I would take a regular spade digging shovel, sometimes you gotta chop through some roots and dig up larger size rocks. Knee pads and a bucket with a lid to put your finds in, use the bucket lid as a plate to sift through or wave the MD over to see if you dug up the target, if not, toss the dirt...
This thread has inspired me to get mine out, I got a Garrett AT Gold and a carrot stick. I havent used it much but did find an old rusty Tennessee tag from 1930 last time used it. I will post if I find anything today.
We are actually a hunting club that sits on about 2500 ac. Dues are 500/year, no power or water. Only 40 members. I will check and see if there are any slots open.
**** I wish I could dredge this creek! Unfortunately this public land. I have a 3" and it would eat this creek up. I do however have some land in AL that we can go to, The Tallapoosa would be a good fit for your 4"/
If you watch the gold shows, when they test an area for is gold content, they usually put a value on the dollar amount per yard of material. Some of them mine for 7-15.00/yard, some of the areas I am in is in the 25-32.00/yard range. If it were legal to mine v/s prospect, and had enough yards to...