Photos: Prospects of hitting pay dirt increase with Golden State drought

Prospectors Jay O’Dell, left, his nephew’s son Brock O’Dell and Clayton Cook pan for gold in the Kern River near Hart Park in Bakersfield. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

May 30, 2014 2:48 PM PT

Across California, a crippling drought has reduced the flow in rivers and creeks to the point that a new wave of gold prospectors is gaining access to places that haven’t been reached in decades.

Members of the White Water Prospectors look over their sluice while standing in the Kern River in Bakersfield to see if any gold has appeared. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the White Water Prospectors from Porterville, Calif., pan for gold in the Kern River in Bakersfield. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

David Fiori, left, spends a light moment with his wife, Yvonne, while Lewis O’Dell and his uncle Jay O’Dell look for a spot to pan for gold. “It’s a Catch-22 as far as the drought,” Yvonne Fiori said. “We don’t want to be happy about it, but we are, to an extent.” (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Brock O’Dell, left, 12, and his cousin Anthony O’Dell, 23, sit in a shallow part of the Kern River while panning for gold in Bakersfield. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Mike Fraley, 58, of Porterville pans for gold along the banks of the Kern River in Bakersfield. “I can go for a bunch more,” he said after finding a flake of gold, though expressing a preference for nuggets. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In their quest for gold, some prospectors use the panning method, left, while others use a sluice. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

White Water Prospector George Hanson, 54, shows a vial containing flakes of gold that he panned from the Kern River in Bakersfield. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Clayton Cook, left, watches fellow prospectors Jay O’Dell, his nephew Lewis O’Dell and Lewis’ son Brock pan for gold in the Kern River. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)