Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: Drift sock
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Author | Message Text | ||
doubledown |
If so, is there a standout brand? |
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doubledown |
amhacker22: "I love mine for all the reasons stated above. The one thing to be aware of is that you will have to figure out how to manage the rope. Deploying it and getting it back in are actually pretty easy, but at some point you end up with some rope sitting on the bottom of your boat. This rope can grab on to other objects in your boat upon deployment. Objects like, I don't know, maybe a new rod and reel? Oh that’s rough. Lot of lessons learned the hard way out there. Appreciate you passing that advice on as, due to other circumstances, I’ve lost a nice setup as well. It hurts so much. |
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amhacker22 |
On an unrelated note, if you pull a gently used rod and reel out of 15 ft. of water on Horseshoe Lake, I may know who it belongs to. Like all the stuff we travel with in our canoes, manage the load intelligently and with purpose. Drift socks are 100% worth the effort. |
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marc24 |
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doubledown |
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ericinely |
Best use: when it's super windy and trolling is challenging and the boat is drifting too quickly with the strong wind/current to maintain bottom contact with your jig (without sizing up significantly in size). The drift sock will slow the canoe down to 0.4-1.1 mph which I feel is an absolutely perfect speed for drift jigging, especially if you can get the boat to drift completely perpendicular to the wind, which allows for optimal jigging out of a tandem (no line tangle, spin around). Also, they don't weigh anything and pack down small so they are easy to justify. I also like to use them when trolling for Lake Trout isn't productive (fish aren't aggressive enough to hit a bait traveling 1.5-2.5mph or they are feeding on the bottom and not coming up to hit suspended baits). What I do is let out my bait and trolling weight until the weight hits the bottom and reel up a few feet so the bait is running just a few feet off bottom. You can straight-troll using this method, or smack bottom and/or pump the rod every once in a while so the bait darts erratically. THIS METHOD IS INCREDIBLY PRODUCTIVE I don't have any recommendations on brands, just be sure you get one for a smaller boat (10-16' as they are designed for heavy motorboats and you don't want one that is massive) and that it has a retractor "leash" attached to the small end of the cone/sock. In a canoe, it's so important to keep the boat balanced, and if you have to haul that thing in dragging all that water the boat will be unstable. The leash allows you to tug the thing in from the small end. GET ONE! Searching for fish will be easier, using the wind in your favor to find feeding fish will be easier, jigging will be easier and I feel, you will catch more fish. This is also an incredibly productive technique for those of you who don't fish with electronics. Drift-jigging allows you to search the bottom with your bait and find feeding fish quickly, regardless of depth. |
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plander |
collapsible bucket This would work great as well... Sea to Summit 20 L Kitchen Sink |
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PeaceFrog |
Eric, how far out do you typically deploy the sock? PF |
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edorival |
I just picked up the smallest one they had at Fleet Farm. Totally worth the expense and extra weight: https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/lindy-fisherman-series-drift-sock/0000000002617?Ntt=drift%20sock |
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wanderingfromkansas |
doubledown: "I’ve never used a drift sock and most of them look to be $30 or under. Worth the money if targeting walleye or trout? DIY Menard's bag, $1 Small piece of pool noodle 2 oz. sinker Some kind of cord/rope Zip tie the pool noodle to one of the small loops Tie the sinker to the opposite small loop Use large handles with cord/rope tied to the vessel |