Drift Sock

[thunderbayeye]

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.

[locomoto]

http://www.lindyfishingtackle.com/ti...amerdriftsocks

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 That may give you the speed you're looking for even though a few folks think that method is outdated.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

[husker95]

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.
Are you fishing Big Mac? I grew close to there.
Husker

[thunderbayeye]

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.

[husker95]

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.
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.
There are guys out there who are absolute artists when it comes to rigging for boat control. I’m not one of them.

[Manxfishing]

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

[bigbear40]

I have two 24 inch socks on my 1725 Lund Pro Guide with a 60 hp Yamaha and can use either 1 or 2 off the back when trolling and really slow the outboard down. I also use 2 socks when drifting, one off the bow and one off the stern which allows me to drift with the side of the boat to the wind giving both myself and whoever is fishing with me to have the whole side of the boat to fish. Also use one on the bow when backtrolling and it really helps control the swing of the boat.

[REW]

Thunder,
If you have a relatively short run to your fishing grounds and can go slower to your fishing grounds, you can put a prop on your boat that is several inches lower in pitch than you are currently running. At the same time, go to as large diameter as will fit within the constraints of the motors cavitation plate.

The large flat pitch prop disk will give you a slower speed, and will give you the ultimate in boat control.

For example, if you are running a 15 pitch prop and go to a 10 pitch prop, you will likely decrease your trolling speed from 2 to about 1.

You will also cut your top speed by about 1/3rd, and you will have to keep an eye on your tach to avoid over revving the motor.

REW