During the breezy drive along Route 422 to Lake Arthur, my truck’s air temperature reading bounced between 31 and 32 degrees. The day’s forecast didn’t promise much of a rise. Winter weather was here.

The access area was devoid of boat trailers, my only company a few folks out walking their dogs along one of Moraine State Park’s hiking trails as the wind spit a light mixture of snow and sleet. I was in no great hurry to get on the water; boat preparation took a few minutes longer than normal.

A few hours later, the boat was back on the trailer. Two other rigs were now in the lot. As predicted, the mercury had only crept up a couple of degrees, but it was enough to keep the line and rod guides from freezing, which in my mind is important.

The action hadn’t been intense, but I had managed a dozen crappies, most of them in the 10-to-13-inch range. And they came from a new spot, always a gratifying accomplishment.

Late fall/early winter fishing is one of my favorite times. The waters are typically devoid of other anglers. The action can be good, especially for larger examples of most fish species. While the short days are often gloomy, they serve as a reminder to enjoy it while you can, as ice, snow and bitter weather will likely limit (or eliminate) open water fishing options soon.

Fishing is a game in which you should always be learning something new, as time on the water is truly the best teacher. This shouldn’t stop regardless of how long or how often you get to do it. The more I fish, the more I come to realize how much the unknowns outweigh the knowns. Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

That said, there are a few tweaks that apply to wintry weather fishing that I’ve noticed over the past season or two.

In many of our lakes, the best late fall/early winter action for warmwater/coolwater species takes place in deeper water, say 15 feet or more. As I’ve described many times in the past, metal blade baits are a top choice at this time. Blades can invoke reaction strikes from lethargic fish in frigid water.

This year, I’ve been experimenting with ultra-thin line for fishing blades, more specifically Sufix Nanobraid. So far, the positive has overshadowed the negative. On the plus side, the thin diameter allows the lure to sink exceptionally fast, not so much a factor for ½ ounce blade baits, but noticeable with the downsized ¼ ounce blades I use for crappies.

The thin diameter is also great when slowly dragging a blade or jig. With such little resistance, the lure/jig trails behind the boat much less, allowing for a more precise presentation.

I incorporate short leaders — swivel, eight to 10 inches of 10-pound test fluorocarbon line, snap — when fishing blades as they are line twisters. Since three knots are involved, it’s no pleasure to build a new one after a break off. For this reason, I make the connection to the snap the weakest link.

The snap is tied to the main line with a Palomar knot, the leader to the swivel with an improved clinch knot, the leader snap with a simple clinch knot, the weakest of the three. This way, if something breaks off on a snag, it’s usually just the snap.

Along these same lines, it’s wise to pre-tie a few leaders to have ready when you do loosen the whole thing. It’s much easier to do in the warmth of home than out in the cold.

Over the years, I’ve experimented with several types of snaps. During the past year, my favorite has become VMC’s crankbait snap. Blade baits seem to hang perfectly from the snap.

Typically, I’ve always tied leadhead jigs directly to the line. But when it’s more convenient to simply attach a jig to a rod rigged with the crankbait snap, I do so. One less knot to tie along with a heightened likelihood of experimenting with different jig color options.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle