Look What I Found...
 

The present low lake level has exposed a wide band of colorful gravel, and some of it glitters... :eek2:

(The gravel was trucked from gold-rich Ossipee, but the neighbor's gravel driveway became a major washout—twice!)

The many yards of gravel has eventually been "wake-washed" across about six neighbors' shorelines.

Taking a break from woodpiles and putting things away, I sifted through many scoopfuls of gravel, hoping to find more shiny-gold lumps of gravel. :look: But something unexpected limply washed into the scoop, so I lifted the scoop up.

An incredulous neighbor asked, "Is it alive?"

50 years ago the Crawfish was very prolific in the lake, but today they seem few and far between....

I wonder if climate change or pollution has made them scarce these days?

Rock bass have killed most of them off...

Dan

"Shiny lumps"

Probably iron pyrite. Put a magnet on it. Gold is not affected by magnets. A pie plate with pyrites in it would be an interesting conversation starter.

NH has lots of iron but nothing worthwhile commercially, in a couple centuries.

When we were kids we'd put a piece of bacon on a safety pin tied to a string and catch lots of crawfish. We'd put them in a tub of water and watch them for awhile then put them back in the lake. Today we don't see them like we use to. We had many hours of fun trying to catch them.

Cray "Z" Eyes...
 

I'm not looking for iron... ;) ...but will return with a sluice. (Just in case I'm missing out). :look:

Something in the lake has concentrated in the shallows, though. :confused:

While removing heavy wooden steps from the dock in knee-deep water, an itchy rash was produced from my knees to my ankles—fully. :( That's never happened before, and I take the same amount of time to replace the steps every Spring. :confused:

Getting back to my real find, the crayfish could have been a cast-off exoskeleton, as they are indistinguishable from a live crayfish. So I poked one antenna, and got less than a response. :( Poking the other antenna told a different story—below. :)

But when released, the poor thing could barely amble off through minimal boat wakes. He (a blue-claw) crawled behind the steps, so I left my "task for the day" and the crayfish to his fate.

Could the reason for crayfish rarity (and gender-confusion in Florida alligators) be traced to estrogen and progestin? :confused:

There's something wrong with his eyes: :eek2:

Itchy
 

Welcome to duck itch. Ugh! :eek:

Just another glaring example of lake degradation !

Loons like crayfish too which probably accounts for less than we used to have. We didn't have many if any loons years ago. I was trying to remember when I saw or heard about the first loon on the lake. Anybody?

Blue-green Algae, Again...
 

This itchy rash was too "generally disposed", and made a surface like sandpaper. :eek2:

It returned again yesterday after working in ankle-deep water. I think it was a reaction of the high concentration of gleoetrichia bacteria near the shoreline--during a period of very low water.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloeotrichia

Didn't think you were looking for iron. But it's like going fishing, you really want to be catching. You get what you get,

As to the other points and question, they are outside of my knowledge base.

Good luck and enjoy your search.

Another Crawfish
 

Found this guy belly-up in front of my dock 2 days go. Looks somewhat alive turned right side up. Made a few bucks a summer 65 years ago getting up early to catch them and sell them to fishermen.

Lake Loons
 

There were lots of loons on the lake when I was a kid back in the early 70s. There were also a lot of crayfish. The loons started to disappear for a variety of reasons but have made a comeback in recent years. Unfortunately, the crayfish don't seem to have followed the same trajectory. Increase in loons is not a direct causality of crayfish decline.

"My" Wobbly Adult Crayfish...
 

I believe "my" crayfish is a victim of violent wave action, but neither turned up as a meal for fish nor fowl. I wonder why, as they both made it to adulthood. :confused:

As for the huge mix of lakeshore gravel, nothing has turned up as magnetic, and a sluice should turn up some "gold dust". I'm going to spend the winter with my collection of PVC fittings, and flow some lakewater through whatever gadget results. ;)

And then NOT tell anyone what I find, because visitors could set up "perfectly-legal" shop in ankle-deep water! :eek:

Look what I found...
 

Hey, Aps, maybe you could resurrect the old mill around the corner, make it look original, and hide a sluice box within. Everybody would be happy to see the old mill back in play, but wouldn't know you had a sluice inside. Just a thought!

The "Fever" That Accompanies Winnipesaukee Gold Dust...
 

Moving the gravel a ½ mile is a logistics problem—not to mention the old mill was haunted. :eek: I'm not quite that dedicated to panning for "gold dust". :o

Sluices for individual gold-seekers run on the small side. With just a couple of chairs, I can set one up in five minutes. Late in the season, wakes won't knock it over—or me, for that matter. :eek2:

Here it is, two weeks later, and the "sandpaper effect" still appears below the knee. I might have to wear knee-high boots in the lake—watching the trees turn on Mount Shaw while panning for gold. :(