Drift socks

[silverside]

Have any of you used either ready made or diy drift socks for jigging crappie?
I was toying with the idea today. My trips this year have been fairly windy and would like to drift slower.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[Clint]

You might consider two 5 gallon plastic buckets from Lowe's or Home Depot. Using a 2 inch hole-saw drill a series of holes in the side next to the bottom. One or both dragged behind you will slow you down quite a bit. A drift sock comes back to the boat soaking wet and takes up a bit of room when laid out to dry, while the buckets will store inside of each other.

[silverside]

Never thought about wet storage. Thanks for the tips.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

[Crestliner08]

We drift (and side pull) for crappie almost exclusively these days, finding it more productive than casting or regular trolling. Not so sure you really "need" to slow down. We side pull at between .7 and 1.0 mph (GPS) and find it very productive. And when the wind is really 'kickin', we rely on that alone to move us along a pretty good clip. Sometimes our jigs are almost water skiing! Yet we catch crappie, yellow & white perch, bass, rainbow trout and bluegill moving at this surprising speed. And a lot of them too. And this is over a 20 - 24 foot main basin area.

I use to use windsocks when drifting for lake trout and bass. So if you do go that route, know this - you will need a sock 2 -3 times larger than the suggested sizes recommended by the manufacturers, for the size boat you have. That, and/or adding multiple smaller socks. Which tends to become a PITA when bringing in multiple fish.

Awhile back my fishing partner, Walt, and I posted an informational article on the subject of drift fishing for crappie. You might want to check it out:

https://www.crappie.com/crappie/crappie-fishing-styles/363368-drifting-crappie/

[Erin Brewer]

Use them all the time spider rigging!

[scrat]

Very seldom used but when I need to slow down I drag a 8' size 3/8" log chain attached to a 25' rope. If the wind is worse than this it is time to get off the water and go home for safety sakes.

[DockShootinJack]

All I have ever seen used is the 5 gallon buckets of a piece of chain

[cwright]

Buckets work perfectly. I take them and drill three holes evenly spaced around the top about 1 inch down from the very top to tie three pieces of rope to. I then tie those three short (2 foot ) ropes to a swivel I got at lowes. Then just tie your main line to the other end of the swivel and the bucket can turn and twist all it wants. I drill one large 2 inch or so hole in the bottom. They slow me down from about 2.5 to 2.4 with main motor idling to about 1.7 if I want to pull cranks. I keep some duct tape on board and if I need to wash the bottom of the boat off, I just put a little tape over the hole and wash away.

[Just_Bass]

I use both 5 gallon bucket with series of 1” hole and small 24” drift sock. For DIY if you want slower don’t drill too many holes and it is pain in the booty to pull back bucket. Drift sock is better for me since I can use this with kayak, pull in easier and less room to store. I normally use these when drifting for catfish, but this year I’ll try jigging for crappie as well.

[Nutbush]

I have 2 buckets with no holes in them, and i am thinking about adding two more. I just tie about 2 feet of good rope to each handle and put off either side I want. Let them fill up and go from there. I can fish in an aluminum kite (17' older bass tracker) in up to about 15 mph winds. Two up front and two off the back and she rides like a cadillac. Now, there isn't much maneuvering going on, but I can still drift at a slow enough pace.