Tips on anchoring?

[ZipperWurm]

Hey all. I've only had my boat for a few months now, it's a 19ft champion bass boat. I ran into a problem the other day when i was at castaic trying to anchor it to fish with bait. I really dont have much experience with anchoring since i pretty much use my trolling motor for everything. i tried to anchor at depths between 30 - 50 ft and just could not get the anchor to hold no matter what i did.

Now this might sound really dumb, but i kinda figured that since i had 50ft of rope i could anchor to almost 50 ft down, but apparently that's not the case at all I started researching it and apparently you need 3x or more rope than the depth you're trying to anchor up in? Does anyone have any tips or advice for me on how much anchor rope i should have on me to fish sardines @ castaic or the mid? should i also invest in a second anchor at some point?

Sorry if these seem like real rookie questions, lol

[P.A.W.]

How much chain do you have on the bottom? A minimum of 10-15 feet will be needed to do what you want.

[ZipperWurm]

How much chain do you have on the bottom? A minimum of 10-15 feet will be needed to do what you want.

i dont think that much, maybe 6-7ft

[fishinone]

I have 2 rolls of 1/4" 600ft rope. I buy it at Harbor Freight. I buy Chain from there too. I used to use 5/16 x 20ft Truckers chain cut in half but I'd probably get that 1/4" x 35ft in the bucket and cut it in half now. It's new and buckets are always handy.

For the best results use anchors designed for the next bigger size of boat than yours. The people who designed the anchors had no idea that we would try to anchor in 160ft deep water in a gail force wind that's whipping around in all directions.

We use cord reels for extension cord to keep the rope organized. All 600ft of the rope will fit (just barely) on a 150ft cord reel. I like the Home Depot ones better than Harbor Freight's.

[exfactor]

and a stern anchor helps even more. also, a marker buoy is a great tool for marking where you want to anchor first. that way, if you miss due to currents running differently then you thought, you can adjust according to the conditions. The chain is what keeps your anchor down digging into the bottom, make sure you have enough weight in chain to do the job

[flyhigh123]

Here is a tip for anchoring i posted up before:

http://www.boat-ed.com/images/animations/anchoring.html


Also what size is your anchor and what type? I used to use a danforth and switched to a bruce. The bruce is heavier but almost never loses grip. get maybe 15 feet of heavy chain as well! Lots of rope/scope. at least 1.5 distance of depth. If you anchor in 50 feet, plan to put out at least 75 feet of rope if not 100. If its a really windy day, then aim for 150 feet of rope.

[guide]

if you want to anchor In 50ft of water you should have 150' of anchor rope plus 10' of chain if its not a box anchor on the front and back.

[MarkyMark]

Here is a tip for anchoring i posted up before:

http://www.boat-ed.com/images/animations/anchoring.html


Also what size is your anchor and what type? I used to use a danforth and switched to a bruce. The bruce is heavier but almost never loses grip. get maybe 15 feet of heavy chain as well! Lots of rope/scope. at least 1.5 distance of depth. If you anchor in 50 feet, plan to put out at least 75 feet of rope if not 100. If its a really windy day, then aim for 150 feet of rope.

A very good video! I used it to learn how to anchor in the Pyramid breeze/wind/gale force winds. I always anchor the front with a fluke type anchor & the rear with a mushroom type. I tried anchoring with 2 flukes once & got stuck big time (had to cut one loose). I also have used fishinone's Harbor Freight rope & chain, sometimes you can get the rope on sale for $12. It can do the job although I don't like it due to the roughness of the rope. If you do buy some also buy a pair of lineman or mechanic's gloves...

MM

[fishinone]

We carry leather gloves for handling the small rope.

[exfactor]

5/8 or bigger rope is easiest on your hands. also, you can rig a break away on your anchor if it becomes stuck, and still not lose your anchor. simply install another eyelet in the rear of your anchor, connect your chain there, then connect to the front leaving around 6 inches of slack chain, then use zip ties at top. if you pull hard enough, the zip tie will break, and then the anchor will be pulled backwards removing it from the obstruction