Kayaks and anchors

[Boomstick]

So I'm about to purchase kayaks for myself and the kids, I have most of my initial setup figured out and a few smaller details left. I'll post a "rate my setup" sort of post once everything is finalized.

 

Does everyone use one or two anchors with their kayaks? I have seen some people run them out only the front or back -- how does that work out? It would certainly be nice to get a single anchor wizard if I could.

Also what types of anchors should I get. I currently have a couple of claw anchors which have served me well so far.

[kjfishman]

I mostly anchor in shallow water using the anchor trolley with a home made stake out pole made from an 8 foot tomato stake with PVC 3/4" T fitting.

[flyfisher]

For moving water you will need to anchor directly off the center of the bow of the boat or things can get squirrels pretty quickly.  I don't recommend those new to the kayak world to anchor in current until they get comfortable in their boat.

As far as in non moving water my anchor set up is an anchor trolley, 8' stake out pole and a chain anchor for when the stake out pole doesn't reach. Anchor wizards are cool but I have a retractable clothesline reel that i replaced the clothesline with 5mm cord.  Works like a charm and if it breaks or rusts out after a few years i can get another one since they are pretty cheap.   

The trolley is an absolute necessity for maintaining good boat position.  I am actually thinking about rigging up a second anchor so i can really lock in my spot no matter the wind direction.

[Boomstick]

7 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

For moving water you will need to anchor directly off the center of the bow of the boat or things can get squirrels pretty quickly.  I don't recommend those new to the kayak world to anchor in current until they get comfortable in their boat.

As far as in non moving water my anchor set up is an anchor trolley, 8' stake out pole and a chain anchor for when the stake out pole doesn't reach. Anchor wizards are cool but I have a retractable clothesline reel that i replaced the clothesline with 5mm cord.  Works like a charm and if it breaks or rusts out after a few years i can get another one since they are pretty cheap.   

The trolley is an absolute necessity for maintaining good boat position.  I am actually thinking about rigging up a second anchor so i can really lock in my spot no matter the wind direction.

I should have mentioned that I largely focus on fishing lakes. I do have a river near my house with a launch maybe a quarter mile away and they have some mondo brown trout there too, so that may be a target as well, but I do primarily target bass.

 

I was hoping I would not have to rig up an anchor trolley.

[flyfisher]

13 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

I should have mentioned that I largely focus on fishing lakes. I do have a river near my house with a launch maybe a quarter mile away and they have some mondo brown trout there too, so that may be a target as well, but I do primarily target bass.

 

I was hoping I would not have to rig up an anchor trolley.

Why?  they are easy to install and if you are going to anchor and actually care which way you face, they are the way to go.  Wherever you set up the anchor tie in point the kayak will face into the wind based off that point.  That is where the trolley comes in to play.  Allows you to face pretty much whichever direction you'd like.  

[Boomstick]

12 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

Why?  they are easy to install and if you are going to anchor and actually care which way you face, they are the way to go.  Wherever you set up the anchor tie in point the kayak will face into the wind based off that point.  That is where the trolley comes in to play.  Allows you to face pretty much whichever direction you'd like.  

Probably not a great reason but I have my reservations about drilling holes so the fewer the better.

If I fish left handed, should I set up the anchor trolley on the right side typically?

 

 

[flyfisher]

There are no drill options depends on your kayak.  As far as which side it is a preference deal.  I retrieve left handed and cast with my right and i have mine on the left hand side of my kayak but i know many who have it on the right.  There are times I wish i had one on both sides though depending on the conditions.  

[Boomstick]

3 minutes ago, flyfisher said:

There are no drill options depends on your kayak.  As far as which side it is a preference deal.  I retrieve left handed and cast with my right and i have mine on the left hand side of my kayak but i know many who have it on the right.  There are times I wish i had one on both sides though depending on the conditions.  

I cast left handed and retrieve right handed. I can't reel with my left to save my life, it feels so awkward to me.

[michaelb]

You don't "need" an anchor trolley, and so it would be fine to see how things work out as you fish off your boats and particularly how your kids handle things. To me, the primary function of the anchor trolley is to move the anchor line to the back of the boat. Moving it to the front of the boat is nice, if you want to spin into the wind, but it is not required. It is hard to fish on a kayak when it is windy, and it is doubly hard to fish into the wind when it is windy (it is better to paddle to get out of the wind vs battling wind and waves usually). You can also probably rig up some form of anchor trolley without drilling, particularly if you are only doing a trolley on the back half of the kayak.

