River anchors...

[heyitskirby]

I have a Nitro bass boat...the smaller one...approximately 1200 - 1300 pounds. 

During the spring one of my favorite things to do is fish the shad spawning runs on the James River and I'm having a hard time holding the bottom with my anchor(a belled river anchor).  Does anyone have any suggestions on anchor weights, assuming this is my problem?

[stratos 375]

different bottom compositions, different anchors.

Mud, clay, silt or sediment, get a Danforth with flukes that'll bury. Rock bottom, maybe a tri-fluted river anchor.

Me thinks 12-15 lbs should be plenty, anchor line maybe 8

times your depth if possible. Use a short piece of PVC coated chain ( 4' or so) to keep your anchor pull as horizontal as possible. If you get enough line out & get your anchor pull horizontal, it's amazing how much boat it'll hold.

Your bell (mushroom?) anchor may be wantin to stay vertical & bottom hop.

[Catt]

My Stratos weighs about the same and I use a 20# Tri-fluted river anchor with 30' of rope to anchor in 20-25' of water.

[heyitskirby]

I don't know what I was thinking last night, but I actually use a tri-fluted one.  Thanks for the advice.

[Crestliner2008]

Get yourself a slip-ring, fluke anchor, with a 3' - 4' length of chain. The chain will aid in setting the flukes in softer bottoms and the slip ring will get you out of trouble should you hang up.

[Fishing Rhino]

Scope is critical when it comes to anchoring under various conditions. Too little scope lifts an anchor causing it to drag. There is no such thing as too much, other than using more line than is really necessary. Currents, wind, waves and tides determine the appropriate scope.

http://www.answers.com/topic/scope-for-anchors

[Catt]

Just wondering

When y'all use 100 to 150' of rope to anchor in 20-25' of water please explain how do y'all anchor precisely over structure that if you're off by a foot or two you don't get bit?

How do y'all stop the boat from constantly drifting in a circle when the winds are light and variable?

When y'all use 100 to 150' of rope how do y'all plan on getting the rope back through thousands of stumps or 100 to 150' of vegetation?

[Fishing Rhino]

Just wondering

When y'all use 100 to 150' of rope to anchor in 20-25' of water please explain how do y'all anchor precisely over structure that if you're off by a foot or two you don't get bit?

How do y'all stop the boat from constantly drifting in a circle when the winds are light and variable?

When y'all use 100 to 150' of rope how do y'all plan on getting the rope back through thousands of stumps or 100 to 150' of vegetation?

Never anchored in water only a few feet deep that the boat doesn't swing by only a foot or two.

But, since you asked, it can be done.  When I was tonging or raking quahogs and sea clams from a skiff, we used two anchors, and "triangulated" them.  By taking in or letting out a foot or two on either or both lines, we would hold ourselves precisely over the bottom we wanted to work.

I'll anticipate the next question.  How did we stop the boat from swinging on the two lines?

One anchor was tied at the bow, the other at the stern.

Worked like a charm.

In a current, or wind, set the bow anchor.  Then, using reverse, move the stern to the port or starboard beyond the patch of bottom you want to fish.

Then, let the wind or current swing you back over that bottom, and tie the anchor to the stern.

You'll sit in that spot until the wind, current, or tide changes.

[Crestliner2008]

I do a lot of anchoring, as I fish mostly off-shore, deep structures for smallmouth bass. I drop shot a lot, as well as use various other techniques to fish passing schools of bait. Some of these depths go down to 45', but the norm is more like 25' - 35' of water, depending on the seasonal patterns.

Why would you let out 100' of line under any circumstances? Never happens with me. I drop my anchor and when it hits bottom, I let out enough line to ensure the chain is on the bottom - period. That's maybe another 10' of line once the anchor touches down. I've never had a problem holding under such circumstances. And I've been doing this for a very long time.

Now your stern is going to swing slowly, with the wind. That's normal when anchoring. I have a TM mounted on my stern, so I can use that to compensate, as we fish along. If the wind gets so bad that you're being blown back and forth rapidly, then don't anchor! Use other techniques to fish the structure. A wind sock, combined with your TM, drifting the area, is usually productive under these conditions.

[stratos 375]

Hey Catt, in my case, I rarely venture out into deep water, and if I do, trying to fish a pinpoint location is nothing but a lesson in frustration for me. If for some reason I really want to do it, I'll anchor my boat from both ends paralell to the break, it's still somewhat of a Chinese fire drill, and you still get boat movement, but I can  manage to fish the break.

When I do anchor on windy days, it's on a flat or a pocket, I use the long scope and the swinging arc to my advantage. I pick the tr. mtr. up and just let the wind do the work while I fan cast a trap. SB or a JB. No tr. mtr noise and I actually get to stand on 2 feet for once.

