Really stupid question

This year I'm working on expanding my thus far pretty narrow fishing knowledge by branching out to other species one being walleye. While doing some research I ran across a pretty ingenious piece of tackle I had never seen before, the "Water Walker" or rock walker, pretty cool piece of equip to use when trolling for walleyes. 
Now for my stupid question, why when trolling for Chinook close to the bottom folks don't use something like the rock walker instead of a 6 or 8 oz piece of lead hanging from monafiliment getting tangled in something on the bottom? Seems like it would reduce getting hung up on the bottom if they work as described?
For all of those that are more knowledgeable than I, thoughts?  Has to be a really easy reason I just haven't thought of.

Are you talking about a bottom walker?

I've tried them and they work, but I think there are better alternatives.

Light mono droppers (sliding or not) have some advantages.  If your lead hangs on the bottom or in the net you can pop it off and not loose the rest of your rig or the fish.  It's also easy to quickly change how many ounces of lead you are using as current conditions change.

Sliding systems (solid wire or mono) give me a better feel of how my gear is working.  It also allows the fish to take the bait with less resistance.

Bottom Walkers work for Salmon, Lingcod just about anything that's feeding near the bottom.  Hogg's has the biggest bottom walkers I've seen.  They carry some that must by 12oz. 

That said, it's one more thing to tangle with your flasher or get lost to a snag (if you're not keeping a careful eye on the depth and contour) so I prefer to use a cannonball on a light dropper.

-Mark-

Yup, I have one that Oregon Tackle makes for salmon fishing. The weights can be changed out with different sized egg weights to get the right overall weight you need.  Seems like it would work well for certain spots but I'm just too nervous about hanging it up on something since that would mean I'd lose my entire setup. So that's why it collects dust.

John
That's a great question,  don't think its stupid at all.

Appreciate all the info, the articles I read only referenced walleye fishing them, I figured I can't be the only one that thought of other types of trolling where they would work.  Might have to give one a try later this year, SPOT, I'll see you at the clinic, will take a look at the collection that Hoggs.  Thanks folks.

John