Years and years ago [I still had hair and weighed in at 158 pounds] I bumped into Al and Ron Lindner at the Red Wing dam in the middle of winter. They were just starting into the filming stuff back then and those guys were smoking walleyes using a ringed lizard on a jig.
One of the big mis-conceptions on winter fish is that they need to be shown a small bait...especially walleyes and crappies. My favorite winter bait, if I get out on ice, is exactly the same sized baits/jigs that I favor in the spring summer and fall.