Sk8man

Dipsy divers are one effective element of the trolling toolbox when run correctly. From your main post it looks as though you are fishing the Finger Lakes rather than Lake O in particular. Dipsies allow you to get down deep with your presentations and create a bit of a commotion down there with their erratic movement which is imparted to the lure following them (e.g.fly or spoon) and you can get them a good distance from the boat, and they can be adjusted to the changing water conditions (e.g. location of the thermocline in summer) Downriggers may be more accurately adjusted but the downrigger weight itself or the particular one used can also be a question mark (e.g. does it perhaps attract or scare away fish?) and with the large diameter wire on them and resultant "singing" do they attract or deter fish?. I don't think anyone actually knows the answer. They are very different presentations and one may excel over the other on a given day or time so they both have their place in the toolbox. Trolling for trout and landlocks on the Finger Lakes shares a lot of similarity ofequipment and techniques with Lake Ontario but there are some differences as well. The larger paddles often used with meat rigs may be less effective on the Fingers, the super sized magnum spoons generally aren't as readily effective while the smaller paddles and small to medium sized spoons seem to take more hits. You mention using 80 lb braid with divers. You really don't need anything that heavy with them on the Fingers (or Lake O for that matter) as it will create more "blow back" and make it more difficult to place your presentation where you want it and if the waterfleas are really thick it doesn't present any advantage in keeping them off. 40-50 lb (max) works fine and cuts through the water better than the larger diameter stuff. In the way of other advice or suggestions: consider running Seth Green rigs on the Fingers in the late Spring to late Fall You can cover the entire thermocline effectively. If fishing lakers run cowbells with Gambler rigs, grease traps, Spin-N-Glows or peanuts behind them from wire dipsy rigs (with or without the dipsy diver) or from downriggers short behind the weight and close to bottom

Intriguing questions.

Sometimes it pays to rethink the original problem. Some years ago I trailered my Whaler with a Ford Explorer V-8. It was capable of pulling the boat and I thought set up just right as far as the trailer etc. At about 60 mph or more I could feel the front wheels lifting and the boat swaying behind despite having a full 60 gals. of fuel (to keep from sloshing around). I thought it might be the tongue weight distribution etc. and had things adjusted (PIA). It still did it the same. The trailer has a very wide wheel base and was controlling the vehicle which had a narrower wheelbase. I bought a used Expedition V-8 and have never had that problem since and am now on my second Expedition. Moral of the story: I would never have given up the boat as I love it and wanted to keep it no matter what so I reformulated the solution. Not cheap but necessary in that case. Something to think about....maybe a used pickup if you like the boat itself? Three footers plus will knock around about anyone in all but the largest boats and then you have a very different solution.

Yeah Mr. Fussy

Very welcome. I haven't tried any of them

https://www.navionics.com/usa/apps/navionics-boating https://developers.navionics.com/homepage/mobile-sdk-partners/

Yep no doubt about it. They also have enough equipment backups that they just send the reel out for someone to mess with I got a look at Marciano's stuff a couple of years ago when I met up with him.

"Different tools for different jobs" perfectly sums it up whether trolling or ice fishing and the element of the unknown is always there too even in shallow water Some years ago on Canandaigua I was fishing next to a guy in about 15 ft of water when he hooked something that bent his HT right over and he was using 2 lb test. After fighting it for 45 minutes or more he brought the fish out of the hole....a 12 lb lake trout. Kind of a miracle on 2 lb. but if using 10 lb braid in deeper water the fish would have been in a lot sooner and with not so much concern

I remember that episode and I remember thinking to myself they are going to have fun dealing with that reel with the salt water in it.... not exactly a hundred dollar reel