The Utah temperatures have been way below freezing for a couple weeks now. What this amounts too is frozen fly line, sharp ice shelves along the river bank, and the never-ending battle of frozen rod eyelets. A couple options are still available to the diehard angler. One would be ice fishing. Been there, had success, but not a huge fan. Live somewhere warmer. That’s not in the cards right now. And put away the fly rod for a trip or two and get out the spin caster. And that is precisely what I did.
My father-in-law dropped in for a day of fishing. We loaded up to hit a couple of streams that had yet to ice over. The freezing temperatures mean that fish are lethargic and not willing to put too much effort into hunting for food. This being the case, we decided to drown some worms to offer up a more tempting meal than the tiny aquatic insects that are their current diet. It’s the same principle of trying to get me off the couch…are you going to offer me a salad or a 16 oz. cut of prime rib? Guess which one wins. 
During the winter, aquatic plant life is not as abundant, therefore dropping oxygen levels in the water. This means I generally don’t spend much time in the deeper pools and fish closer to the riffles instead. As expected, the bite was there, but it was slow. Eight-foot willows, spiny hawthorn trees and the fear of the anchor ice sloughing off as we crept over it made for some interesting fishing. 
In the end, we managed to catch a few small Cutthroat trout and maybe a little frostbite. Even managed to get my hands on a little Tiger trout. Even though it was cold, it was worth it just to get out and spend some time with my family doing what I love to do.
The Spirit of Fishing 