For those of us who look forward to hard winter fishing, slow developing winters such as the one we’re presently “enjoying” are very frustrating. Summer during summer months and winter during winter months I say.

But “patience is a virtue”, is another saying, and so while waiting for ice to reform over your favorite fishing holes, there are some activities that could still prove useful. Things that I am just beginning to think about during a normal season but this year is not normal. I’m referring to switching to very light tackle to match their slow metabolism that often begins to occur in mid February to lighter and smaller.

Bluegills especially, as they build up their bodies for the rigors of the spring spawning and at the same time existing on a much lower supply of oxygen, slow their eating and swimming habits to a fraction of their summer aggressiveness. The same fish that tore a large night crawler from a hook last summer, may find a wax worm too much of a challenge under February’s usually thick ice.

So go small!

If you’ve done this before, you know what I mean. If you’ve never rigged a winter pole light, try it.

First, get a very limber rod, one where the tip will bend under the weight of the smallest sinker. Now attach a tiny teardrop with about a number 12 hook, on a one-pound test line. Some winter anglers use one half-pound sewing thread but I think that’s a bit extreme.

Second, attach either a very sensitive wire spring bobber to the end of your rod, or if the tip is very thin and made with a red or yellow end, don’t worry about a bobber. Don’t even consider a float on the ultra-light rig because too often a fish will bite without you knowing it.

Finally, use a very small live bait. Probably a “mousie” a “maggot”, or a tiny acorn grub is best. Very tiny “wax worms” are okay but the ones bait shops usually sell are too big. Set the pressure on your reel at its lightest, in case an unusually frisky fish grabs your bait, and you’re ready to catch when anglers around you are getting nothing. Try it while using an easy jigging motion.

There are other “light” tricks you can try too. How about building a miniature “tip-up”, one designed to catch large perch or crappies instead of pike and walleyes? It’s kind of like the difference between building a watch and a grandfather clock. The mechanism is about the same but the size of the parts differs greatly.

Make your miniature tip-up large enough at the base to comfortably span a six-inch hole, but otherwise light and delicate. Mount a spool of not more than three pound test line so that it will be below the water, and use a size 10 or 12 treble hook. Use just enough sinker to control a typical perch minnow. The tricky part is the flag-trip mechanism that needs to be sensitive enough to be sprung by an eight-inch perch or crappie without overly alerting it. Building one of these that works smoothly is a challenge.

Another thing. Are you a fly fisherman?

Instead of always using the traditional teardrop for rod fishing, try a tiny wet fly or nymph, especially if you are fishing near weed beds. A size 14 or 16, dark colored nymph probably looks more like the natural food fish are feeding on than anything else in your tackle box.

See what else you can make “tiny” in your equipment and prepare to make surprisingly “large” catches.