Keeping back of boat from swaying?

I often just use two anchors (front and back) to keep the back of my boat from swaying back and forth when I’m in that kind of water. The back anchor line can cause some issues when I take out inexperienced anglers and is just kind of a pain in general. How many of you use a drift sock and would an 18 inch sock be enough (18 foot Lund Alaskan)? Best method for keeping the sway issue at bay?

Pretty quite on the cat boards this summer. Low water blues keeping people from catting?

I don’t know if it’s the “best” way but definitely improves the risk of getting caught in that 2nd anchor line & losing a big one.

I fish from a heavy 18.5 ft fiberglass rig & my 24” keeps me nicely positioned. Easy to pull up when the big one’s hooked up too.

I’ve done both… in some situations there is not a fix to get away from using 2 anchors. I have also had good success using either a drift sock or a trolling bag. I don’t think you necessarily need a large bag to help hold you but it seems like if you let a little extra line out it tends to hold more steady.

A month ago I was fishing on the main channel on pool 4 and the flow was so low that even with a drift sock out I was getting blown back upstream with a light breeze. Only using 2 anchors kept me in 1 spot.

If you are in current, put the anchors out at the same time front and back let out the same amount of line. You will sway some, back and forth but the anchors will be upstream, works better with a flat bottom jon, thats how I anchor catfishing a lot of the time. DK.

Yes i run drift sock or socks to keep the boat from swaying.
When your in big waves (South wind) attach your drift sock to your boat with a bungee – that keeps the bag from deflating from swells.

I keep two sizes in the boat and sometimes run both. They’re probably 18″ and 22″.

tight_lines wrote:

A month ago I was fishing on the main channel on pool 4 and the flow was so low that even with a drift sock out I was getting blown back upstream with a light breeze.

Ain’t that the truth!

I haven’t dropped two anchors in over 5 years I’d bet. I tend to not fish areas without current just for this reason as boat control is an absolute pet peeve of mine. I also don’t fish night locations which are often slow in current.

There’s a time and place for spotlock and lighter weights also. I call them ‘blow back’ weights where the amount of weight used is light enough that the light current will continually ‘blow the weight back’ to a tight line while swaying.

I’ll also go vertical in zero current conditions and use a spot. Catfish can also suspend and do especially with lower current, so dead sticking or even bobber fishing your set rigs can be advantageous.

Cat bite sucked this year with lack of current so i did not spend much time at all at it.