I've definitely fished in some cold weather including days where you couldn't cast without the line freezing in the bail and a time that I broke ice at the launch for 45 minutes to get to the open water. My worst day was the day I had a small storm cell that actually moved from the East to the West. I thought the whole time that it was going to miss me until the rain and hail started. Long story short, there was so much rain and hail in my boat that I couldn't get it on plane. I ran the bilge for about 15 minutes until I got to the launch. Then, I pulled the plug and trailered my boat home and still had a straight stream of water coming out of it!
I learned one thing: you can't use braided line when the air temp is below freezing! 😯 🙄 
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Also:
I was out for 8 hours in the rain from one of the hurricane leftovers we got here last summer (Ike?), a lot like John E. Sox's story. It rained constantly all day long. My boat filled with water quickly, and I had to run the bilge pump multiple times while fishing; I also emptied the bilge at the launch after pulling out by pulling the plug while the boat was on the steep part of the ramp, and water gushed out for about 3 minutes. Then I stupidly put the plug back in, and drove home in the pouring rain (with no cover on the boat). I was worried that if I left the plug out, I'd forget to replace it for next time…
When I got home, I jacked the trailer tongue up to get the boat at an angle, and again drained the bilge into a 5-gallon bucket. I filled that bucket 5 times before it was done… Just from driving home in the rain! [smilie=biggrin.gif]
I had the whole lake to myself though. 
You guys really want to get out of the house. I dont have a bilge on min…..yet. Snow to me would be easier to deal with. But i have never been out in freezing temps with braid. Dad and I years ago went perch fishing in his Sea Nymph after Christmas, by the sand docks. We lasted an hour. My circulation in my lower legs is not great anymore and I wonder if any of those winter boots would make any difference at all w/o adding a heat pack. Keep those wonderful stories coming…. [smilie=applause.gif]
Well I went out in January one time with Pimp it was about 20 degrees and the lakes had blown open from a hellish wind. We spent twenty minutes doing donuts just below plane to break up the remaining ice in the bay we wanted to fish. Then we trolled for about four or five hours in a 15 mph wind that was stacking ice sheets on to the thicker stuff that was left. It was awesome. I have also had to snowblow ramps open so we could get in and I have doe more than one job of backing out onto the ice with the trailer to get it to break. Ice fishermen do not like me.
Kevin
Notables…
– at least three inches of snow in LeMay's boat by the time we quit for the day
– an opening day snow storm on Bankson
– an ice pellet storm(s) a few weeks ago with Trevor
– big waves and big wind one November on St Clair
– lots of mornings that started in single digits… those first rays of sun feel so good on those days and also help the reels thaw out
I remember being stuck out in anchor bay during a lighting storm with Mike stinson, and our graphite rods were humming. from the charge in the air . with no place to hide from the t-storm.
Broke through a inch of sheet ice to get out to open patch of water on murray in january, way below zero, snowing side ways..{still managed to catch a fish} but couldnt feel my face or fingers..
Todd
November 26, 2005. Walleye fishing in the snow on Muskegon Lake. We fished from 7 pm when it started snowing, until about 12.30 am when we had an honest 5-6 inches of snow in the boat. Probably the most memorable fishing experiance I have had. We were the only boat on the lake except a freighter that was leaving port. It had an incredibly powerful spotlight on the bow that was cuting its way through all the snow. It was pretty calm and very quiet due to all the deadening in the air by the snow. Pretty sureal… We boated 7 fish that night and lost a couple more. This one was the biggest, but we had others near 9-10 lbs. It took us over an our to get the boat out of the water.
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Muskie fishings worst was on LSC when gail winds came up inside of about 20 minutes. We went head on in to 50MPH winds and real live 4-5 footers… That was the scariest (or stupidist).
I would highly recommend a shovel or two, and some "heat" or ice melt. Leave the rock salt home. Heat or ice melt works like a champ.
The day before Thanksgiving a few years ago.I went to Thorn and
all seemed well. 30 min into fishing an all out blizzard broke out.I
tuffed it out for about 2 hours. I barely made it off the boat ramp
and again out of the parking lot. The roads were so bad I had
to drop my boat off at the Hastings State police station.I just couldnt
stop and start with any control(yes my purple caprice). I went back
Thanksgiving day to get my boat only to get stuck on 131 for 2 hours
there, and then unbelievably another 2 hours comming back!! They
shut the highway down,turned us around,went the wrong way back
to the nearest on ramp,then re-routed us through Wayland.
All this for a stupid fish!!!!! [smilie=bangtard.gif] [smilie=bangtard.gif]
PS- needless to say I was late for dinner!!
Probably today
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