Anyone use drift anchors?

I just ordered one, Sam-fighting the wind with a trolling motor is south Texas is a losing proposition, so I thought I'd try something different.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Save your cash and use a 5 gallon bucket.  Works great for small boats.

There are quite a few disadvantages to using a bucket.

1. the para drogue stays open with the slightest boat movement - the bucket falls to the bottom and many pickup mud or weeds

2. the bucket will twist the rope as it spins; the drogue has a weighted side and floatation side to prevent spin

3. the bucket is far more difficult to pull in, filled with water, whereas the drogue colllapses in second by pulling the trip line

4. the drift is in inches per minute vs the faster speed of the bucket

5. the 3' diameter drogue takes little space to store once folded, unlike the 5 gal. bucket

6. the drogues come in different sizes to match the boat size and force it exerts when taken by wind and waves

yea, but if you fill the bucket w/ 6 inches of water, it's now a crapper too, can you crap in the bag ?

I use the bucket primarily in salt water where the boat is bigger and the water much deeper.  Just pointing out a money saver but great points.

I have one and really like it.  Not only will it help to slow your travel but you can position the boat how you want it.  

Low_Budget_Hookers and all this time I thought that was what my livewell was for. lol

I've only used my drift anchor a couple times but it worked incredibly good when I did. My last time was up in Green Bay Wisc. on the big lake. We were Carolina rigging humps for smallies and moving so fast we couldn't feel the baits at all. I don't think they ever made it to the bottom. We threw out the drift anchor and it slowed us down to a crawl, enabling us to feel our baits and catch enough fish to wind up 1 and 2 in the tourney!!! ;D ;D

now that's a success story!

Yes, do get a drift sock and maybe two! They are absolutely the only way to slow down a boat in big waves like those found in the Great Lakes.  Trolling motors can become nearly useless up there.