One of my buddies does not have a kicker yet, and wants to kick down. Liked the idea of two little bags in the last IDO show. Would like to know exactly how you boys rigged those, and exact product # of socks used. 
Thanks!
Just watched that show last night, twice actually. It looks like they used 2 Wave Tamer 30″ drift socks. Not sure how they exactly rigged them, but I have been in boats and done this. Each person did it differently.
One person had a clevis on each bag and had them attached to the bow hook of the boat. Get to the spot, toss them over the side and go.
The other fellow had them tied off to the side cleats on the boat.
My personal preference was tied off the bow hook, gave both people plenty of room to fight/land the fish toward the rear of the boat.
Here is a link
Just my experience… 
Jami
There is an difference between drift socks and trolling bags in my opinion. I have seen a lot of guys wreck different brands of drift socks using them as trolling bags.
I ordered a pair of 18″ Amish Outfitter trolling bags to slow my 20 foot boat with a 150 on it for trolling. They work well and are very durable and are made for trolling. A lot of the charter captains on Lake Erie use this brand. They make all different sizes. I would suggest doing a google search for Amish Outfitter trolling bags. They work awesome and are reasonably priced.
I don’t want to knock other trolling bags/drift socks. It looked like the ones James and Brad were using on last weeks IDO show worked well too and are probably worth considering.
While some drift socks may be less well constructed than others, you will have exactly zero worries using a Drift Control product.
In my pre-kicker days, I used my drift control sock (50″) to slow my trolling speeds. 5 years later, that same sock is still in use, now to slow my speed on the rare occasions that I rig live bait. 5 years of use, and it hasn’t missed a beat. No other sock will find use in my boat. I picture of that sme sock doing its job up on Mille Lacs last year is below.
Knowing what I know now, if I were to use socks to slow my forward trolling speed, I would rig a pair of 30″ socks with short leads, and then deploy one sock off each side of the bow. Short leads will keep them out of the motor and away from any fish that are coming to the boat. The presence of one sock on each side of the boat will help tremendously with boat control…the wind won’t be able to easily push the boat left or right of its intended direction.
A couple of suggestions. The idea of going out the bow is a great idea, but over the years I have found out it is hard to lean over the boat to get at the rope. Sooo, place a rope cleat as close a to the center of the boat nose. Place this on the nose deck where it doesn’t interfere with the trolling motor or bow light. . It’s quick and easy to get at and in rough weather you’ll like it. Also be careful to consider the drift sock size. I always go one size larger than recommended! Probably because I have a Lund with a higher side and more wind pushes against it. I’ve had a lot of socks, and if you pick the right size they work wonders in calm wind or extremely rough weather. Hope this helps!!!
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A couple of suggestions. The idea of going out the bow is a great idea, but over the years I have found out it is hard to lean over the boat to get at the rope. Sooo, place a rope cleat as close a to the center of the boat nose. Place this on the nose deck where it doesn’t interfere with the trolling motor or bow light. . It’s quick and easy to get at and in rough weather you’ll like it. Also be careful to consider the drift sock size. I always go one size larger than recommended! Probably because I have a Lund with a higher side and more wind pushes against it. I’ve had a lot of socks, and if you pick the right size they work wonders in calm wind or extremely rough weather. Hope this helps!!!
Great points goodhook…
Since it wasn’t my boat, I was first mate, so I was the one leaning my butt over the bow unhooking the bags. It wasn’t terribly rough so it wasn’t to bad.
I just recently installed additional cleats on both sides of the bow, to help anchoring.
Jami
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One of my buddies does not have a kicker yet, and wants to kick down. Liked the idea of two little bags in the last IDO show. Would like to know exactly how you boys rigged those, and exact product # of socks used.
We used the 30″ trolling bags (designed to be used as a trolling bag) from Drift Control and rigged them by tying on a 6′ section of 3/8″ anchor rope to the harness at the front of each bag. We tied those ropes to the cleats located at the sides of the boat and in front of where the consoles would be on a wheel boat allowing just enough rope so the bags could fill with water.
Using those trolling bags we slowed our trolling speed from over 2 mph to well under 1.0 mph.
Deploying and stowing the bags takes seconds. As for durability… they’re built incredibly well and should provide years of service.
For this application there is no need to tie the bags to the bow of the boat. Use the “big bag off the bow” method when back trolling livebait. Actually my gut tells me you’ll have a more stable boat and better control in tight turns by tying them off at the sides. By keeping the ropes short there’s no concerns with landing a fish as the bags stay far forward of where you’ll end up landing your fish. I don’t think either Brad or I had to give the trolling bags a second thought while fighting a fish during our entire time on Rainy.
