Innovative Ideas Mans Club

[yellow door 1]

Here's a couple of versions of what some Tassie Trout guys use - shade cloth/tarp, pool noodle and some chain to weigh it down on the bottom edge.

and heres a description of how they work

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Postby Neil Grose » Thu Nov 05, 2009 12:33 pm
Drogues can be a curse and a godsend - depending upon how they are made and how you set them up.
I started making them out of heavy duty shadecloth about 6 or 7 years ago as I couldn't get a decent drift from any of the drogues being sold.
The idea behind the shadecloth is that it allows an even flow of water through the drogue which eliminates the tendency of solid material drogues to twist in strong winds (which is when you really need them).
I can give you the dimensions of the drogues I had made and you can get any good canvas dude or saddler to knock one up pretty easy. The guy at Longford did mine and they are still going strong (Bassano hasn't even managed to kill one yet :shock: :lol: )
Basically they consist of a pool noodle along the top and 8mm chain along the bottom - 8 foot wide by 4 foot deep.
The real trick with drogues is being able to lengthen and shorten each rope to either drift straight or in a curve (as Redbream suggested).
I simply set up two cam-cleats on the gunwale which allows easy adjustment to suit either the wind conditions or the wind catching ability of the anglers in the boat.
The bow and stern ropes from the drogue must be as far to the bow and stern as possible to give you a swing free drift and as much control as possible.
This set up also allows you to lengthen the drogue back from the boat (or bring it closer) according to the wind strength - ie further away in strong winds, closer in lighter winds.
My advice for getting it right is to get one made which suits your boat and spend the extra bucks to set it up right, that way it becomes a seamless part of your fishing day rather than a bloody nuisance.
Good luck
Neil."