Sinking line?

I have only fished a floating line on the Erie tribs.  If I needed to get a streamer or egg pattern down, I just added split shot to the leader/tippet.  I only did this because that was what someone recommended to me when I first started using a fly rod.  I only get the chance to fish in Erie a couple of times a year, so I am a novice and don't have the chance to experiment much.  I curious, though, if using a sinking line is a better alternative to using split shot (or similar weights) to the leader/tippet material.  Thanks in advance.

What he said.
 
A full floating fly line is simply the right tool for the task.  Not saying you can't use a sinking line, but you're only going to be causing yourself headaches without any payoff at all.
 
The only place I could see it maybe working is fishing the mouths by stripping streamers, and even there, only a short sinking leader, not a sink tip or sinking line...and even in that situation, you're still probably better off with a weighted fly and a full floater.

I never use sinking line and very rarely fly line on the tribs. I usually dredge the bottom with egg patterns, nymphs, etc. I spool my fly reel with 8# golden Stren line. Tie on a small barrel swivil then a length of tippet, usually 6X. Add some small split shot to sink my offering and that's about it. Never saw much need to over complicate the situation.