Some things to consider.
30 - 60 % of gold found in the gold rush was NOT reported to the gold inspector , either because they were not trusted , or because the finder didnt speak English , or because the finder didnt have a mobile phone to ring him up with , so the gold maps only show the gold that was _reported_
Also , farming started before the gold rush and many farmers would block access to prospectors , so there was huge areas of land that have never been checked for gold or other metals / gemstones.
Lastly , you could have 100 people walk over a spot and find nothing , but one person whose name is on that gold will luck it and find it on their first try.
If you have property , heck yeah , look for gold.
Take samples from hilltops because they could have been a valley 30 million years ago where gold settled.
Take samples from the valleys too , from the surface , and dig a hole and take samples at multiple levels , especially if you see old rounded water worn rocks , label the buckets where they came from and pan them until you know.
There will be gold somewhere under your feet , question is , will it be down 3 inches , 3 feet , 300 feet or 3 km