Drift socks?

[sierra 18]

Hi all:

I was out fishing recently (14' aluminum Lowe V-hull sport fishing boat). It was a pretty windy day, and even with the anchor down, I found I would often drift/be pushed by the wind towards shore, until I had to weigh anchor and move back out away from shore.

I did some research, and found out about drift socks, and read some very positive reviews about them online at one large outdoor store's site.

Does anyone here have any experience using drift socks to keep your fishing boat in one position on the windy days?

Many thanks,

Chris

 

[dingbat]

Re: Drift socks?

A drift socks is a common accessory for those of use that fish tidal waters. Many people carry two just in case.

Do not cheap out on a sock. Buy a good quality sock and buy one larger than you think you need. You can always decrease the drag of a particular bag but you cannot increase it.

BTW: They will not keep you stationary. It will only slow down your rate of drift.

 

[sierra 18]

Re: Drift socks?

I did buy larger than the baseline size recommended for my boat, based on just what you said. I'm guessing that on the windy days or in areas of strong current, drifts sock(s) and an anchor together are about as much as you can do to slow or stop the drift.

Good to know that they do seem to work.

C

 

[tnduc]

Re: Drift socks?

I've used a drift sock extensively while fishing on the (windy) coast of south Texas. I'd tie one of the starboard side so we would drift beam-to and fish off the opposite side.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Drift socks?

I've seen folks use 5 gallon plastic buckets or old car tires for drift control, just depends on how much you do it and how much you can spend$

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Drift socks?

Hi all:

I was out fishing recently (14' aluminum Lowe V-hull sport fishing boat). It was a pretty windy day, and even with the anchor down, I found I would often drift/be pushed by the wind towards shore, until I had to weigh anchor and move back out away from shore.

I did some research, and found out about drift socks, and read some very positive reviews about them online at one large outdoor store's site.

Does anyone here have any experience using drift socks to keep your fishing boat in one position on the windy days?

Many thanks,

Chris

For this application I don't think a drift sock would be what you need, sounds more like you need a bigger anchor.

A drift sock will do a few things very well, it will slow down your drift in the wind, keep the boat pointing the direction you desire while drifting, slow the speed if you're trolling, keep you pointed in one direction when on anchor. But it won't do much to keep you in one place if your anchor is too small.

Sounds like you need either a bigger anchor, or a different type more suited to the bottom you're anchoring on.

 

[sierra 18]

Re: Drift socks?

For this application I don't think a drift sock would be what you need, sounds more like you need a bigger anchor.

A drift sock will do a few things very well, it will slow down your drift in the wind, keep the boat pointing the direction you desire while drifting, slow the speed if you're trolling, keep you pointed in one direction when on anchor. But it won't do much to keep you in one place if your anchor is too small.

Sounds like you need a either a bigger anchor, or a different type more suited to the bottom you're anchoring on.

I'm using a 28lb pivoting fluke anchor, which I thought was enough for a 14' aluminum fishing boat, but I may be wrong. Thing is, sometimes when I weigh, there's all manner of weeds on the anchor (and I still drift) and sometimes the lake bottom is pure flat Canadian glacier rock, all this on the same lake, so suiting the anchor to the bottom can be a challenge, since the bottom may vary from point to point even on the same body of water.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Drift socks?

How deep and how much line is out?

I use different anchors in different waters, from 10lbs to 55lbs, in some places I may have 60ft of line out with the 55lb to anchor in 4 feet of water (fast water), sometimes I need to use a second stern anchor to keep it from swinging. This boat 16'.

With a drift sock its possible you may even get pulled faster. If the wind is blowing, the surface water is normally moving in the same direction, so while it may point your bow into the wind and waves reducing their effect (drag), the sock may be pulling you with the wind blown surface current putting even more pressure on the anchor and dragging it faster.

 

[dannyual767]

Re: Drift socks?

I'm using a 28lb pivoting fluke anchor, which I thought was enough for a 14' aluminum fishing boat, but I may be wrong. Thing is, sometimes when I weigh, there's all manner of weeds on the anchor (and I still drift) and sometimes the lake bottom is pure flat Canadian glacier rock, all this on the same lake, so suiting the anchor to the bottom can be a challenge, since the bottom may vary from point to point even on the same body of water.

Wow! That's a big fluke anchor. If your anchor is what I'm thinking that it is (Danforth anchor), then you should be good with a 10lb or less Danforth. The problem is that the flukes must be able to "cut, dig and sink" into a soft sea/lake bottom. A 28 pounder is sufficient for a very large boat......with the proper sea/lake bottom! Flat glacier rock isn't going to be conducive to properly using a fluke anchor.

I use a 10lb Danforth with my 20' Stingray in some very strong tidal currents and wind. Its the flukes that do the holding work.

Oh BTW, you need to use at least a 5:1 scope (ratio) of rope to depth. In other words, if your anchor is in 10' of water, you need to let 50' of rope out. Not only that, but a Danforth must have a lead chain attached!

 

[RWilson2526]

Re: Drift socks?

I would guess that if its a completely FLAT rock bottom like you said you have nothing other than pure weight to keep you in place because the flukes wont grab.....if it has any kind of nooks and crannies maybe you could try a grappling anchor or a wreck anchor made out of rebar to help you get a hold on something. If it gets stuck they are desinged to bend back and let you still pull it up.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Drift socks?

Drift socks are not anchors -- pure and simple. They provide drift control and can be used in many different ways. Off the bow to keep the bow into the wind while drifting. Off the stern to keep the stern into the wind will drifting. Two of them - one off the bow and one off the stern to keep the boat sideways to the wind. None of those applications will keep the boat in one postition.

 

[sierra 18]

Re: Drift socks?

Drift socks are not anchors -- pure and simple. They provide drift control and can be used in many different ways. Off the bow to keep the bow into the wind while drifting. Off the stern to keep the stern into the wind will drifting. Two of them - one off the bow and one off the stern to keep the boat sideways to the wind. None of those applications will keep the boat in one postition.

Good to know, and I will try playing out more anchor line as indicated above. Like I say, I fish a variety of freshwater bodies, with a variety of bottoms (clay, stone, weed, etc etc etc etc).

I will employ the drift sock and see how it does.

Thanks all for the replies,

C