Free guide from the host of Gold Fever
Find Real Gold This Weekend.No Locked Gates. No Guesswork.
Tom Massie spent 20+ years on Outdoor Channel knee-deep in creeks with regular families. This is the same no-hassle playbook — the spots, the tools, the rules, and the words that open doors.
- Weekend-ready plan: 5 tools, one creek, color by lunch
- The Golden Rule that beats every map — ask right, dig legal
- 12-state cheat sheet so you don't waste a Saturday
100% free
No catch
Since 1968
GPAA family
45 pages
Zero fluff
No membership
Required today
Sound Familiar?
You don't need a TV crew or a geology degree. You need a straight answer before you load the truck.
The TV itch is real
You binged Gold Rush or Gold Fever and now you're staring at a creek on Google Maps with no idea if you're allowed to be there.
The permission fear
Every "No Trespassing" sign feels like a lawsuit waiting to happen — so the pan stays in the garage.
The rules rabbit hole
BLM, Forest Service, claims, dredging bans, fish habitat… one wrong move and the whole weekend's shot.
The gear graveyard
You bought a pan, maybe a sluice, but without a plan you're just hauling expensive metal to the water.
What Hits Your Inbox In 60 Seconds
Everything you need to go from couch to creek — tonight.
- PDF
The full guide (PDF)
Print it, mark it up, toss it in the truck. Tom's creek-side wisdom from 50 years of prospecting.
- EPUB
Phone-ready EPUB
Read at lunch, on the drive, or streamside when you need to double-check a rule.
- Video
Full Gold Fever episode
A complete 45-minute episode with Tom on the creek — the TV show that inspired thousands of families to catch gold fever.
Inside the guide
Four Chapters That Change Your First Trip
Not theory from a textbook — field-tested moves from a guy who's put gold in thousands of beginners' pans.
Your first-trip playbook
Pick a spot, pack Tom's five essentials (under $100), and run the same dig–classify–pan sequence he used on every Gold Fever shoot.
→ Color by lunch — not by luck.
The Golden Rule
Two sentences that opened more private creeks than any map. Nine times out of ten, landowners say yes — sometimes they join you.
→ Gates open. Relationships stay open.
Read the river like Buzzard taught Tom
Inside bends, bedrock cracks, tailing piles — where heavy gold drops while the light stuff washes away.
→ Dig where the gold actually lives.
2025 rules without the headache
Plain-English snapshots for Alaska, California, Oregon, Georgia, and eight more gold states — plus when you can skip permits entirely.
→ Rangers tip their hat. You keep coming back.
From The Guy Who's Been Putting Gold In Pans Since 1968
“Gold fever isn't about the ounces in the bottle — it's the kids hollerin' when that first flake hits the pan.”
I'm Tom Massie. My dad George "Buzzard" Massie caught the fever in the 60s and dragged me to every creek he could find. When the gates started locking, he didn't complain — he built the Gold Prospectors Association of America so families like yours always had somewhere legal to dig.
I hosted Gold Fever on Outdoor Channel for two decades because I wanted you at home to see the truth: this hobby is sunshine, mud, and magic — not red tape. This guide is me handing you the same shortcuts I gave those families on camera.
- Host, Gold Fever (Outdoor Channel)
- Co-founder, GPAA & LDMA
- 50+ years on the creek
Real prospectors. Real gold.
They Started Skeptical Too
“My father and I were GPAA members over 30 years ago. I picked up prospecting again and GPAA has a ton of great claims with gold to be found. Great memories, great conversations, great claims.”
“I joined last month hoping for nearby gold. A Lucky Gold Nugget landed in my new pan on the first outing.”
“GPAA is so much more than claims — it's a community worth every penny if you want to learn and meet great people.”
“It's nice digging knowing you're not claim-jumping. A friend and I go weekly in New Mexico — best decision we made.”
Reviews from goldprospectors.org/join
Straight Answers
No fine print. No bait-and-switch.
- Because someone did it for him in 1968. This guide spreads gold fever to families who might never knock on GPAA's door — and the best prospectors always pay it forward.
- No. The guide stands alone. Membership unlocks 90,000+ acres of organized claims and the Mining Guide later — zero pressure in your download today.
- It's written for the person who hasn't wet a pan yet. If you can shovel gravel and swirl water, you can do this — Tom built the steps for kids and grandparents on the same creek.
- Instant access to the PDF, EPUB for phone/tablet, and a full 45-minute Gold Fever episode. Check your inbox (and spam) if you don't see it within a few minutes.
Why is Tom giving this away free?
Do I need a GPAA membership to download?
I'm a total beginner. Is this over my head?
What exactly do I get after I sign up?
The gold's still out there
Your Creek Weekend Starts With One Click
Grab Tom's free guide. Read it tonight. Be knee-deep Saturday.
- PDF + EPUB — yours forever
- Full 45-minute Gold Fever episode
- No membership required to download