Drift bags

L

Larry Patrick

New member
I asked last time about auto pilot hoping to have rpms on engine high enough to work auto pilot ,but then learned that auto pilot needs the boat speed to actually be 3 knots. I thought if you used drift bags and slowed down boat but engine rpms were higher it would work,but now realize will need a kicker instead. So until getting a kicker was wondering ,how well do drift bags work? One on each side mid cleat? Or one off the bow eye? Hope they will keep you drifting with wave speed ,and no need for engine? Questions come to mind how fast can you get them back in the boat, when their full of water is there a quick way to collapse them or recover them. Or if you come across a sail boat and need to speed up can you with bags out? I was at this store last trip Poor Richards bait and tackle bought a new rod -n-reel with line counter and 7 color lead line,each color drops you 5ft in depth then add a deep running plug you can get down another 15 ft. Anyway they sell these drift bags there,may add them next trip,also want to get some planer boards ,so I can get some more rods in the water. Will ask him when I see him on this subject ,but figured I would get your ideas on fishing this way thanks.
 
Drift socks - I've used them some mostly to slow my wind driven drift while bottom fishing. For that purpose, they work great. As for where to attach them, I've usually done them off the two cleats near the bow on a 22 (since wind drive drive tends to re-orient the boat bow away from the wind. My drift socks have a weighted side so that a certain edge is always up and they have a different colored line that is attached to the narrow end. That allows you to grab the different colored line and dump the sock prior to retrieval. Speed is limited with the drift sock deployed but the usual conditions under which I deploy them, don't require rapid movement.

Another use case is if I want to troll in very tight quarters (e.g. lots of boats around) and the wind is high. In such cases, it can be a bear to keep the boat straight into the wind. Drift socks help a lot with this as they dampen the turning response considerably.
 
Are drift socks somehow different from a sea anchor or a drogue? I have only used these to keep my bow into the weather when I'm drifting and the current is running opposite the wave direction from the bow, or deploy from the stern in a heavy following sea to prevent broaching. 5 gallon bucket works well too.

What's the difference?
 
Kushtaka":2hei9e0y said:
Are drift socks somehow different from a sea anchor or a drogue? I have only used these to keep my bow into the weather when I'm drifting and the current is running opposite the wave direction from the bow, or deploy from the stern in a heavy following sea to prevent broaching. 5 gallon bucket works well too.

What's the difference?
Click to expand...
Not much really. A drift sock is basically the same thing but usually a bit smaller than what one would use for a sea anchor and typically deployed with less line than a true sea anchor.
 
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