Charles B. Summers wrote:
Seriously... doesn't the water freeze to your line as you cast that fly rig?

I know of more than one while I was fishing, the water would freeze to the
top guide a short amount of time as I'd reel in.

I coat my fly lines with red Mucilin (animal fat) so my
fly lines don't freeze up. The guides on the fly rod do
freeze shut after a few casts but all you do is dip your
rod in the stream to clear them out.

The biggest problem I had with winter fishing was the snow
sticking to my felt soled wading boots. Walk a few steps
and you were carrying ten pounds of snow per boot. I got
rubber overshoes to put on my wading boots when I wasn't
in the water and solved that problem.

--
Ken Fortenberry