Well I needed to get out and flog the waters again for mental health purposes, so it was off to the the Sandy. Weather report said snow above 500 ft., but I've heard that before and was not deterred. Well this time it happened to be true. I stopped at the Flyfishing Shop in Welches to get info on the newly opened water between the site of Marmot dam and the mouth of the Salmon, all of which is now open for winter fishing. The parking lot in front had about 4 inches of new snow and the sky was a lovely dark gray - it was snowing pretty good up there. For the price of a new National Forest map and a couple steelhead flies I got my map marked with yellow highlighter showing spots where public access is available. Unfortunately there's a lot of that stretch of the river that is inaccessible via public land. Due to the weather I turned back around and went to the Cedar Creek Hatchery outside of Sandy. Good thing I had studded snow tires or there was no way I would have gotten there.
It was beautiful, with several inches of fresh snow everywhere and the river low and clear. The only thing missing were the fish!
I spent about 90 minutes swinging this beauty but never got a grab. Even though the flow was good - the river had been dropping all week with the cold snap and yesterday's rain gave it a quick blip from which it was again dropping, but I think the water is a bit cold, at least my feet thought so after standing in it for an hour and a half.
But on the bright side, in spite of no fish, I now have plenty of other spots to try, and with the Sandy less than an hour from home, I am hoping to get back soon.
It was beautiful, with several inches of fresh snow everywhere and the river low and clear. The only thing missing were the fish! 
