JAMESTOWN, Tuolumne County (KPIX 5) — Weeks of rainy weather across Northern California and the storm runoff through the hills of gold country have triggered a new gold rush. 
 
 “Miner Gary” Thomas said he always finds at least a little gold here on his property near Jamestown in Tuolumne County, but this year, there’s so much more runoff than normal and it’s shaking the gold from these hills. 
 
 Thomas said it could provide a “Eureka” moment for those inclined to come up here and look for it. “(The runoff) kind of ‘etch-a-sketches’ everything,” said Thomas. “Eveything I had dug up and now my dig spots are all gone.” 
 
 The known gold digs were washed out, trees uprooted, and landscape eroded. The runoffs have also removed gold out of the old abandoned mines and sent it down the river. 
 
 “It’s going to bring down more gold,” said Thomas. “It’s going to bring up new areas that I never got to.” 
 
 Thomas runs tour groups through his property and said now is the optimum time for gold hunting because the storms have just finished churning the landscape. 
 
 Officials from the Bureau of Land Management say the erosion “concentrates” the gold by removing the lighter rock and soil. 
 
 You may be wondering if this reporter found any during our time here. We did find some fine flakes of what they call “flour gold” and it was found more quickly than normal in just a couple of panning sessions. 
 
 “Eureka!” said Thomas.”That’s hard to do.” 
 
 But not as hard this year, now that Mother Nature has shaken up the motherlode. 
 
 Thomas said one hot spot this year will be below the Oroville Dam, because the huge water releases from the spillway could reveal some new pockets of gold. ||||| Hide Transcript Show Transcript 
 
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 A geologist and gold mining expert said this year’s summer gold rush is expected to be the best in two decades. Advertisement 
 
 WEBVTT MAX: WE'RE GOING TO BE ONTRAVERSE CREEK, AND THIS IS AWELL-KNOWN AREA TO FIND GOLD.AND AFTER MONTHS OF RAIN ANDSUBSEQUENT FLOODING, THIS WOULDHAVE BEEN THE PLACE TO BE FOR ANEASY SCORE.>> YOU CAN PICK UP, LITERALLYPICK UP, SMALL NUGGETS OF GOLDRIGHT AFTER THE FLOODING.MAX: THOSE AREAS ARE NOW GONE,PICKED OVER BY GOLD PANNERS KEENON THE BEST TIME TO FIND THEMINERAL, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEANYOUR CHANCES AT TREASURE THISYEAR ARE GONE.>> AS FAR GOLD, THE DEPOSITS OFGOLD, THIS IS GOING TO RIVAL ANDCOME CLOSE TO 1997, THE FLOOD OF1997.MAX: COME SUMMER, WHEN THEMOUNTAIN MELTOFF IS UNDERWAY ANDCREEKS, STREAMS, AND RIVERSRECEDE, THE 2017 GOLD RUSH WILLBE ON.>> THIS STREAM RIGHT HERE WILLBE DOWN TO JUST A FEW INCHESDEEP, AND THERE WILL BE PEOPLEIN HERE WITH SLUICE BOXES ANDGOLD PANS AND LOOKING FOR GOLDTO SEE WHAT'S BEEN DEPOSITEDFROM THIS LAST SET OF FLOODS.MAX: BEFORE FINDING THAT IN ANAREA LIKE TRAVERSE CREEK, YOUHAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THERIGHT EQUIPMENT WHEN LOOKING FORGOLD.>> YOU CAN COME OUT WITHSOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A GOLDPAN.MAX: OR YOU CAN TAKE IT UP ANOTCH WITH A SLUCIE BOX. >> THE GOLD BEING HEAVY IS GOINGTO GET CAUGHT IN THIS BLACK MATAND BEHIND EACH ONE OF THESERIFFLES, WHERE THERE'S AN EDDYCREATED, AND IT ALLOWS THEHEAVIER MATERIAL TO DROP OUT.MAX: AT BLACK SHEEP MINING INSACRAMENTO, BUINESS BOOMS INANTICIPATION OF WHAT MIGHT BEFOUND COME JULY.>> WE'VE SEEN A LOT OF GROUNDTHAT'S BEEN MOVED AROUND ANDEXPOSED TO WHERE PEOPLE HAVEN'TGOTTEN TO IT IN YEARS OR EVER,EVEN.SO WE'RE SEEING A LARGE INCREASEIN BUSINESS.MAX: THOSE PROSPECTORS WILL ENDUP OUT HERE AT PLACES LIKESTIFLE MEMORIAL CLAIM READY FORA DIG GEOLOGIST RICH DVORACEKSAYS WILL BE UNLIKE ANYTHINGWE'VE SEEN IN 20 YEARS.JUST DON'T EXPECT RICH TO TELLYOU WHERE TO LOOK.>> IF YOU DO FIND GOLD, DON'TTRUST ANYBODY TO TELL YOU WHERETHEY GOT IT, TO BE TRUTHFULABOUT IT.I RARELY AM.MAX: IN EL DORADO COUNTY, MAX ||||| Joey Wilson, left, rings up Curtis Barwick for a gold pan and a portable slough Saturday at Adventures in Prospecting in downtown Oroville. Dan Reidel — Enterprise-Record 
 
 Oroville >> Now is not the time to quit your day job in hopes of striking it rich. However, people with a new or renewed interest in gold mining may be spending more of their summer weekends near rivers and streams. 
 
 Joey Wilson owns Adventures in Prospecting in Oroville, where he says there’s been more excitement among his gold mining customers. 
 
