why not down riggers?

[guns69]

I an new to this forum.... I fished western lake erie extensively in the 1970's and 1980's... I won several tournaments and placed hi in several more using downriggers and flat lines. we used "slider" rigs on our down riggers and usually ran lead core for flat lines. I have not fished the lake since the 90's, what has changed. Why has everybody gone to "boards" "divers" and other weighing systems.

[ebijack]

Welcome aboard.
Dirtier water back then. Cleaner water now, fish more sensitive to boat etc. The tools available today were not available then. Down riggers still work, just more so in deeper waters more towards the east.

[sherman51]

with boards and divers you can get more lines in the water and still get them deep. I run 6 divers on my boat but I still run 2 downriggers when I have 4 people on board. I have 2 outriggers that I run with small dipsies on when I have 5 people on board. I can run 10 lines with this set up and cover a wider area of water than with just downriggers and flat lines. and I catch some of my biggest fish off my downriggers.

[limitlypps]

with boards and divers you can get more lines in the water and still get them deep. I run 6 divers on my boat but I still run 2 downriggers when I have 4 people on board. I have 2 outriggers that I run with small dipsies on when I have 5 people on board. I can run 10 lines with this set up and cover a wider area of water than with just downriggers and flat lines. and I catch some of my biggest fish off my downriggers.

I used your same tactics on Lake Michigan for salmon in the 90's and did it here later only to succumb to more technological advances in simplifying walleye fishing and its just more relaxing. I find I get just as many fish on boards than working my tail off with the aforementioned.And yes, I agree, deeper waters off the western basin might be more suitable for your cause.
Now, can we please warm these waters up a little bit.............bring on the heat.