How do you set the rope length on your anchor

[Cartman]

This may seem like a stupid question, but I don't know the answer. We have a simple kayak bruce-style anchor and 50' of rope, but 50' is way too much rope for any of the lakes we fish. What's the easiest way to quickly adjust the rope length to suit the depth of water you are fishing?

Thanks in advance.

[kg562]

I guess you should just drop it until you feel it hit the bottom and tie it?! :LOL: not exactly sure cause i don't own a kayak or ever used a anchor but its something i would do.

[marinate]

CARTMAN,

I found a solution that works really well for my kayak . They are called Nite Ize carabiners and you can find them at Lowes, REI, or Sport Authority. I have a 50ft rope myself and just wrap it around the carabiner once my anchor hits bottom. You don't have to do any untying...you just unwrap it. I just clip them to D-rings at the stearn and bow of my yak. Works great!

I have two anchors. I leave the remaining rope wound up around one of those cheap plastic electrical cord carriers you can get at Lowes.

[Cartman]

CARTMAN,

I found a solution that works really well for my kayak . They are called Nite Ize carabiners and you can find them at Lowes, REI, or Sport Authority. I have a 50ft rope myself and just wrap it around the carabiner once my anchor hits bottom. You don't have to do any untying...you just unwrap it. I just clip them to D-rings at the stearn and bow of my yak. Works great!

I have two anchors. I leave the remaining rope wound up around one of those cheap plastic electrical cord carriers you can get at Lowes.

Nite Ize! Great idea. :Dancing Banana: I even have some. I use them to tie my tent down when we camp in the desert and the wind get's high. Gotta figure out about the electrical cord carriers and I'm ready to go. What a great idea, and it was right under my nose the whole time! Thank you, marinate!

[marinate]

Glad I could help. The remaining rope just stays wrapped around the cord carrier in my yak. You have to sort of match the diameter of the rope with the size of the Nite Ize for best results.

Have fun kayaking/fishing!

[Viejo]

There is a simple formula for anchoring any boat. If the water is 10' deep and you want a 5:1 ratio on your anchor rode...You'll let out 50 feet of line. If you don't, when the wind blows or a swell comes by...you anchor is lifted right out of the bottom and you drift. The goal is to have the line laying out at an angle rather then straight up and down. On regular boats....10 to 15 feet of chain keeps the line on the boat and not pulling out. Guess what I am saying is that you ever anchor in 20 feet of water....50 feet might not be enough.

[Cartman]

There is a simple formula for anchoring any boat. If the water is 10' deep and you want a 5:1 ratio on your anchor rode...You'll let out 50 feet of line. If you don't, when the wind blows or a swell comes by...you anchor is lifted right out of the bottom and you drift. The goal is to have the line laying out at an angle rather then straight up and down. On regular boats....10 to 15 feet of chain keeps the line on the boat and not pulling out. Guess what I am saying is that you ever anchor in 20 feet of water....50 feet might not be enough.

Whoa, thanks, Viejo. I'm trying to anchor an inflatable kayak or even my float tube so I can fish without being blown all over the place. We have an aluminum bruce-style anchor, and I thought the 50' of rope they sold us with the anchor was a ridiculous length, but maybe not. Very interesting stuff to keep in mind. I had no idea. Thanks again.

[Viejo]

No worries. We had a 28' Sailboat for 25 years and learned to anchor at all the offshore CA islands. If you didn't get it right...you drug the anchor and could end up on shore. We actually had 60' of chain attached to the road to keep the anchor on the bottom. Your Bruce is a good holding anchor. Here is a Youtube video on anchoring http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ezuREW9Q2Y

[midgettosser1]

I typed this up before reading exactly what you were looking for.... but here it is anyways... might be some good ideas in there for you. This was for a regular yak, but adaptations could be made for an inflatable I would imagine.

Either way, I'd suggest ditching the anchor line you have and picking up the small Trident dive reel from sport chalet if its in your budget ($40). It comes with 140 feet of 176lb line. So unless you have some huge anchor you are using for your inflatable, it should work perfectly. It has a ratchet system to prevent extra line from coming out, and a handle to reel in any slack line you don't need. Plus the reel itself has a clip that you can clip wherever you want (bow, stern, etc...), so you position your yak better. That and 3 feet of chain should help your anchor lie down.
Just a thought.

Anyways, on to the original write up. Might be useful to someone out there.
.......................
Here's what I set up Friday night. Took it out and tested it Saturday. Worked great.
http://dizzybigfish.co.uk/anchoring-in-the-kayak-ultimate-guide/


Really easy to set up. Plus it gives you the option of a quick-release in case of emergency or fighting big fish.

For the anchor/line I bought a 3lb grapnel anchor ($14) and a ratcheting Trident dive reel from sport chalet, 3 ft of chain, and used an old life vest in place of the buoy.

For the trolley system I bought some para chord from home depot for around $3, and a stainless steel o-ring for around $2. The trolley system runs through two nylon strap eyes, one midship, and one as far back as I could get it on the stern.
The trolley system is great cuz you can point your bow in the direction the current is moving (or whatever direction you want). Makes it easier to fish with the current, as well as prevents you from getting broadsided by large swells.

For the quick release system, I had some extra bungee scraps laying around, used some leftover parachord from the trolley, and a plastic line spool (as seen in the link)
I used the nite ize to tie off the quick release.


Pretty much the same setup as in that link. But a few less pieces of hardware.

Most info I have seen says to have enough anchor line for 3 times the depth you are achoring in. 140 feet was more than plenty for 50 feet I achored in, especially with no current. But I think I'm gonna step it up to the medium or large size spool so that I feel more comfortable anchoring in 80ft.


To save money, you can skip the dive reel and opt for a bigger plastic line spool. But the reel makes things so much easier.

[Cartman]

I love the idea and the description, Midgettosser1. If I had a regular kayak or a boat I would definitely be looking into this. I don't see how I could get this to work on an inflatable kayak, however. I think anyone who has a kayak, boat, or float tube tricked out with all that PVC, should be reading this, though.

Thanks for the great post.

[vortec_cruiser]

Jon, you'll know you have too much rope when you feet start getting tangled in it. :Fishing Hole:

[Cartman]

Jon, you'll know you have too much rope when you feet start getting tangled in it. :Fishing Hole:

Oh, that's realllllllly helpful alright.

[DockRat]

Maybe a wind up (round) extension cord holder ?


On regular boats....10 to 15 feet of chain keeps the line on the boat and not pulling out. Guess what I am saying is that you ever anchor in 20 feet of water....50 feet might not be enough.

In the salt 1 1/2 boat length of chain is good. I have 30' of chain on my 18' Cuddy Cabin with 150 hp.

My nephew put 10' of chain on his 17' Boston Whaler.
Camping at Catalina his boat ended up on the beach. Lol.
DR