A great technique for walleye fishing

Greg Tanko back trolls with drift sock in place

Roy Windhorst with 25-inch walleye taken this week

For years Roy Windhorst, Dennis Egge, Bob Edwards and Greg Tanko have used drift socks tied to the bows of their boats to slow down their backtrolling speed for walleye fishing. To my knowledge, they are the only Bow Narrows anglers to use this clever but simple technique.
The drift sock, also known as a sea anchor, drags in the water, reducing their speed. They call it a "parachute."
 The drift sock accomplishes the same thing as an electric trolling motor, without the 60-pound lead-acid battery, 30-pound electric motor and 10-pound battery charger. It weighs virtually nothing, and takes no space in the car trunk. It is a far-more environmentally-friendly option than an electric motor. It costs a fraction as much and will probably last forever.
Our 20 hp Honda outboards troll exceptionally slowly all by themselves but the "parachute" takes them down to crawl. On windy days you can use the sock to slow down your drift too.
You can buy drift socks through outfits like Cabela's. Get the largest one available.
Incidentally, some people use electric trolling motors because they think the fish can't "hear" you. This is an example of anthropomorphizing. Unlike humans, fishes' lateral lines lets them feel movements in their environment. The turning of the electric trolling motor propeller is every bit as detectable to them as the sound of an outboard motor is to humans.
The point is that neither the propeller action nor the outboard's sound frightens them anyway. That is just something imagined by anglers.