I bring & use a drift sock every trip. If you don't currently have a 2" hand clamp that you lock on to the gunwale- serious fishermen need one (IMHO). They weigh less than 5 oz. & can handle the rope for an anchor, drift sock, transducer & stringer ( or any combo all at once, it's like a handle for your over the side fishing stuff that you can take off at a squeeze of the hand! For $0.99 bring 2 )
I tie the sock to a 6' foot leader by, 1/2" cord. I can let it out to 6' (for most drag) or have it at the edge of the canoe, this will vary your drag considerably. Attached to the thwart area of the gunwale the stern & bow can fish from the same side safely & effectively in wind & big water. Simply bring in a few feet of line or the whole thing to up the speed your drifting.

Worth a try on a trip any how & very handy in many off boat situations!
WWYW

As a solo paddler, tieing behind me isn't always the best option.  The reach-around is sometimes a tippy situation.  However, we soloists can run the line under the stern handle and tie to something a little more accessible.

Paul Mason used to have a cam rig on his decks for towing canoes in rapids.  He could quickly secure a painter line to start towing & quickly release it if he was getting pulled into the flow.

Never used a drift sock but did use db's bag of rocks method, except it was length of chain, and I was on the Pierre Marquette river on a two day canoe float/camping trip.

I would advise anyone that uses any type of drift sock/anchor no matter how it's secured to have a sharp knife handy to cut yourself free if for whatever reason your chosen method fails at the worst possible time.

I always carry a razor sharp neck knife or easily accessible straight blade for such times.

By the way, a 3 ft hunk of chain makes a excellent way to slow down and not hang up on a river/lake. Of course I wouldn't want to portage it in the back-country.

Old Salt wrote on Oct 4^th, 2010 at 5:40pm:

 
 What are you trying to say OS  Surely you approve of always being prepared for the worst.
I know we have some Doctors in the house, maybe Wally would give me some counseling, or not  

OS,

A picture is worth a thousand words.
I assure you the "neck" refers to one of the carry options, NOT it's intended use


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