Drift Sock
 

I have an alumacraft classic 165 with a yamaha 50 fourstroke. I would like to get a drift sock that I can use for both boat control while drifting as wells as slowing the boat down while trolling. Now the boat will troll down to around 2.0 mph on my GPS i would like to try to slow it down to around 1.2 so i can pull spinners. Can anyone give me an idea of what size i should get. After reading reviews on Cabelas it seams like I would need to get at least on size bigger than is recomended in their chart. Also what is the best way to rig them while trolling i would think off the front of the boat so it runs underneath the boat.

[URL="http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/tips.aspx?id=wavetamerdriftsocks"]http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/tips.aspx?id=wavetamerdriftsocks[/URL]

Here's a good little article on rigging a couple of socks to slow you down. I think this would probably slow you down more than you're looking for but it's worth a shot.

Have you tried back trolling those spinners? That may give you the speed you're looking for even though a few folks think that method is outdated.

Either way the drift socks are a great addition to any boat and I don't go anywhere without mine.

Good Luck

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Do you have a bowmount? I run spinners while pulling the boat with my bowmount and I can creep along as slow as I want. I have a 185 Targa with a 150 Merc 2-stroke. Originally, I thought I would have to get a kicker to troll because my 2-stroke wouldn’t idle slow enough. But kickers are crazy expensive and I have got around getting one by using the bowmount electric or, if it’s windy enough, simply drifting. If I’m drifting too fast I use a sock; too slow and I fire up the bowmount. If you need to use your yamaha, you can throw 2 socks off the front on either side or 2 five gallon buckets will work about as good if you rig them right. I would think one sock off the front would make it steer like a wet towel. Interested in how others do it as well.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Are you fishing Big Mac? I grew close to there.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Husker[/SIZE][/FONT]

I have a bow mount but when the wind starts to blow it justs dosnt have enough power to run for anylength of time. I havent mad it out to Mac yet i just moved to the Omaha area from Michigan last summer I fished Calamus and Lewis and Clark mostly.

[SIZE=3][FONT=Calibri]I haven’t hit either of those 2 lakes – would like to. I live in Colorado now and do a combo of trout/walleye/white bass, etc fishing. When I spent most of my time on Mac we drug spinners drifting and it worked real well. You can use the bow mount for direction control to keep you on a straight line. [/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]Another option that I haven’t tried but have read about is to fire you gas engine and set it as low as possible. You then deploy the bow mount and put in reverse, pointed straight in line with your boat. Then tune the speed in until the electric fights your gas motor down to the correct speed. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3] There are guys out there who are absolute artists when it comes to rigging for boat control. I’m not one of them.[/SIZE][/FONT]

I drag socks with a 185 TP Alumacraft
(2) 18" bags will loose .5 mph and (2) 22" bags will loose around .8

So if your buying just one pair. Go with the 22" bags
the 18" might work but if there's a strong wind to your back you'll be to fast

For rigging, the front cleat works the best
Just make sure your lead keeps them away from the prop

I tried the drift sock and dragging buckets thing to get the speed down. Neither worked as good as the trolling plate that I installed this spring. My first choice is the bow mount of course.

I have the Cabela's Drift bag with the weight in it to help it deploy. It's nice for drifting but I found it a pain to use where I was trying to maintain a course.

Take two of the smaller wave tamer socks and rig them on a rope under the bow of the boat - directly hooked to the front cleats.
This way, the bags are locked solidly to the boat, never tangle prop, rods, line or fish.

Lots of the pros have been using this system for the last several years.

[URL]http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/tips.aspx?id=wavetamerdriftsocks[/URL]

Take care
REW

The wave tamer system seems like the way to go. Will the Cabelas drift socks work or is there something different about the wave tamers that makes them work better in that application. The Cabelas ones are on sale and I could get 2 of the 30" drift socks for $70.00 does anyone have experience with these.

[URL="http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Advanced-Angler-Pro-Series-Drift-Socks/700074.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Ddrift%2Bsock%2B%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=drift+sock+&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products"]http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabelas-Advanced-Angler-Pro-Series-Drift-Socks/700074.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Ddrift%2Bsock%2B%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=drift+sock+&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products[/URL]

I use this set up with the black cabelas socks. got them half off last sping. they work well.