How to equalize kayak while trolling

Ok, so for those few remaining saps that paddle an old school kayak without a rudder. If you are trolling a pro trolls with 8 oz or so of lead and a spinner or whatever off of one side of the kayak, you will constantly be paddling on one side and not having a lot of fun turning. Yes, I realize I can put the brakes on the opposite side of the yak as well.
Should I hang a small drift sock off or something of the other side?

Shift your paddle more to the draggy side of the kayak so that when you make a paddle stroke on that side, you are using a wider stroke than the unrestricted side. 

More or less you will be cutting the efficiency of the unrestricted side down a notch with a less wide of a stroke on that side, thus keeping the kayak a straighter course.

Hope that makes sense? 

you might try fashioning some sort of leeboard that you would push down while trolling.  Install it behind the seat so it is within reach.  Make sure it is wide enough to inhibit side-slipping and long enough to have a good bite.

A couple other things to try..
1.  Get a rudder installed.   Use it to compensate for the pull.
2.  Put a rod holder behind you with the rod pointing towards the stern.   You won't be able to see the rod tip for strikes, so you'll need a reel with a clicker.

A couple other things to try..
1.  Get a rudder installed.   Use it to compensate for the pull.
2.  Put a rod holder behind you with the rod pointing towards the stern.   You won't be able to see the rod tip for strikes, so you'll need a reel with a clicker.

If your opting for # 2 put a leash on it since it will be leaning towards the direction of the fish strike.

What do you do in a cross-wind?

What do you do in a cross-wind?

Go home and drink beer, duh!   

I haven’t been it the exact scenario you describe but I would suggest arranging a rod holder such that your rod is angled at 45 degrees and towards the stern so the rod tip is as close to the midline of you kayak as possible. Any correction via more paddling on the rod-side or increasing drag on the other side will just slow your speed and thus produce less action on the lure/bait. With a downrigger in my pedaling kayak, I positioned the rod as I mentioned above and cut the DR’s boom down to 3 inches. Before taking those steps, i had to hold the rudder at ~20 degrees just to track in a line and (due to the slower overall speed) either pedal above a comfortable pace or limit myself to plugs and spoons with lots of action.

What do you do in a cross-wind?

Go home and drink beer, duh!   

What's this?  You're suggesting you or I need an excuse to do that?  Not in a million.

If you have a quartering wind on the bow, you have to make paddling adjustments for that which (for me, at least) doesn't require I only paddle on the opposite side.  How is it that doesn't work when trolling?  How far off to the side is the rig?

What do you do in a cross-wind?

Go home and drink beer, duh!   

SURVEY SAID... ding ding ding #1 answer!