 

You want the anchor to be attached at or near the rear of the kayak. If you can't reach that point, you have to have some solution. The trolley lets you handle the anchor at your side, and then move the anchor to the back. You can have a fixed anchor line to a clip at the back of the boat, and just leave the anchor hanging there, so the anchor goes up and does at the rear and you never touch it. I don't like the anchor hanging there, but this can work. You can also  have your anchor clipped to the back of the kayak, and have a second grab line connected to the anchor line below the rear clip; to pull up the anchor you can use that 2nd line to pull the anchor line into reach and then use that to bring up the anchor. This may be a good solution for kids.

 

Almost any weight can hold a kayak. I have 3 lb diver weights and they work fine on my smaller kayaks but aren't enough to hold the bigger kayaks. I have an 8 lb mushroom anchor that is more than enough; I may buy a 5 lb mushroom because the 8 lb is a bit heavy and seems like overkill. Your claw anchors will be fine most likely; I don't like dragging up mud and weeds on the boat, so prefer an anchor that is easy to keep clean.

 

With kids on kayaks, I would absolutely put a float on the anchor line. If you don't, my guess is that at some point, maybe even day 1, someone will unclip an anchor, drop the line ,and that will sink to the bottom to join the anchor lying there on the bottom. There is also a bit of a safety issue with anchors and kids and lines all over the boat. so I would be careful about rigging this to reduce the chance someone could flip with the anchor on board and a line they could get tangled with (another reason I prefer a 3lb weight is I can easily swim with it and hold it up).

[Boomstick]

35 minutes ago, michaelb said:

You don't "need" an anchor trolley, and so it would be fine to see how things work out as you fish off your boats and particularly how your kids handle things. To me, the primary function of the anchor trolley is to move the anchor line to the back of the boat. Moving it to the front of the boat is nice, if you want to spin into the wind, but it is not required.

Thanks. I may start off without an anchor trolley and add one later. I'll figure it out in later April when the snow melts. I have to build a trailer, which shouldn't be too horrible. I also wanted to add a rudder, which will be a lot of drilling and cutting, but if I can find anyone who will do it then that's fine, I don't think I even own all the tools I would need anyway.

 

I have seen people run their anchors out the front, I guess the issue is I would be casting into the wind like you said.

 

37 minutes ago, michaelb said:

With kids on kayaks, I would absolutely put a float on the anchor line.

Both of my kids are both teenagers now, so old enough to know how to use an anchor. I'll do a similar setup for my youngest and my oldest actually wants to go with a SUP, and since they sit so close to the water a float would be beneficial for him.

40 minutes ago, michaelb said:

Almost any weight can hold a kayak. I have 3 lb diver weights and they work fine on my smaller kayaks but aren't enough to hold the bigger kayaks. I have an 8 lb mushroom anchor that is more than enough; I may buy a 5 lb mushroom because the 8 lb is a bit heavy and seems like overkill. Your claw anchors will be fine most likely; I don't like dragging up mud and weeds on the boat, so prefer an anchor that is easy to keep clean.

The reason I ask about anchors is that I will need at least one more, and it sounds like I should go buy some 5lb anchors. The ones I have are 3.5lbs. I think they would probably do well for my oldest son with a SUP though.

[CountryboyinDC]

I have 2 Yak Attack Leverloc HD anchor trolleys on my pedal kayak.  If you only have one, I'll bet 9 out of 10 times it'll be on the wrong side.  There are certainly others that are almost as good as these - I went with these because they have backing plates at the pulleys and the cam lever that keeps the line from moving.  I really l like these for stakeout poles (although a rod holder will do too), and I use them for anchors.  I don't think I'd want an anchor over 3 lbs, you really shouldn't need it for a kayak.  I use a 3 lb one, and keep the tines taped up to it.  

If you do get to the river, an anchor off the front helps you to fish the eddies facing the right direction, and a drag chain slows you down in spots you want to spend a little more time fishing.  I use both.

Remember that however you rig the anchor, you need to be able to cut free from it quickly to avoid submarining your kayak or getting pulled yourself.  Quick release strategies are great, but I think a river knife strapped to your PFD is pretty much a necessity too.

Once you get started rigging your kayak, ask away about all the setups.  I'm sure there are some great ideas posters have had on here.

[haggard]

I have limited experience but I'd say deploy anchor only in no-current situations (lakes) with mild winds. Anchor trolley can be very helpful. But if waves, wakes or current kick up it can tie the boat down to a fixed level and swamp you pretty quick.

