How Big Of An Anchor For My Kayak?

[BassAssassin726]

Looking to buy an anchor for my kayak but not sure what style and how heavy  should go with. My yak weighs like 50lbs and im about 200lbs. 

[THE_Vue's]

i use this 1.5 weight  The only bad thing is that, around mill foils get ready to start picking.  

[Jim Mac]

I use a 5 lb. barbell plate from Walmart. Cheap and works great.

[ThatZX14Fella]

Use a brick attached to a rope. Simple as that.

[einscodek]

hook style anchor

3 lb anchor is enough but its kinda heavy to be carrying around

1.5 lb is better but it may be borderline ineffective in current

[BassAssassin726]

I don't fish any current. Mostly small quarry lakes. Just need something to keep me from drifting really.

[einscodek]

then I'd say 1.5lb anchor is good enough

I'd suggest 2 .. one for starboard .. one for aft .. so you dont drift-rotate when you are casting

[A-Jay]

A section of some what Heavy Chain & rope makes a great small boat anchor.

 

And if you cover the chain with shrink tubing it keeps it quiet and clean.

 

Good Luck ~ here's a link

 

A-Jay

 

http://funcfish.com/2013/05/building-a-kayak-drag-chain-anchor/

[DogBone_384]

I bought the red, 3 pound anchor kit from BPS. It works very well, but has only a 20', or so rope, which I might upgrade.

If you don't already have one, install an anchor trolley on your kayak. It points you in the right direction.

Good luck.

[THE_Vue's]

in current don't even worry about anchoring off,  unless you have a quick release.  I never anchor off on my kayak in current even with my anchor trolley system.  In current if I know there's bass i simply kayak to the bank and have a filet plier and clamp on to something near the shore.  Or even at times use my stake out pole 8 footer. Honestly 1.5 is all you need for bass fishing off a kayak.  And if there is little current in that area the 1.5 will hook onto something and you wont move at all.  but in a quarry there's lots or rocks and boulders and will tend to get hung up and stuck. So the hook one I showed you there a special way of tying it so you can retrieve it.  Here's a trick with the folder anchor 

[kjfishman]

Looking to buy an anchor for my kayak but not sure what style and how heavy  should go with. My yak weighs like 50lbs and im about 200lbs. 

 

I have 1.5lb folding anchor, it is on the light side 3 lbs maybe better as my yak weighs 70 plus pounds and a friend sewed a drift sock for me. 

[5 Dollar Fishing Game]

Had an old hammer. The head broke off. Tied a rope to it. Perfect and $0.

[Bluebasser86]

I know some guys buy a basketball net and put a few rocks in it and tie their rope to that. Cheap, easy, and you can adjust the weight accordingly. 

[Phillip K]

Has anybody had experience with a Mantus anchor before?

[Huntrava]

Definitely wouldn't overthink an anchor for a kayak.  I welded myself one with some spare angle-iron laying around the garage.  It is just a weight on a rope. 

[kikstand454]

What you want is a 2lb bruce anchor. Probably the best aanchor design for a kayak.

What you will end up using is a stakeout pole and an anchor trolley.

I fish backwater bays where the tide current is no joke. I had a folding 3lb anchor- it worked great. The two times I used it before I got a stakeout pole. Then it sat in my crate and rusted together and I threw it away.

Another thing to have is a "tree anchor" which what the_vues was describing- where you get a clamp ( I like the plastic wood clamps you can do with one hand. ...) and tie a rope to it. Then you can just clamp it to any vegitation near you and attach it to your anchor trolley. Done.

Between the two of them- I can't see a need for a real anchor- unless you're in a big fast flowing river. But that's not any fun to fish in a kayak anyway. *shrug*

Jmho ymmv

[J Francho]

I use a stakeout pole - right through a scupper hole.  In a pinch, I've simply used 1/2 of my 2- piece paddle, though I don't recommend this if it's a nice carbon fiber model, lol.

[primetime]

chum pot with some rocks in it works great,weighs about 2lbs, or a minnow crawfish trap with a few large lead weights in it not only anchors your kayak, but chums up the bait which helps you match the hatch, and sometimes I just want to relax and throw live bait and see how much easier it really is...tuna fish, cat food, oatmeal, dog food etc....put a dead fish in trap and seeing how big and color of craws is key, but it is easier to just lift up rocks at the ramp to find crawdads, but seeing the forrage always helps with lure and color while pulling double duty...Plus it adds fun, I have caught eels, baby catfish, exoctics, but a live eel or catfish is a deadly bait, in fact I wish I could buy them in Florida like you can in NY for Stripers....A 12" eel under a cork is a double digit bass for sure, I now see why Doug Hannon created the Snake Lure and had his theory of long thin profile baits for catching larger fish....

 

I have seen other people in kayaks get tipped by anchoring in an area with too much current or where boats pass without slowing down as many boaters (especially in salt water) act like you are not visable....Having an anchor that does not drag at all can be an issue if a wave comes rolling your way when you are not ready....Drift socks work well, as do all the other methods mentioned, I just wish Alligators did not exist, especially when flipping shorelines and going deep into swamps/reeds.....

[Fishing Rhino]

Cast iron window weights, if you can find them.  They come in various weights.  Try a place that buys and sells scrap metal. 

 

The downside is that they will drag easily.  The upside is they are fairly weedless.

 

[Felix77]

I carry 2 ... a 1.5 and 3 lber.  Depends on how windy it is and the depth I am fishing.  The line for my 3lb is longer.  If I had to choose 1 it would be the 1.5 lb.

[SHaugh]

A plastic coffee can filled with concrete works great. The kind with the handle molded in. The plastic outer shell makes it scratch less and cleans up nice.

[Darren.]

As you can see, there are SO many options for a kayak anchor.

 

I have tried many options, and will use either a 3 lb dumbbell on a 26' retractable dog leash, or (more commonly), a 24" section of heavy anchor folded in half, to another dog leash. I used an old inner tube to cover it, would rather shrink wrap. Neither one of these will hang up much at all, unlike hook anchors. The Bruce is a good option as well, though I've not used one.

 

But what I use most of the time (in fact, I hardly take those anchors with me any more) is my 7' Anchor pole. If you were looking for one of these, you can make your own out of a retractible golf ball retriever. Google that and you'll find a guy who does it. You can buy them up to like 15' long if you want.

[J Francho]

I'm even more lo-fi, I use half my paddle, lol.