Where do you detect in creeks?

[Qmot]

Hello,

I'm a newbie Tasmanian prospector who after many a number of hours searching (using GM1000) has found a decent amount of hot rocks, spent bullets and assorted junk . I am still hooked but would not mind some of that shiny stuff. Due to the bush density (especially around Queenstown) I have focused on creeks. Currently I have been detecting everything in the creek: creek-bed and creek-bank mainly, but I am wondering if this is the wrong approach? Should I walk until bedrock and then detect? Should I focus on areas where the creek flattens out after a steeper section? I am honestly quite unsure.

Any advice would be appreciated.

(I understand that this has likely already been answered, I was just unable to find it on the forum)

 

[Jaros]

Welcome Qmot.

 

[Nightjar]

Welcome Qmot,
Have found some of my prize nuggets in dry WA creek beds. Most success has come from detecting creeks below old dry blowings on the side of hills.
Detect down stream from the old working and pay particular attention to any rock bars of bends. I used large monos on the Minelab range of detectors starting back when the SD 2100 was a newby. Have yet to try my luck with my GPZ, too interested in finding gold elsewhere.

 

[Dave79]

I reckon half of the problem is that because creeks are the only easy spots to detect in tassie, that's where everyone detects, especially the ones on MRT maps. The hard part is working out which unmapped creeks actually hold detectable gold.
Another method is to find a likely looking area of bedrock in a known gold creek and move some rocks and overburden then detect underneath.

 

[EVIE/BEE]

Nightjar said it perfectly.
i picked up a specie with 1 ounce of gold in it in October. It was in the creek 100 mtrs down hill from an outcrop that had been worked and scraped thoroughly.
Not many creeks left, they were all the rage 20 yrs ago.

 

[aussiefarmer]

If your finding lead shot you are looking where heavies gather or drop from the flow. Trouble is I average 50+ lead balls to get a color.

 

[justoverthehill]

I found my biggest piece in a wash that was in between two hills that produced gold. It was a rather flogged out area and it literally sounded like ground noise. Pays to dig a little deeper just in case! It was right before a bend in the wash. If you detect areas where water runs be prepared to dig a lot of trash. Unless the area has been uninhabited you will find a lot and i mean a lot of trash. Just remember to dig everything! Even if all your getting is trash.

 

[The geezer]

Well I manage around 30-35 bits of trash to every picker in North Qld on the ridges and about 120 -1 in the creeks in NQ (unless I find a run) so I think that the ole timers didnt Have a decent garbage collection service.I suppose

 

[Solid Luck]

I normally avoid them like the plague due to the amount of junk in them. But funnily enough the other day at Beaufort I tried one creek bed and got a nice speccie that was a screamer. I initially left it than went back and checked and it was a bit of gold.
This was not very deep but then again it was an 0.08 bit.

I'm learning now that with the 6000 you may get a screamer but if it's a larger target it may be down 8-12 inches. Sometimes I'll dig them if the signal is there after a good scrape but usually I leave them.

Makes me wonder if I've left anything worthwile behind. hahaha

 

[Moneybox]

The creeks can be good for a bit of exercise. If you don't mind digging the same gravel over and over again as the sides cave in then it'll keep you going for quite some time.



Merv knew he was onto something good. The GPZ7000 gave him a good solid signal after he'd dug down the first foot or so. In the end (after I joined in to help him dig) he came up with a nice big oldtimer's shovel head.

Yes creeks can be rewarding