 “There’s always been gold in the Feather River,” he said. What’s new is that the recent floods have moved things around. 
 
 It’s not just the Feather River. Floods scoured the banks of the American River, the Mokelumne, the Yuba and just about any other waterway where 49ers once got their boots dirty. 
 
 Curtis Barwick was in Oroville Saturday waiting for the prospecting store to open. He usually looks for gold closer to his home in Anderson, but decided to check out Oroville on his day off. He said gold mining gets him outdoors and helps him “recharge,” after a stressful week at work. It’s a lot like hiking, another of his hobbies, but with gold mining there’s a chance of a reward. 
 
 “The odds are greater than winning the lottery,” he said. Even on days when he only finds a few flakes, it’s fun to turn over rocks and sand. 
 
 He’s not alone. In fact, he’s a member of the Shasta Miners and Prospectors Association. 
 
 Back in the day, miners in the 1850s did not have metal detectors. Barwick bought one a while back and said if “lead was gold, I’d be rich.” He had found more bullet casings than he cares to collect. Other finds include coins, and a 1944 nickel. He gave his girlfriend a ring he found in the dirt, and would recommend that anyone who buys a metal detector have some fun digging around in their own backyard. 
 
 Others make gold mining an adventure. That’s one of the reasons Wilson named his shop “Adventures in Prospecting.” He sells wet suits and fins, and personally loves to dive when he hunts gold. 
 
 Finding gold is a common thread for Cindy and Paul Pekarek, who were at the Montgomery Street miner’s supply shop Saturday. The couple belong to the Mother Lode Goldhounds, near Grass Valley, and for fun they travel to new digs, including Oroville. 
 
 Paul Pekarek is a five-time gold mining champion, he said pointing to a pin on his wide-brimmed, black leather hat. The pin includes a miniature gold pan, pickaxe and shovel, with a real glob of gold in the center. To win the championships, he proved he could pan faster than most others. 
 
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 Some people, like Mark Saposnik, are “pretty serious” about gold mining. Saposnik spent his summers during college dredge mining. It’s more difficult to find gold now that dredging is no longer allowed, he said. The recent floods have “rearranged the rivers,” he said, and he’ll spend more time stomping around. 
 
 Spillway gold? 
 
 Gold miners can speculate all they want about gold that may or may not have washed down the hillside near the Oroville spillway. Before hydraulic mining was outlawed, hillsides up and down the river were washed away to unearth gold. 
 
 Gold is heavy, and prospectors would love to discover what is among the debris at the Diversion Pool. However, the area is closed except for the work crew. 
 
 Recent word from Department of Water Resources acting director Bill Croyle was that he did not know if gold had been found in the area. 
 
 It’s a moot point because “if anybody gets close to it they will be run off,” said Bob Van Camp, known locally as “Digger Bob.” 
 
 Van Camp was the spokesman in 2014 when a 5.18 pound gold nugget was found in the Butte foothills. The man who found the nugget has remained anonymous, but Van Camp was allowed to tell the story. 
 
 As for the spillway debris, Van Camp said he believes there is a gold vein that runs from Potter’s Ravine and south, including the area of the spillway. 
 
 In addition to panning near waterways, prospectors look for quartz, especially chunks that have been worn smooth by water flow. “Then you go downstream.” 
 
 He’ll also walk the higher ground with a metal detector, hoping some of that quartz will give him a strong signal. 
 
 Ninety-nine percent of the time the quartz is just quartz, but “now and again,” the quartz will have “some sort of metal in it.” This might mean manganese or silver, “or there may be gold inside.” 
 
 Part of the fun in finding gold is knowing it’s something that an old-time gold miner missed, Van Camp said. “I don’t do it for the money. I just do it for the adventure, for the challenge.” 
 
 He would love to get his hands dirty in the Diversion Pool at Lake Oroville right now. However, he understands that DWR is working night and day to get the water flow back to normal. 
 
 People will be looking at other areas, where gold panning is allowed. After the floods of the mid 1990s, “it was good getting for those of us who knew how to look,” he said. 
 
 For an amateur, the adventure could lead to frustration. “But I don’t want to discourage people from learning about history, getting some fresh air and enjoying themselves, even if they don’t find anything.” 
 
 Right now, the water is still high. When dry times arrive, more streambed will be exposed, he said. 
 
 “I’m going to have a ball this summer.” 
 
 Know the rules 
 
 The rules have changed for gold miners. Suction dredge equipment is no longer allowed, which includes “mechanized or motorized” systems for removing material from the water. 
 
 Contact reporter Heather Hacking at 896-7758.
– This winter's flooding in Northern California has done more than bring relief after years of drought; it's created the prospect of the best gold prospecting in 20 years. Gold hunters in the area tell the Chico Enterprise-Record the floods have "rearranged the rivers" and "move things around." That means gold veins that have been hidden for 200 years are suddenly exposed. According to CBS San Francisco, the floods also swept gold out of abandoned mines and washed it downriver. While KCRA reports that gold can simply be picked off the ground following major flooding, the best prospecting will come in the summer months when the water has receded. Right now, rivers are still high and government workers are trying to keep would-be prospectors away while they get things under control. But in the summer—which experts say could be the busiest since the one that followed major flooding in 1997—stream beds will be exposed for better gold hunting. "I'm going to have a ball," one prospector tells the Chico newspaper. The epicenter for the new gold rush could be the Oroville Dam, which nearly catastrophically flooded this winter and required the use of an emergency spillway for the first time. (This treasure hunter is seeking $1 billion in gold from a sunken ship.)