This is from the Drift Control site:
“If you’ve you ever trolled in the wind, you know how frustrating it can be. The bow of your boat blows off line, forcing you to speed up to get back on line. Take your eye off the bow for one second, and it happens again. Sound familiar? Cross winds, head winds and waves will wear you out— but there is something you can do to get back under control.
Recently we at Tamer began testing a new trolling technique using two Wave Tamers to stabilize the bow. For small boats and engines 100 hp and smaller, we recommend two 30″ Wave Tamers. For larger boats and engines above 100 hp, we recommend two 40″ Wave Tamers.”
Here’s the link to those >>>
http://lindylittlejoe.com/fishing_tips/drift_control_tips/trolling_drift_bags.shtml
If you check out the Drift Control site you’ll notice they have a second rigging method that uses one rope to control both bags. You might want to check that method out to see if it suits your application. The photo I added illustrates this rigging method.
Holler if you have any more questions.
ON a side note. Be sure to stow whatever you purchase before running any distance. I’ve heard they can do some damage if you don’t. I would think if you had a bouy on the harness and it hit the wind shield of a tyee, there may be a problem. 
Thanks everybody!
I use the 2-30″ bags on one rope as James shows in the image of his post. Frankly, I view this as a competitive advantage for boat control and don’t talk about it much but use them almost every time I am trolling. The boat control is amazing especially when quartering or crossing the wind as the bags off the bow cause your bow to stay put and actually ‘stick’ in the water and you steer your boat from the back. If that doesn’t make sense think of it this way, now you are not speeding up just to control your bow but can keep your speed more constant and then control what line you want to run.
I can post some images of my setup if interested. It’s something I will never be without again!
-ted
It takes all of about 15 seconds to deploy the 2 bags under the boat correctly. I once bet a guy I could do it in under 10 seconds, and he paid for dinner.
There is a significant advantage to be gained in rigging two bags on a single line passed under the keel of the boat, I’ve tested both ways. The effect on the boat is much more consistent because the bags are always full and under the water. There are no “shadowing” problems on the downwind side of the boat if you are quartering the waves, or collapsed bags when turning the boat with bags on the surface.
The biggest advantage though is the bags are closer to the keel and the turning axis of the boat which really aids in boat control. A few minutes of setup time when the boat is on the trailer to rig this system and you will be ready to go fishing. It’s the ultimate boat control system! 
Jim Carroll NPAA #13
on this topic – i am planning on getting a drift sock, what size/brand should i get?
1650 Alumacraft Classic
thanks!
JimC can you go into a little more detail on this?
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A few minutes of setup time when the boat is on the trailer to rig this system and you will be ready to go fishing. It’s the ultimate boat control system!
I’ve never used this setup hoping to pick your brain.
Jami
Hey Jami…Here is a C&P from Lindy’s site that explains the setup procedure pretty well: http://lindylittlejoe.com/fishing_tips/index.shtml
“Here’s how to rig up for the Tamer Trolling System. With your boat on the trailer, take a length of 1/2″ limp nylon rope or soft dock rope, make a 6″ loop on one end, then fasten it to your mid ship cleat (see photos). Run the other end under your boat, up to the other mid ship cleat, and tie it off as tightly as you can. Next crawl under your boat, and with a marking pen, mark the rope where it meets the keel in the center of the hull. Now make two more marks approximately 14” on either side of the first mark.
Next release the rope and pull it from under the boat. Run the rope through the loop on your Wave Tamer until it contacts the outside mark. Tie a simple over-hand knot, making sure the loop of the Wave Tamer is in the center of the knot. Repeat this process on the other outside mark. Pass the rope and bags under the boat and reattach as before, paying close attention that the bags are an equal distance apart on each side of the keel. You may have to adjust the loops to make sure they’re rigged evenly.”
Jim Carroll NPAA #13
Thanks JIM!!
Jami
Jim –
Any issues with the bags several feet under the boat when trolling–say 10 feet deep? I wouldn’t think spooking fish would be an issue–but how would you know anyway? I have always put the two bags on the forward cleats. Is the under the boat method that much better or just different? Thanks for your two cents!
It is that much better. I used to do it the other way as well, just over the side. I thought that was incredible, and it is, but underneath is just awesome.
It is literally like someone drove a stake thru your boat and into the bottom of the lake. You can turn a circle inside your boards if you weren’t paying attention. It works so well that I use them even when it is dead calm.
As far as the shallow water thing goes, last year at the PWT Mobridge I never went deeper than 12 feet, used the bags every day and caught nearly 100 fish per day. Maybe the boat was just that good, but I did not feel the bags hurt me at all.
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