Kevin-  Nothing to lose by opening up a couple and see what you come up with.  If they are high and dry clean them out with a thin, stiff object and a brush.  If below water, you are going to need some kind of suction device to get the material out.

You might be surprised.

Kevin,

For every five crevices you spend time on only one will have anything in it.....but ya never know
Get in the "right" area and every crevice will have something in it
The more time you spend the more you learn, the more ya learn the more you find

Bill

Ok, I'm going to head back tomorrow evening and try it out.

Kevin,

Take a few minuets and look around, try to imagine what this creek/river looks like when its raging.
Imagine how the water would flow, look for high pressure and most important, low pressure area's, and that may not be the back side of a boulder.
Look up on the benches above the creek/river, look for bedrock crevising high up out of the water
If your seeing small stuff, move up river or this area has been dredged/worked, what is the history of the area ?
It's out there, but are you looking in the right place ?

Bill

Bill,
Dredging is illegal in my state, Vermont. The spot is at a public Access point beneath a historic covered bridge. The brook was called Hull brook until the 1850s when a prospector coming back from California found gold, changing the name to gold brook. The gold ran dry so he stopped.

I'll need to do a bit of research and get land owner permission in order to move up stream. I went back today, the water was high, but I pulled even less out of the crevices than I did last time behind boulders.

At the very least, if I'm finding these pinhead size pieces, I know I probably won't miss any flakes I may come across

Hey Kevin, glad to see a fellow Vermonter on here.... If only I had taken up my hunt for gold while I lived back there. Anyways, I saw your last post and research. A cool little tip besides the internet, but first check out (heartofcamelot.com) is find a used book store.... and pick up books regarding those areas that you prospect. Now, I'm in Southern California, I researched Gold discovery in my local areas. But my best tips came from old trail maps, history related books, paper clippings and of course the USGS reports. So look up Stowe (I think that's where Gold Brook is). I'm no expert but I rarely get skunked, I always find something. Try underwater sniping . Good luck

Garrett