Which drift sock?

i run an Alumacraft Classic 165 CS, what size/brand drift sock do you guys recommend?

thanks!

All depends on what you are using it for. If drifting I would recommend a 48 inch in the center for mildly windy days. If very windy put the 48 off the front and a 36 incher to the rear. If you are using it to slow down while trolling/back trolling the 36 would be fine. I run a 17 Pro angler and carry 2-36, a 48, and a 60 in the boat cuz you never know what you might need.

are the Cabelas brand drift socks any good, or is there one brand out there thats the best?

and i’ll be using it mainly for drifting.

I have 2 Minn Kota ones and the other 2 I am not sure of. These are the only ones that I have ever had so I am not an expert on which ones would work better as these do the trick for me. Only thing I can recommend is buying ones that have the external strap for pulling in the sock backwards when you want to bring it in the boat. My brother has one without it. What a pain!!!! Maybe someone like James or Jason has had the opportunity to try several brands with knowledge of pros/cons of different brands

and i’ll be using it mainly for drifting.

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For drifting I would reccomend using 2. I t keeps your boat straighter, cuz the front of the boat tends to get pushed more than the rear

I just picked up a couple of 30″ socks for trolling with my 16′ flat bottom with a 30 hp motor. The two socks slowed me from 2.2 mph to 1.0 mph. Here is a link to a post I put up just last month where I was told I should get trolling socks rather than a Easy troller plate.

I got them at Cabelas and am very satisfied with the overall quality, just yesterday I was crusing back to the ramp after just using them and one flew over the side of the boat into the water and stilled being tied on the bag deployed immediately and the 5/16″ cord broke with no problems to the sock. Luckily I still had the dump cord attached to my boat, but I guess it would have floated. BTW the 26″ and 30″ don’t come with the dump cord even though the package says it does, the guy that was helping me gave me an in store discount of $5.00 on each one of them.
Cabelas Advanced Angler Pro Series Drift Socks these are the ones I got they have a chart for drift sock applications on this page.

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Maybe someone like James or Jason has had the opportunity to try several brands with knowledge of pros/cons of different brands

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I feel bad here as I’m of little or no use regarding other brands… I bought my first drift control sock back ten years ago or so for a 1895 tiller yar-craft and I still have that same sock albeit a little faded. Besides the fading it looks brand new so I’ve never had to consider or use another brand sock.

This past summer I added a pair of 30″ trolling socks from Drift Control and they still build them with the same quality. I would imagine I’ll have the new pair for a long, long time as well.

http://lindyfishingtackle.com/pages/Drift_Control.shtml

ok.

so is a 48″ sock the general consensus for what i’ll need? or is that overkill for my boat? my boat is 16.5 ft

I do not believe you can have overkill unless you do not go out in windy conditions. I also have an assortment of drift socks, some are over 30 years old. If you get one without a dump strap I have simply tied a short rope from the bottom of the bag to about halfway up the main line and when I get to the dump rope I simmply finish pulling it in that way. Some of my bags have floats and spring wire and some of them are just bags. They all work on the same principal so according to your budget I would recommend at least three bags which can be used in combination to get the exact drift speed according to the wind conditions.

I use the same one as James. Well made, durable. One feature that this sock has that other don’t is a weight sewn in on the down side of the sock and a float on the up side. Helps for a quick, consistent deploy and the sock won’t roll in the water like some cheaper brands do.

BTW, like James, I paid cash for my sock years ago and consider it money well spent! We do appriciate Lindy a site sponsor. Great product!

-J.

I think you will be very satisfied with the 48″ sock. I’ve run the same Drift Control sock that James referred to on a 17ft Warrior and it worked very well. They deploy nice and dry quickly.

BTW….Cabelas has their large 38″ socks on sale for $25 ($45 reg) this week, and the float attachment is $10 ($25 reg). I picked up two yesterday.

well, for now i’ll just pick up a 44-48″ sock that has a weighted and floated leading edge, and then buy another if need be. and i’ll be sure to get one with the center recovery strap.

thanks guys!