It is said, "Better sailors catch more fish." An interesting perspective that holds a lot of truth. Boat control, when done with a single or multiple small drogues or wind socks, will keep the boat and angler over fish for more extended periods. They are forgotten pieces of boat control equipment that were once commonplace among walleye competitors in the 1980s. Unfortunately, they never really made it into our general angling world at the time, or among trout anglers on lakes where they were never introduced to the method. In other parts of the world, where high wind issues are commonplace, they are often regarded as the most effective approach to fishing lakes for various species.
You may wonder what a drogue or wind sock is. There are two styles: one is called a drogue, and the other is a wind sock. Wind socks are conical in shape, while drogues are rectangular. Wind Socks, by definition, are a device that is typically conical or funnel-shaped with open ends, and drogues are rectangular-shaped parachutes. (also known as a Para drogue) They are commonly towed behind a boat to reduce drift speed, to a lesser extent, they control boat drift direction and improve boat stability.
While drogues are used to slow a drifting boat, speed is still determined by wind influence and the boat's gunwale surface area. When there is a significant wind blowing, it will push your boat along so fast that it tends to overcome your lures or flies while fishing. You will end up retrieving faster to keep up with the boat's drift, rather than achieving a good, controlled fishing presentation. In a fishing situation, drogues and wind socks are usually deployed from the side of the boat so that the boat drifts perpendicular to the wind push. This usually reduces the boat's drift speed by up to 80 percent.
From the fishing perspective. Fish often and usually prefer a slower retrieve of lures or flies on most days. Drift socks and drogues allow better lure or fly control on any size or style of fishing boat commonly found in Alberta waters. In turn, this offers more casts into the fish-holding zone for extended periods. The controlled boat drifting technique consistently yields a higher catch rate than free-drifting boats.
In Alberta, the average summer wind speed on most days is 12.65 km/h. With this, a person is likely to experience more windy fishing days than calm ones. Wind is an integral part of everyday life on the northern prairies of Canada. Our abundant wind phenomenon is an advantage, as it allows the boat to be easily controlled by slowing its drift speed and aligning long drifts across various structure types.
The advantages are many from a fishing perspective. Casting downwind with a spinning rod or a fly rod appreciably increases casting distance—fish feed upwind, where currents are created by the wind pushing. An angler covers more water and easily moves towards more active feeding fish over larger expanses. Wind-controlled drift also reduces the risk of spooking fish with motors, including electric motors or water push from a faster drifting or motoring boat, especially when fish are shallow. Wind drifting is the stealthiest approach that can be used in medium- to shallow-depth water. They are also used when fish are actively feeding higher in the water column over open water expanses, around submerged islands, rock canines, shoals and long shorelines.
To draw a mental image of a drogue or wind sock. Picture it as either an underwater conical or rectangular parachute that allows for a slower lateral drift as the boat travels downwind along shorelines or over other types of structures. Weed lines, wind lanes, long shore currents, sunken islands, points, shoals and inside turns are all good fish-holding water. With wind drifting, there are no noisy gas motors. Electric motors are used to alter and correct the drift angle occasionally as a boat travels via wind power. When tethered correctly, boats are easily moved without pulling the wind sock or drogue while angling.
The drogue is deployed into the face of the wind either via a quick throw or a controlled feed upwind of the drifting boat. They are tethered to movable clamps or tie-downs along the gunwale. When deployed, the boat will drift broadside to the wind. Casting and retrieving flies or spinning gear are then fished downwind over the opposite side of the boat. This allows the angler to also fish over virgin water, reducing the risk of spooking fish while covering off fresh, moving fish continuously. Fish in general move upwind to feed, as wind always causes currents. Currents collect, gather and disperse food items.
Additionally, casting downwind on a slow drift allows the angler time to achieve the proper depth with their fishing presentation. In turn, this keeps the presentation in the water at depth for more extended periods. Staying in the fish feeding zone for an extended period gives the fish more time to react to your presentation.
Most drogues and wind socks are made of a rip-stop nylon. They are very compact and usually will be fitted into a small tote bag for storage. A good drogue will measure 1800mm x 900mm deep. There are also larger versions. In contrast, wind socks are typically measured in inches across the circumference of the larger opening. The standard sizes are 24", 32", 42", or 53". Your boat dealer can help you determine the proper sizes of wind socks for your boat's length and hull style.
The wind sock and drogues are also handy safety tools Losing power on a boat when a gas or electric motor fails on high-wind days is a risky business By deploying these devices and tethering them to the bow, they will keep your nose into the wind as you dead drift towards a windward shoreline more safely at a slower speed This stabilizes the boat and reduces or even eliminates the risk of it being tossed around in the wind or, worse, being turned broadside into it Being broadside to a gale wind typically never has a good outcome Being prepared is much better. These types of sea anchors should be part of your safety kit, especially if you fish in large bodies of water like Slave Lake, Utikama, Athabasca, Malagine, or even Cold Lake Winds can come up suddenly and be fierce Let's return to using these devices for boat control while fishing, which is a more enjoyable prospect.
Times when a drogue or wind sock should be deployed are:
Lake anglers should be capable of fishing in high wind speeds The use of different sinking fly lines or diving crankbaits will dictate the optimum drift rate of the boat This means the faster the flyline sink rate or the quicker the dive on a crankbait, the slower the drift speed of your boat should be When the drift rate goes past the optimum for any line sink rate or crankbait dive rate, the first thing the angler will notice is that there is little line resistance to the retrieve Adjusting the drogue or windsock by deploying a larger or smaller one will be required to adjust the boat speed.
Experienced boat anglers are aware of these points, but anglers new to boat fishing or beginners should be well advised to try and understand these fundamentals of boat control to take advantage of fishing on wind-swept lakes.