1What is the best season for stream prospecting?
Low water after the flood season. Floods rework the bed and expose or refill traps; the falling water after them leaves fresh concentrations reachable and the stream safe to wade.
When to go, when not to, and how to come home from every trip.
Low water after the flood season. Floods rework the bed and expose or refill traps; the falling water after them leaves fresh concentrations reachable and the stream safe to wade.
A flood moves the whole bed and re-sorts it, dropping gold at the traps as it ebbs. What was buried may now be exposed, and what was scattered may be concentrated. Go once the level has dropped and the water has cleared.
Yes, and it is also pointless — the traps are under fast water and cannot be reached. Rising water can trap you on a bar; never cross a stream you could not cross twice.
If the water is above your knees and moving fast, do not. Use a stick, face upstream, move one foot at a time, and unbuckle a pack’s hip belt so it can be shed. Cold water takes strength faster than you expect.
Rain far upstream can raise a stream with no rain on you. Watch the sky over the catchment, watch the water level and colour, and get out if it rises or turns muddy. Camp and park well above the flood line.
When your hands stop working. Numb hands mean a lost pan and lost gold at best, and a fall at worst. Gloves, short sessions and warm drinks extend the season; ice on the rocks ends it.
Water, shade breaks and starting early. Bare gravel bars reflect heat and there is often no shade; heat exhaustion arrives faster than most people expect while bent over a pan.
Slips on wet rock. Boots with grip, slow movement on green or algae-covered rocks, and never jumping between boulders prevent most injuries in the hobby.
Learn what lives in your region and how to behave around it: snakes on sun-warmed rock, large animals at water. Make noise, keep food sealed, and look before putting a hand into a crevice.
Assume there is none. Leave a route and return time with someone, carry a map that works offline, and if you go remote consider a satellite messenger. GOLDONGO’s downloaded areas open offline in the mobile build.
Water and pale gravel reflect strongly. Sunglasses, a brimmed hat and sunscreen — applied and then washed off your hands before you pan, because grease makes fine gold float.
More than the day needs. Stream water is not safe to drink untreated. Bending, digging and wading burn more energy than walking the same distance.
Keep it shallow and wide rather than deep and narrow, and never undercut a bank you are standing under. Gravel walls collapse without warning. Fill holes in when you leave.
Light rain is fine; heavy rain in the catchment is not, because of rising water. If it has rained hard upstream, wait a day or two for the level to drop and the water to clear.
Shivering that then stops, clumsiness, slurred speech and poor judgement. Wet clothes and wind make it happen well above freezing. Dry clothes in the vehicle and knowing when to stop are the prevention.
In mild climates, yes, and low winter water can expose good traps. In cold climates the risk of icy rock and cold water outweighs the benefit; many prospectors use winter for maps and planning.
Pick a wide, shallow, slow stretch; avoid the narrow fast gap. Face upstream, use a pole, keep three points of contact, and cross at an angle downstream. If in doubt, do not.
Which stream, where you will park, which stretch you will walk, and when you will be back. Agree what they should do if you are late.
Very. Shafts can be hidden under vegetation, adits can collapse and hold bad air, and tailings can be unstable. Prospect the streams below old workings; stay out of the workings themselves.
Take less. A prospecting day needs a pan, a trowel, a screen and small items. Carry the shovel and bucket only once you know where you are going to dig.
Morning, for light and temperature, and to be off the stream before afternoon storms in mountain country. Low sun also shows the shape of bars and bedrock more clearly.
Fill your holes, take your rubbish, and leave the bank and vegetation as you found them. Other people, and the stream’s own life, use the same spot.
GOLDONGO scores entire stream networks for the trap geometry this guide describes — slope breaks, inside bends, junctions and bedrock. Pick your region and see where it stands.
This guide is general education, not advice for a specific place. A score, a map or a sentence here is not a licence to dig: the rules for prospecting, land access and protected areas differ from place to place — learn the ones that apply where you are before you go.