for starters i have been panning for only a couple of months, this past weekend i picked up a 24 inch gold buddy sluice. i am also a member of the GSSN, the last couple of weekends i been making trips out to a gold claim, still hoping to find the shiny stuff, now that i have a sluice i hope this increases my chances of finding some. when i first started panning i got 2 bags of paydirt, this was the first time i actually got to see real gold, it was fun but its kind of like fishing in a barrel of hungry fish, you know they are there, and your gonna get one of them, paydirt is basically the same