Catching in the Freezing Cold

When I left the house this afternoon I was dressed as if I was going ice fishing.  With the temperature hovering around freezing, I decided to give it an hour or so at a local pond that had produced well in  the past in late fall/early winter.  With a wind blasting in my face, the wind chills were in the 20's, yet there was one carp interested in hitting.  Nothing sluggish about this guy as it tore off on a screaming run on the take.  The hard fighting carp turned out to be a 7 lb. mirror (see photo).  It was not a headliner by any means, but I was glad to catch at least one fish on this brutally cold day.

Here's a few tips for cold weather fishing at this time of year:
*Go with sweet corn on the hair rig.  Very effective bait at this time.
*Go small....small hook (#8), small sinker, small hair, short hooklink.
*Fish the warmest part of the day.  That time from 2:00 to 4:00 PM is a good time.
*Prebait if you can.  Yes, it still works.
*Look around for places that produce in the cold.  Not all spots are good.