I have used one quite a bit on Lake Erie. It really helps slow your drift for a slow/gentle Walleye bite. If your boat has a large profile, move up one size larger than the suggested size.

I have never used one to slow drift in current. Since the sock is drifting in the same current as the boat, I don't see how that would help much. If wind drift is the problem, they help a lot.

While the bucket idea seems like it would work, the fact that a sock will fold up to a small size and weighs very little makes it more attractive to me.