I was wonderin myself, how you get away with anchoring in any kind of a wind with a scope of a little over 1 to 1? But then you mentioned stumps and vegetation, a definate aid to anchoring.

I'm not sure how other guys do it, I hurts my eyes to watch them. Most of the nimrods on my local lake begin their anchoring process with deploying the anchor by way of either the Olympic shotput method, or pendulum assisted "Bavarian hammer toss". If it didn't spook all the fish  on that side of the lake , it would actually be funny. All you gotta do is lower it over the side without a ripple

[Fishing Rhino]

OK, here's the original post.

I have a Nitro bass boat...the smaller one...approximately 1200 - 1300 pounds. 

During the spring one of my favorite things to do is fish the shad spawning runs on the James River and I'm having a hard time holding the bottom with my anchor(a belled river anchor).  Does anyone have any suggestions on anchor weights, assuming this is my problem?

He is having problems with the anchor holding, not holding a precise position over a tiny patch of bottom.

The anchor needs to hold against the current and perhaps the wind.  It's one of two problems, the anchor isn't up to the job, or there is not enough scope.

That is why I posted the article about anchoring.  I've done this type of fishing for stripers in various rivers from Cape Cod to Westport, MA, and as long as the boat is along their "route", you're in position to catch the migrating fish.

I did not understand the original poster to mean he wanted to anchor precisely over a hump or particular piece of structure.

He simply did not want the anchor to drag along the bottom.

[Catt]

stratos 375 "anchor line maybe 8 times your depth if possible"

So if I'm wanting to anchor in 25' of water then that's 200' of rope!

In all fairness to stratos 375 he aint the only one to suggest using this much or simalar amounts of rope.

95% of my fishing is done anchored in 15-25' of water with only a 20 pound Tri-fluted river anchor with 30' of rope attached to the bow eye of my boat. The only time I experence problems with the anchor not holding is when I use an anchor under 20 lbs or in 25' of water with winds above 15 mph.

The total drop of the St. Johns from its source in swamps south of Melbourne to its mouth in the Atlantic near Jacksonville is less than 30 feet, or about one inch per mile, meaning the current is not that great. You can correct me if I'm wrong but I don't the bottom composition is that hard leaving me to assume anchor weight is the problem.

[Under the Radar]

The total drop of the St. Johns from its source in swamps south of Melbourne to its mouth in the Atlantic near Jacksonville is less than 30 feet, or about one inch per mile, meaning the current is not that great. You can correct me if I'm wrong but I don't the bottom composition is that hard leaving me to assume anchor weight is the problem.

Catt, he said he was on the James River. Last I checked, it was in VA. The current & Bottom Comp are different I'm sure.

Nick

[Catt]

The total drop of the St. Johns from its source in swamps south of Melbourne to its mouth in the Atlantic near Jacksonville is less than 30 feet, or about one inch per mile, meaning the current is not that great. You can correct me if I'm wrong but I don't the bottom composition is that hard leaving me to assume anchor weight is the problem.

Catt, he said he was on the James River. Last I checked, it was in VA. The current & Bottom Comp are different I'm sure.

Nick

Sorry about that I got Florida on the brain for some reason, guess I need to make a trip

[stratos 375]

Catt, it's Ok that you didn't realize where the James is at, least your math skills are up to par

Honestly I've never anchored in water 25' deep in my life, nor would I want to. When you present it the way you do, it does sound rather silly. 200' is a lot of line.

I do however fish the Shad & Striper runs in the Susquehanna. Where we fish is only 5' to 6' deep at the most, I carry 50' of anchor line & use every bit of it, the Susky is shallow & really rips, as does a lot of the tidewater up here.

I just extended the math and it seemed logical, it really does depend on the conditions at hand and the bottom composition.

Thank you for the "in all fairness to 375" statement, it's just the internet, but it means a lot. It seems easy to get bashed on this forum. Some people would have just made a derogatory comment and left it at that

note for reference, the bottom on the St. Johns ain't all sand, there's plenty of shellbeds/ancient limerock formations.

[Dogface]

The guys up here who fish the non-tidal portion of the Delaware use an anchor that looks like a grappling hook. It works well in high, fast water.

[RoLo]

95% of my fishing is done anchored in 15-25' of water with only a 20 pound Tri-fluted river anchor with 30' of rope attached to the bow eye of my boat. The only time I experence problems with the anchor not holding is when I use an anchor under 20 lbs or in 25' of water with winds above 15 mph.

I agree.

I'd sooner risk having to anchor-up twice, than having to wield 200 foot of anchor rode.

I normally drop the hook well updrift of my final target. If I'm dragging anchor I'll simply pay rode

until the anchor is holding bottom or until I'm on my numbers.

Roger

[scrutch]

a good way to swamp (and possibly sink) your boat in any kind of bigger waves or heavy current is to anchor off the stern.  ALWAYS anchor off the bow if you can.