[Hook2Jaw]

My recommendation is one Anchor Wizard, one anchor trolley, and a stake out pole.  Use the pole for water shallower than six feet deep.  For anything else, use the Anchor Wizard.  With the trolley you can swing your boat around pretty well how you please.

 

I use a 5# Grapnel Anchor rigged to breakaway with small zip ties.  It has served me well and folding it up is great for storage.  It's typically not on the Wizard, but when I need it I just pull it out of the rear tankwell, clip it on, and send it down.

[Smalls]

On 2/22/2020 at 7:39 PM, Boomstick said:

Probably not a great reason but I have my reservations about drilling holes so the fewer the better.

If I fish left handed, should I set up the anchor trolley on the right side typically?

 

 

Anchor trolley on the opposite side you land fish on. 

[Bluebasser86]

I use 1 anchor and on an anchor trolley. I've found and old window weight makes a great yak anchor.

[HookInMouth]

I've been struggling with the anchor questions too but I mainly fish shallow moving waters. Didn't anchor at all last year but I think I'm missed fish because I wasn't able to camp out on spots. I think the power pole would work best for my situation but I just can't bring myself to spend the $800-$900 on an anchor. Might look into the YakGadget manual power pole or do a stakeout with an anchor trolley. 

 

Or I might just not anchor again. It's simpler that way.  

[SLOWfish]

As a few others have posted - you can use almost anything as kayaks rally don't need a ton of weight to hold place - notably if you use and anchor trolley or manage to hook the anchor to the tip or tail.  I also fish out of a few tin row boats - I need 20 lb anchors to keep them in place at times... I use a 3lber on my kayak - it's amazing the difference.

 

If you wanna go cheap - I poured a couple anchors in concrete and added an eye hook from HD - used a 1qt deli container.  Worked just fine as I was fishing the Delaware river and figured I'd snag and lose a bunch - so wanted something I didn't mind cutting loose.  They worked perfect - held in almost all the locations I wanted to stop (including in mild current).  Don't need to go crazy with weight unless your out in wind/current.

 

Also - while I totally understand your concern with drilling holes in the kayak - if you keep the trolley mounts above the water line - you shouldn't have any issues... plus a dab of silicone on the screws and your good to go.  I will say - with an anchor down tied off the side of the boat - it can get a little hairy if you have current/wind.  In a calm lake - probably not an issue - but if wind picks up - a trolley will really help keep your boat stable.

 

J.

[DogBone_384]

I use a five pound claw anchor and have Yakattack trolleys on both sides of my kayaks.

 

Five pounds keeps me still up to about 20 mph winds.

[Hawkeye21]

I have an anchor but almost never use it.  I primarily use an 8 foot fiberglass garden stake I got off Amazon.

[NYWayfarer]

1 hour ago, Hawkeye21 said:

I have an anchor but almost never use it.  I primarily use an 8 foot fiberglass garden stake I got off Amazon.

Same here. Mine is a sectional fiberglass pole for easy storage.

[Fishingmickey]

I've found that a 8lb dumb bell works great. I've never had it get hung up and unless it is totally blowing stink it doesn't drag. If you pull up a wad of hydrilla, veggies it's very easy to clean them off before bringing it back on board.

[CountryboyinDC]

On 2/25/2020 at 12:44 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I use 1 anchor and on an anchor trolley. I've found and old window weight makes a great yak anchor.

If you can find the right size, they make a great drag "chain" too.  Where I live, they tear down houses as old as mine (45 years ), so it's hard to come by those, but they're perfect.

[Harold Scoggins]

On 2/24/2020 at 11:44 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

I've found and old window weight makes a great yak anchor.

Yes they do, and when I go up to Illinois this year I'm bringing back a few. Spray them with a rubber coating.

[Bluebasser86]

1 minute ago, Harold Scoggins said:

Yes they do, and when I go up to Illinois this year I'm bringing back a few. Spray them with a rubber coating.

I'm hoping to find another one soon. I lost mine to a weak spot in my anchor rope and some sticky pond mud. Using a 10lb dumbell now, which also makes a pretty fair kayak anchor.

[Boomstick]

On 2/25/2020 at 12:01 PM, DogBone_384 said:

I use a five pound claw anchor and have Yakattack trolleys on both sides of my kayaks.

 

Five pounds keeps me still up to about 20 mph winds.

Did you get the HD version or the regular? The install of the regular is cake, the HD looks slightly more challenging.