[Oregon Viking]

ok ill keep your u in mind on our next trip to that location and yes access is a real butt kicker im 28 and 250 and feel like 68 when im done haha

Thanks Kevin/all. I was only able to sample one source of two this morning and preliminary checks show no gold. (Too pooped to pan for now.) THAT is good news tho as it tells me not to waste my time there and the main channel is the producer...so next time I'll be looking upstream from the original pay-streak. I'm gonna spend the next few days indoors during the rains, clean up my take, photos, pan the new stuff & repeat. The heavy rains predicted may release the ocean-locked salmon into the Smith, so schedule is subject to change at any time. Will update soon.

Good luck guys!!

 

[yotaboy86]

Good luck guys!!

thanks you too

 

[Oregon Viking]

thanks you too

Hey no problem...I prowl the "Smith' area too, maybe will run into each other! I'm 6' 5" 275....old body, sure. So we seem to have somthin' in common!

 

[yotaboy86]

Hey no problem...I prowl the "Smith' area too, maybe will run into each other! I'm 6' 5" 275....old body, sure. So we seem to have somthin' in common!

that would be great one can never have to many friends especially the prospecting kind lol

 

[Jeff95531]

Unexpected good weather today allowed me to pan down my latest sample. I confirmed that feeder stream #1 has no gold to speak of. Good spots were chosen and 2 flakes were produced out of 1 gallon 1/8 classified. It was remarkable in how little gold there was. As I said tho, it's great news as I know I'm sampling and producing in the best spot... just need to wait for the water to calm down a little from the rains and I'll be back out to do a spiral from the site. Also ordered a 20 mesh classifier to use prior to me shipping the final cons to Dizzy Digger.
Next...cleaning up the gold recovered.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Unexpected good weather today allowed me to pan down my latest sample. I confirmed that feeder stream #1 has no gold to speak of. Good spots were chosen and 2 flakes were produced out of 1 gallon 1/8 classified. It was remarkable in how little gold there was. As I said tho, it's great news as I know I'm sampling and producing in the best spot... just need to wait for the water to calm down a little from the rains and I'll be back out to do a spiral from the site. Also ordered a 20 mesh classifier to use prior to me shipping the final cons to Dizzy Digger. Next...cleaning up the gold recovered.

I love reading about your process and results...keep it up!

 

[Jeff95531]

I've never hit on a really good spot before so I learned a lot in the last few weeks. Of course, the revelations I submit to you are all of the DUH/DOH category, but some of us have to learn the hard way. So here are some of my notes after getting the best gold of my life. I did 22 gallons last year and got less than a gram...not even 1/4 of what I got out of 3 gallons classified 1/8" on this one trip. A worthy test site indeed. Any speculation, SWAG on "the math of average gold per yard/bucket" are encouraged as well as the weight I recovered. I'll be looking at Harbor freight soon for the scale.

Notes to self:
You need a smaller classifier than 1/8 inch at the sluice. (Done- just got a 20 mesh)
You need a miller table…you can’t toss all those slivers of gold and flour. (working on it)
You can’t feed the sluice the same way every time. This material has clay, black sand and magnetic sand. It had the consistency of pudding. (tyvm for the acronym Golden Irishman)
Getting down to bedrock IS VERY VERY important. If you can’t reach it, skip it.
Find the flow and get down low. (If you’re working and you can feel a breeze, you’re too high!)
Look for rocks that are the hardest to move and move all you can. Dig down to bedrock around those you can’t.
Pan into pans. It perfected my skills but only after wasting serious hours of doing it the wrong way. If one flake gets by, you see it right away and slow down a bit. (It actually took me days to figure this out…never had that much gold to deal with before.
Don’t forget the magnet! Don’t forget to use it!
On an overcast day, fools gold WILL fool you.
I need a scale. Yea!
Ok and now for the results. (sorry...cell phone photo but it’s 100% gold). After DD gets/does my cons, we’ll know the full amount. I wish they were pickers instead of flakes but I am flying high on this find. Schedules, people, storms and raising waters are keeping me in…but I’ll be back.

 

[Aufisher]

Looking good Jeff!

 

[yotaboy86]

One last step get a bazooka!!

 

[63bkpkr]

It took me a long time before I finally found a spot that will feed my memories for a long time, even then it took me a month of working it and there was still gold there when the October weather in the Sierras told me to go home. About a 1/4 oz was tallied up that year and it was a Blast to be living that adventure. Work! Work! Work! Hard, hot, dirty work as well as cold water but then that is what prospecting/mining is all about anyway. Loving the country one is working in is a must before you find speck #1 and taking care of it after the mining is also important/necessary as my spot will catch more of the yellow metal in the years to come as I filled it all back in with boulders, more work. Keep at it everyone and my best wishes for the yellow shine..............63bkpkr