trolling with drift socks

I would like to troll cranks up river with a 1700 Lund explorer and 115 horse Merc. Would a couple of 30″ drift socks slow me down enough to get to .5 mph. Thanks for any info.

Maybe. Depends on current and wind direction. On a lake I would say no. For .5 mph a decent bow mount trolling motor should be able to handle that.

Agree with Mike. If you want .5, trolling motor, drift with current, or with wind.

But I also have a 17 ft boat and 115 merc. With two 30″ socks I can get from 3.3 w/o down to 1.3 to 1.6 w/. Now add current and you can get slower, but trolling motors and current can get you there as well.

ET

Here’s what I found:

1990 Lund Predator II (1650 hull, 16 foot long)
1994 Merc 60 HP 2 stroke at idle.
Mississippi River Pool 2, about a 10 mph wind from the North (downstream)
Speed measured with my Lowrance H20C GPS unit.

Without the Socks: Upstream 1.6 Mph Downstream 3.1 MPH
With the socks: Upstream 0-1.1 MPH Downstream 1.8 MPH

It was tough measuring the speed upstream with the socks. When the wind would pick up, I’D STOP MOVING. The socks obviously had a big effect on my speed. I run two smaller socks off the bow, one on each side of the boat. They’re a pain to deploy but really slow the boat down.

Rootski

There was a video segment that James Holst did with a guide I believe on Rainey a year or so ago, he had out double drift bags port and starboard front 1/3 cleats and it slowed the boat to the desired speed….Check the video archives,,,,,

Thanks for all the info guys you have been very helpful