Mike - Dan S:

It has been my experience that fishing a float from a free drifting boat is frustrating. If the boat is anchored up or I am on the bank, I can adjust the float until I have the perfect depth then work the run carefully. When free drifting, the water depth constantly changes, and as a result, sometimes the amount of line between my float is too long, sometimes too short. Not a big problem if the depth is relatively constant, but a pain when one section is 10 feet deep and the next is 4 feet deep. I find that by the time I recast, with my new depth, the depth has changed again. I have been frustrated when trying this.

That said, it could certainly be done if the guy on the stick will hold back enough to get a decent amount of time over each run. I think one reason Nick does so well is because he is always fishing jigs, which do quite well when fished well above the bottom. And because he typically fishes relatively close to the boat and can reel in and reset rather rapidly. I suspect having Dan S. on the sticks was the biggest factor.