SNOW SUCKS!

[Ben Lamb]

Yesterday's wind had me questioning why I didn't spring for the cab, even a soft-shell one. Or at least a snowmobile helmet. The Balaclava & goggles trick is getting a bit underwhelming.

Knee deep in the woods, big drifts on the flats. Cleared about a foot of snow off of my turkey blind this am as we circled the property packing the snowshoe trail down. The dogs lasted three loops before calling it quits.

Steelhead videos are playing in the background, trying to get my excitement level up for standing in a river waving a stick when the cold breaks. I've inventoried & re-arranged every fly box, cleaned reels and checked rods. Leaders, bobbers and some eggs are on their way. Still need a few more nymphs to fill out the box. Next up is pulling out all the winter fishing gear to make sure the waders are still good, the jackets don't have rips and the underlayers still loft.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

I had back fusion L2-L5 in 2024, balance still not right. The thought of standing in river with less than normal balance not great decision. My fav rod is custom 12' Fenwick carbon noodle rod with SS Pucci light guides I had built in 1978 by a friend in upstate NY that specializes in them. Extra slow action, 2-6#, original Sweden Cardinal 4X with machined aluminum spools. It's fantastic to drift anything! Caught a lot of big steelies on the Salmon River in its hey day. Ran into Dick Swan quite a few times. He loved my noodle rod! Ok, that doesn't sound right...

 

[Ben Lamb]

I had back fusion L2-L5 in 2024, balance still not right. The thought of standing in river with less than normal balance not great decision. My fav rod is custom 12' Fenwick carbon noodle rod with SS Pucci light guides I had built in 1978 by a friend in upstate NY that specializes in them. Extra slow action, 2-6#, original Sweden Cardinal 4X with machined aluminum spools. It's fantastic to drift anything! Caught a lot of big steelies on the Salmon River in its hey day. Ran into Dick Swan quite a few times. He loved my noodle rod! Ok, that doesn't sound right...

Oh man, I bet that does get tiring and painful. Back issues are the worst.

My drifting/nymphing rod is a 10ft 7 wt medium-fast action rod. People have a tendency to choose a fast rod over learning how to cast. I love a fast action rod for things like streamers and poppers or high-sticking, but man if I'm slinging a double nymph rig, or swinging wet flies, give me that med-fast 7wt.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

The Salmon River 1977-1983 was insane fishing and so lucky I was able to fish it a lot. 50-100 steelies a day not abnormal. I never broke 20# but dang! I caught so many 19's which was WTH do I have to do!!! Hookups yes, but 20+ in Salmon River even in low flow was extremely tough to land. I chased far too many down river and then cursed trying to walk back on shore in deep snow with waders! I used snowshoes a lot to get back to holes that nobody fished from deep snow. Wished I took more pics but back then cameras were . I need to root around in basement to find albums.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

This sums it up!

 

[Ben Lamb]

The Salmon River 1977-1983 was insane fishing and so lucky I was able to fish it a lot. 50-100 steelies a day not abnormal. I never broke 20# but dang! I caught so many 19's which was WTH do I have to do!!! Hookups yes, but 20+ in Salmon River even in low flow was extremely tough to land. I chased far too many down river and then cursed trying to walk back on shore in deep snow with waders! I used snowshoes a lot to get back to holes that nobody fished from deep snow. Wished I took more pics but back then cameras were . I need to root around in basement to find albums.

I'd rather look at scanned pics of steelhead from back in the day than a lot of the political stuff. Post 'em up!

 

[recon6036]

This sums it up!
View attachment 399255

Keep it all down there, please! You can take the cold temps too

 

[TOGIE]

and here we sit at record low snowpack in Colorado on January 20, 2026.

if this locked up jet stream doesn't change before long we're #@)(*%*.

 

[Ben Lamb]

and here we sit at record low snowpack in Colorado on January 20, 2026.

if this locked up jet stream doesn't change before long we're #@)(*%*.

This is what you get for sending Big Head Todd and the Monsters out into the world.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

I'd rather look at scanned pics of steelhead from back in the day than a lot of the political stuff. Post 'em up!

On a mission!

 

[TOGIE]

This is what you get for sending Big Head Todd and the Monsters out into the world.

geeeeez bringing a gun to a knife fight

 

[Ben Lamb]

geeeeez bringing a gun to a knife fight

Sorry. I'm still dealing with the effects of being a DJ in the 90's.

 

[Elky Welky]

I've forgotten what snow looks like.

Hiked into the Elkhorns this morning to pull my bobcat traps. Coulda done it in a t-shirt. Though our snowpack is alright thus far, it's been so mild that basically nothing below 7,000 ft has or has had snow. Coulda been a mid-May morning, honestly.

View attachment 398836View attachment 398837

I remember toodling around in the Elkhorns 20 years ago in 55 degrees, late January. Killed and ate my first and last mountain squirrel with some friends.

A month later we had to park a few miles down the road from where we'd been and cross-country ski into the same spot.

I have a feeling the other shoe is gonna drop at some point here. Though that yearly trend you shared is scary.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

@Ben Lamb
So Boy did I get kick in ass. As I was looking in basement, the shock hit me again. When we moved from NY to MI, moving company lost 22 boxes. Guess what some were? We lost about 10 years of photos. Of course no clue what happened to them. Prob delivered to wrong house. Hell, they almost delivered my Penn Yann Tournament 212 to wrong people over in Grand Rapids! We must have jinx cause when moved again, another 12 boxes lost. Corporate moving service. One was North American and other Allied.

So as I was sitting at load bench noticed a collage on wall!! This might be only pics left!! What pissed me off was hunting pics were gone forever. I guess we are lucky now with digital.

Couple of pics.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

We actually had a Steelhead Guide Service called Rainbow Specialties. Did that for couple years, was fun until it wasn't. Broken noodle rods cause bass jocks setting hook like 6# bucket mouth at other end. Broken Cardinal 4 reels. Truck got wrecked inside from slobs.