I’ve read that understanding a Walleye’s preference for structure is the key to catching them in the winter. Can you give me a crash course?

The most important information you can have when fishing for any type of fish in any season is where they go and what they eat.  If you know those two things, you’ll be way ahead of the pack.  The key to finding the Walleye is understanding how structure plays into their choice of habitat.  In the winter, when ice is covering these areas, it’s extremely important that you know the area well or at least are able to identify the spots on the lake that may be covering structure.  As the water freezes, Walleyes become even more structure oriented than they are in the summer.  Typically, the fish that are holding in these areas are also aggressive feeders.  Defining structure may be a good starting point.  Using a good lake map, you’ll want to pinpoint rock piles, mud flats, large extending points and any sunken islands.  These are all structures that Walleye prefer.  Once you locate the actual structure, however, you’ve got to go one step farther and find the area within that particular structure that the Walleyes prefer.  Using a GPS unit in the summer or fall and saving your coordinates is an easy way to return to them when the ice is covering the lake. Walleyes are creatures of habit and they continue to return to familiar locations.  If you’re fishing a point for example, the most likely spot for the Walleye will more than likely be the saddle between a hump and the tip of a point.  When you’re targeting a rock pile, look at large individual rocks, patches of sand or the edge of the quickest deep water break.  If none of these areas exist in your lake, concentrate on the weedline or the area of shallow water that slowly changes from a hard to a soft bottom.  Structure doesn’t have to be big, in many cases a six inch rise can provide an excellent source of structure.  To hit this spot, however, you have to be dropping your line right on top of it.