Drift sock or buckets

[???]

Just wanderin' if I could use a couple of 5 gallon buckets in place of drift socks. I do not own a sock. Thanks for any tips! Should I run them off of the back??

[Skiffer]

I use a couple of five gallon buckets. They work fine for me and slow my boat down 1 to 1 1/2 MPH using both. The best thing to do is experiment. If youv'e got room for the buckets on your boat they can be useful for other things when not being used in the water. And they are a lot cheaper.

[Buckets]

Do you put holes in the bottom of the buckets??

[Skiffer]

No, I don't put holes in them. I just put a rope on the handle, tie it on a side cleat and have the rope long enough for the buckets to extend out just past the transom.

[Eye Trap]

Skiffer knows what he's talking about-- try it--you'll like it!!!

[Polski]

I used this trick for years when fishing over deep water for suspended blue gills in the summer. I tie one off the tip and one off the back corner, that way my boat drifts side ways and my son and I can both fish over the same side as we drift.

[Jerry]

I've used both and they both work. The advantages I see with socks are: they fold up and stow better, if you set them up right they are a lot easier to collapse and get back into the boat, you can get ones where the amount of drag is adjustable. Cabelas sells a nice one with an aluminum frame and adjustable opening. But, you can't beat the price of the buckets.

[Eyez]

With all due respect Jerry, I've used that Cabela's sock with the frame, and I hated it. I looked at alot of socks and found that no one made a good sock that was available in my area, they were all too small or some other thing. The cabelas sock was so small I would have needed 3 of them to slow me down that day.

The sock I have now I paid a lady $70 to make for me, it's made from parachute material so it's light and dries quickly. It has stainless steel plates spread out on one side and foam floats on the top lip, I just throw it in the water and it opens right up, no messing around. It's 70" across, and the other end is adjustable, it opens to about 16". It will keep an 18 foot boat nearly motionless in a 15 mph breeze. It also rolls up and fits in a bag about the size of a football.
The only drawback to this sock is that you can't troll with it, it's too wide.

If you want a really good sock, hire someone to make you one, just make sure they double stitch all the seams :) Learned that one the hard way.


Eyez

[Matt]

Drift socks can be purchased at West Marine in Flint. They come in two different sizes and they work better than buckets. They also may be used for drifting when you are vertical jigging in the Saginaw River; hang them off the opposite side of the boat than you are fishing on to save on your trolling motor battery. Your welcome.

[RAINMAN]

IF YOU USE BUCKETS PUT HOLES IN THEM THEY TOW BETTER. RAN THEM FOR TWO YEARS THEY WORK OK. FOR A BETTER SET UP GET TWO DRIFT SOCKS
ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE BOAT ABOUT 2/3 OF THE WAY BACK FROM THE BOW PUT A TAG LINE ON THE BACK OF THE BAG SO YOU CAN TIE IT CLOSE TO THE BOAT. IF YOU USE BUCKETS RUN THEM OFF THE BACK OF THE BOAT.
WE USE BAGS ALL THE TIME IN ERIE THEY LAST ABOUT 2 TO 3 YEARS
I RUN 24" BAGS ON MY 20' GLASS BOAT. YOU CAN GET 18" 24" 36" BAGS
GOOD LUCK

[timweidner]

I hear ya on the double stitching warning. I got a decent sock from Bass Pro Shop (the one Gary Roach endorses), but the first time out the stitching let loose around one of the foam floats and both of the lead sticks. Luckily I saw it before I lost anything. When I got home, I double-stitched them all with 8# test monofilament line. That should hold them!

[barryl]

Personal opinion: My nylon 24" drift sock fit's under my bench seat just fine.

[Sonny]

Put my mother in law in an inner tube. It worked out good but she kept trying to get back in the boat.

[Eye Dog]

Sonny, I'm going to try that one with my wife but I think a gag would also be a good idea.
Eye Dog.

[fish bait]

sonny best laugh i,ve had in a week.be safe and good fishing glen