As avid white perch anglers, John Godwin and Jay Stone consider Lake Grenada in Mississippi as one of their top fishing destinations.
It was there that they learned how dragging a chain out the back of their boat could help them catch more fish.
“We’ve got a friend up there — Jason Golden — who has a store and guides on the lake,” Godwin said. “He showed us how dragging a chain behind the boat can be a lot easier than putting out a drift sock.”
The concept is similar, but Godwin and Stone have found that dragging a chain works better in Louisiana lakes because it doesn’t get hung on the stumps a much as a wind sock does.
“It’s just an 8-foot length of logging chain that we cut down to 6 feet,” Stone explained. “If the wind isn’t too bad, we drag the 6-foot section. We add the 2-foot length to the 6-foot section with a connector if the shorter piece doesn’t hold.”
They tie the piece of chain to a bungee cord, which they then tie to a rope. When deployed out the back of their boat, the chain allows them to drift fish slowly with the wind.
“It’s really good for aluminum boats because you don’t get that slap under your boat like you would if you go into the wind,” Godwin pointed out. “That keeps from spooking fish on a shallow flat and allows you to make a more-natural presentation.”
The addition of the bungee cord gives the chain some give and helps the chain pull over underwater obstructions.
It also gives Godwin and Stone an advantage when they spot a brush top on their depth finder.
“When you spot a brush top on your front depth finder, you’re sitting right over it,” Godwin noted. “With that bungee between the chain and rope, you can just stop the trolling motor as soon as you see the top, and that bungee will ease you back off of it so you can fish it without spooking the fish.”
The ideal condition for dragging a chain is when the wind is directly at your back at the area you want to fish. However, Stone added that it is also good for helping them control the back of their boat when fishing deeper during a side wind.