Turn your track function on and you will see which way the wind is pushing your boat this will help you line up your mark.  Sometimes if the wind is variable it's difficult

 hi rig, thanks for the response. I have put my track on and have positioned my boat right onto the drift line but for some reason it always goes off course. once u get to the drift line do u turn the wheel after switching off left or right?

Sometimes it can be a wierd drift line when the wind is pushing one way and the current the other.

I turn up near my spot and put the boat in neutral.   wait a min to get drift direction sorted by track just as rig says

Have gps set up with North up as opposed to track up and zoom in.

If I'm drifting from south to north , I'll come round south of the mark and then throw drift anchor or use motor.

Then you can see your first drift on gps and if it's correct or if you need to make a change for next one.

 grayzeee and rig thanks for that i will give that a  try next time im out. Tight lines guys.

As that will most definitely effect drift direction particularly on longer drifts - I always turn mine to the stop and that way ensure that it will behave the same way on the drift but I agree with the otrhers above that current can markedly alter the drift direction on any given wind but metro presently there appears to be little if any of the current we saw last year 

Awesome thread great info cheers guys, I didn't even know that my HDS5 had tracking (Trails).

I set my boat up to use the half cabin and screen as a "sail" , ie once I've found some bottom or colour I want to drift I'll set the boat up so the wind will come from the back of the boat and sail us over the spot, then once we think we have cleared the ground we wanted to fish just drive around and set it up for the next drift  allowing for any cross current etc from the sounders track.

If the drift is too quick and you're using a sea anchor it will depend on the boat where you tie it off and the conditions on the day, a bit of trial and error.

For both you must have your sounder screen split to show the bottom and your current track and "zoom in"  so it's more accurate...

cheers

Over the years I have found that I catch a heap more fish by anchoring than drifting, I know its more work but the rewards are worth it.

Drifting over a school of fish tends to break the school up with each drift while anchoring gets you right on top of it. You only have to see the pro wetliners and see how they fish to recognise how much better it is.

 If you are trying to repeat a previous drift or copy one a bit to one side try to get some consistency in how you set the boat up at the start of your drift.Try and get the boat at the angle to the wind that you usually drift at.For more accuracy zoom right in on your GPS. I also find that if you bring the boat to a complete standstill each time will help.I usually give it a bit of reverse to make sure.You will know when you have got it sorted when you look at your screen after you have worked a bit of ground and you see a heap of parallel lines.

Where do you guys tie off the drift anchor on the boat when drifting?

Cheers.

Where do you guys tie off the drift anchor on the boat when drifting?

Cheers.

 I tie mine to a rear corner joycey as I prefer to fish out of the back of my boat, if it's windy enough to need the drift anchor the canopy always catches the wind and drifts that way anyway