Dcra

I have noticed that there's not as many emeralds the last few years. not as many in the river in the spring for dipping. I agree that the way that the walleye population has exploded may have an effect on the baitfish. The NYSDEC Lake Erie Annual report from 2017 shows low numbers for emerald shiners since 2014. 2017 Lake Erie Annual Report: March 2018 (PDF, 5.1 MB) But on the brighter side, I'll take 40 million walleye any day. As long as they keep the windmills & asian carp out of the lake, we should have great fishing for years.

My main line to the dipsy is braided, from the dipsy to the lure/harness I use 10' mono. I'll probably shorten it to 8' to make it easier to net fish. You won't get tangled reeling it in, only letting it out. I agree with P dog that your letting out the line too fast. If you let the line free reel, your dipsy will fall and spin & twist the line. I keep my finger on the spool and let it out slowly. It might take a couple of minutes. A lot of fisherman have problems with dipsy releases. I get releases about half of the time, the other half I'm dragging a small walleye or a perch. I have my release set as light as possible. I use a medium light 8'6" pole so I can usually see a little more bend in the pole when I'm dragging a fish, or else you might notice there's not as much movement in the pole. The big thing is you have to watch rod tips and get use to the movement of your pole. Check your lines often. When you check your line and give it a slight jerk, you should feel the dipsy release. If the line feels heavy and the dipsy doesn't release, and you don't feel any head shakes, most likely your line is twisted. If the dipsy does release and there's no fish on, you'll notice there's hardly any bend in the pole. If you get a release with a fish on, the pole will be bouncing around. Sooner or later, you'll get the hang of it. Good luck Fishy.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Many of the ideas I have given some considerable time thinking about. I will try both ways, sliding and fixed. So far this year, I haven't fished in more than 60' of water so I haven't tried it much. If and when the walleye move deeper, then I'll try it consistently, at least off one of the riggers. Looking forward to getting that 1st one on a slider. And when I do, I'll be sure to give a report.

As fisherman, we all know the marine forecast can't be trusted. I only go out if the forecast is 10mph or less, or waves a foot or less. Many times it's twice that. If the forecast is for waves 2 feet or less, I don't even bother. The ice boom camera looks great, but it is useless for predicting wave heights. It's too bad there's not more weather cams on the eastern end of the lake, like at the Small Boat Harbor, or Sturgeon Point (there use to be), or Cattaraugus Creek.

I fish the eastern end of the lake, anywhere between Dunkirk & Sturgeon Point. I like the Reef Runner Ripstick 700 series. I caught a lot of walleye last year on Eriedescent & Purple Demon colors. I've used them both off down riggers and dipseys.

Thanks for the help. I will try it on one of the riggers this summer and see if it puts any more fish in the box. I take it than not a lot of guys use sliders by the lack of responses.

I'm looking for some help using a slider on a downrigger. I don't want to use a stacker, don't need the extra pole to add to the pole count. I'd like to use a free slider rather than fixed. How effective are they for walleye? Has anyone tried using something other than a spoon? What length of leader line is used? Ever catch 2 fish at the same time? Thanks for any help you can provide.