Trolling and boat control

I have a 16 foot flat bottom boat and every puff of wind blows my boat around. Even when I catch a fish the light boat is pulled off course and can tangle lines badly. To fix this problem I pull a drift sock behind my boat and it works wonders. I took a length of rope and tied carabiners to each end to be hooked onto the handles on the back of my boat. This makes it easier to take off and on. I wanted the sock close to the boat to decrease fish or hooks getting caught in the sock. Give this a try and see how it works for you.

Here is a picture of mine in use.

Looks like that does the job nicely.

I like that alot. Might try it

I have the same set up on my jon. Good picture! I also have two 5' lengths of 3/4" chain to drag the boat to slow crawl if needed.

Also pulling a length of rope with 5' of chain hitting the bottom. slows me down better than the sock for heavy winds. use carabiner and clip it to the d rings on the back of the boat. use two for very windy conditions.

Have you ever gotten hung up with the chain dragging on something? This has always been my biggest worry.

Also, doesn't the chain rattle and make noise spooking the fish? Always wondered about that.

Is the basic rule drift sock in deeper open water and chain for shallow stump/brushy water?

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Originally Posted by apersohn17

Have you ever gotten hung up with the chain dragging on something? This has always been my biggest worry.

Also, doesn't the chain rattle and make noise spooking the fish? Always wondered about that.

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Exactly what I was thinking!

I have never hung up yet as the chain is just an extension of the rope and goes over top of everything like dragging a long heavy rope.

I have snagged a tree top or two with the sock but its no big deal. I use my sock in water 3-4 FOW and it doesn't seem to spook the fish.