For years, ice anglers were told they had to downsize to catch fish. Fish are cold blooded and their metabolism slows in winter, so we need to use tiny lures to catch these fickle feeders, we thought.

Those who have read the statewide fishing report recently probably feel like they have read the words "crappie fair on minnows and jigs" at least a thousand times. That may be a bit of an exaggeration ...