How many of you have tried to create a way to keep your hands/reel dry/warm for cold water casting?
I was thinking about this the other day while putting in a couple hours on the lake and freezing my fingers off. I thought about designing something but I figured people far smarter than me have tried and failed…
I know they look dorky, but I use nitrile ("rubber") gloves, you know: the thin kind MDs use when they… never mind! 
They don't have any insulating properties, but they keep my hands dry, and I find that's 90% of the battle. I was out early yesterday and today when it was just above freezing, and they work pretty well. Their thinness doesn't hamper my dexterity in any way except that I have to slightly re-calibrate how much pressure I need to use to thumb the reel when casting.
As for the dorky look, well, I AM a dork, and I'm used to it. 
When it comes down to a choice between dorkiness and comfort, comfort wins for me.
I switched to holding the rod by the foregrip and now my hands stay very dry and very warm. I can wear any sort of regular glove on my right hand (reeling hand) and then wear anything, even a large mitten, on my left hand (grip hand). Wasn't a main reason why I switched to the fore grip, but definitely solved the problem of my hands getting wet/cold.
Get a pair a fleex line Neoprene Gloves, stuff some handwarmers in the gloves and your good to go.. I can easily cast, reel, change baits and even tie knots if I had too with them. They keep my hands 100% dry and super warm. Last couple times out I was wearing them all day and my hands were super warm. I could dunk my hands in the water, pick up fish and still my hands are warm and dry. Simple solution and those hand warmers are one of the best things ever. I even have battery heated socks that I wear when it gets really cold.
Handwarmers will keep a set of chopper mittens toasty warm all day long. Keep them on hand (yuck yuck) to quicky rewarm cold hands. I wear waterproof insulated gloves while putting the boat in the lake, moving from spot to spot on the water, and taking the boat back out. Last, the Lindy release gloves I use freeze solid when they get wet and the temps are below freezing; if they get wet during a release then for the rest of the trip I store them in a ziplock with a handwarmer.
The chopper mitten trick is great for ice fishing.
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