Straight as a string line, now what?

[Duckshot]

Suppose I found a section of creek that I want to prospect, but it has absolutely no turns or bends. An no, it's not a ditch. It's an actual creek.

Where would you start?

 

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[Underburden]

Information overload...not.

 

[mike(swWash)]

If you get some colors in your pans then go right down the middle and both sides also. Head for bedrock, if you can.

 

[et1955]

Dig behind any big rocks in or on the side of the creek, next check the plant and tree roots on the side of the creek for gold but also check out Google Earth maps of the area to see if the course of the creek has changed over the years maybe you could find an ancient flow untouched by the old-timers full of gold.

 

[Duckshot]

Information overload...not.

I know exactly what you mean... Not.

obviously around any boulders but there is no exposed bedrock that I am aware of.

What else should I be looking for? Thanks.

 

[Duckshot]

Roots!

Never tried that, looks promising. Thanks Et1955.

 

[et1955]

Roots!

Never tried that, looks promising. Thanks Et1955.

Don't forget moss the on the rocks or on the bank of the creek, mossing is an easy way to tell if you got gold in the creek or river, I have pulled out several ounces of gold mossing in my area.

 

[Capt Nemo]

I'd look for any natural riffles and/or pools. At Nugget Lake, I'm on a straight stretch of shallow rapids that drops into a shallow pool. The gold follows the left side to middle (looking upstream). My first hole there was a large rock with a sand trail into the pool where the current would slack. That tail was yielding about 5-10 colors per pan. Going upstream from there, the color continues.

I'd first test in a line across the stream to figure out where the gold line is, and then work upstream from there. If there is a pool, work on the upstream side first using the pool as a safety pan. Then go back and hit the pool to catch what your gear might have lost. Someone sluiced into my first hole at NL, and I pulled some real fines out of their tailings. Once I'm done working upstream, I'm hitting that pool and dumping my tailings in the hole on the downstream side.

 

[trdking]

at the beginning

 

[Underburden]

at the beginning

I have to agree with trdking above. You even used the right word "PROSPECT".
Would have been cool to see pics of your crik.

 

[Duckshot]

That's me I guess, always a prospector and never a miner.

Ran the sluice twice with about a half five gallon bucket worth of 1/2" classifed each time. Found a peice of bird shot on the first run from around and under a rock, but no gold. The second run was perpendicular, across the stream. Found a couple cups worth of black sand and it was loaded with small round pieces of clear quartz. Spent about fifteen minutes each pan checking for cubic pieces (diamond). Nothing.

Oh well, maybe next time I go back. A significant amount of gold was found on the river just a mile downstream from this feeder creek. Next I'm going to try closer to where creek meets river.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Maybe sit on the bank and have a beer. That always helps me.

 

[benny]

If the grade of the creek levels out, the gold will drop out. Anything that will cause the water to slow.

 

[Gold4Mike]

My wife and I were once forced into a straight stretch of creek by a hornet nest instead of the nice inside bend we were aiming for. We had driven too far to just give up. We ended up choosing the side of the straight stretch of the last inside bend upstream and then dug behind obstacles, in this case large boulders imbedded in the gravel. We did pretty well I thought. Others can chime in, but I would think that gold would probably stick to the side of the last inside bend upstream, before crossing over to the middle and other side.

 

[Goldwasher]

in longer straight sections gold tends to get pushed towards the bank.

Be midful of the last/any major features that would affect flow. I would also try to determine what side of the creek the gold is entering from if possible

 

[Duckshot]

Good ideas Goldwasher. This creek is about two-three feet wide. I think I'm all prospected out into this spot. Now I gotta go petition for permission downstream.