Yak Anchoring

[Sea Gristle]

Took the plunge and got yakified. Am rigging it for fishing as we speak. Thinking about a maiden voyage for shad in the James. My question is Shad fishing seems best done anchored. Am thinking about getting a sash weight for an anchor, and attaching it to the back so I can face down stream. Thoughts, cautions, suggestions, alternatives greatly appreciated.

[BBCroaker]

All I can say is be carefull and watch out for the crazies in power boats and the wakes.Can't say if it is safe to anchor the back end of a yak .You probably know it is not in a boat Congrats on getting a yak Good luck! Bet you're [excited]

[kayakfishgirl]

Anchor thru the front or side.

Just make sure at anytime you can pull it up fast, cut it off fast! Never know what might happen in an emergency!

Be safe and get all YAKIFIED.
[grin]

Be Safe, 'Andrea

[Salient Running]

[grin] Congrats! What did you get! Make sure you can quickly release your anchor and consider putting a float on the line so that you can come about and retreive it. Use caution! Some situations can be dicey. I don't consider myself a veteran yaker but that rear end tie off thing in fast currents could spell trouble. be careful.

2 yrs ago on the Potomac up from Fletcher's I anchored my pungo at the lower part of an eddie behind a rock outcrop. I was using an anchor trolley and was canted slightly upstream. The current was to be respected that year. My anchor slipped free and the caught again. Though only free for a few seconds, the momentum and jerk of the line nearly captsized me. I managed the crash course in kayak balancing but I didn't know I had so much wiggle left in my butt.
[grin] Do a search on the topic and I'm sure there are alot of experiences to learn from.

Fish on You and your yak!

[Salient Running]

[grin] Congrats! What did you get! Make sure you can quickly release your anchor and consider putting a float on the line so that you can come about and retreive it. Use caution! Some situations can be dicey. I don't consider myself a veteran yaker but that rear end tie off thing in fast currents could spell trouble. be careful.

2 yrs ago on the Potomac up from Fletcher's I anchored my pungo at the lower part of an eddie behind a rock outcrop. I was using an anchor trolley and was canted slightly upstream. The current was to be respected that year. My anchor slipped free and the caught again. Though only free for a few seconds, the momentum and jerk of the line nearly captsized me. I managed the crash course in kayak balancing but I didn't know I had so much wiggle left in my butt.
[grin] Do a search on the topic and I'm sure there are alot of experiences to learn from.

Fish on You and your yak!

[Va_Yakfisherman]

Congrats on your yak. I can say that its ok to anchor from the bow and in slow current from the stern. But I disagree with Kayakfishgirl (Andrea) (Sorry Andrea), never, never anchor from the side. The current is unstable and changes often. The only time I anchor from the side is in a pond or where the current is almost nothing. Anchoring from the side invites capsizing. It will have a much broader section of the yak to pull on and thus shift the balance of the yak interupting the stability of the yak. Make sure you have an achor shuttle so that you can anchor fore and aft.

[kayakfishgirl]

What I mean...http://www.chesapeake-angler.com/storyapr06-anchorsystems.htm

'Andrea

[jrocket567]

I'm realtively new to kayaking also, and have spent quite a bit of time in the James for shad over the past weeks-- ive been anchoring either using the cleat on my T140, or through a carabiner positioned on one of the loop-eyes further forward- with the steady current and relatively calm water of the James, its worked fine- even with the anchor on the cleat located pretty close to amidships, i was anchored up with the stern-quarter into the current; definatly not good for big water, but its worked for me so far. If nothing else, its a quick fix that can get you on the water soon. Im thinking about going tomorrow afternoon/evening, and possibly friday- come join the fun!
JP

[carp]

I rigged an anchor trolly using a pully on the bow and stern and ran some nylon rope thru them and tied a carabiner so I can anchor both ends. I tried it at Lynnhaven and the Pamunkey this afternoon and it works great. The anchor is a 5lb. 4 prong folding and I tied the rope to the bottom hole and tie wrapped the top hole so if it gets hung the tie wrap will break giving me a better chance of getting it back.

DARREN

[George Z]

My first experience with an anchor was in late December 2004, also my first trip to the CBBT. I attached it to a pad eye at the right rear quarter behind the seat. Wind was 10 G 15 and as it increased, water started coming over the side so I tried several other locations but waves were washing over until I moved it to the bow. Sitting there with wind 15 G 20 and an incoming current ripping it was smooth as it could be. Did catch some fish and got to try the release system (550 paracord and float attached to the carabiner with a slipped buntline hitch - just grab the tag end, pull hard and you're free). Now when I anchor, it's from the stern if it's really calm, otherwise, it's from the bow. I've had a couple of tangles of the fishing line with the anchor line but that's better than getting pounded with cold water.

[Sea Gristle]

Thanks for all the info! Always wondered how y'all managed it in open water with a tide running. I plan to use it mostly for smallies on the James until I learn some good skinny saltwater spots.

Salient, it's a Typhoon by Discovery/Old Town. It's no Tarpon, no frills, but it was the most comfortable I tried for my 6' 5" frame. Now I need to do a search on attaching cleats and riveting, etc.

[Charkbait]

www.kayakfishingstuff.com

has everything you will every need to know. Search forums and articles, it's just about all there.

[Bonefish79]

I put a jam cleat on the front and rear decks of my yak, just drop the anchor line in and it holds tight but a quick pull and it's free. I anchor from both bow and stern, works fine, but you've got to be able to release the anchor quickly if need be.

[Sandtiger]

I've anchored from the side, but at the time I didn't have an anchor trolley. Now I anchor from the rear. If you anchor from the front and hook into a fish you've got a problen because you are now facing the front of the boat where the anchor line is. If anchored from the back you are now fighting the fish from the front - no anchor line.

However you anchor, be careful and having a small float tied to the anchor line is a plus because you can let the anchor go..... I don't have one. Also, when anchoring be careful of floatsom and jetsom (weeds, logs, etc) because it can and will ride ou on your anchor line and could tip you up-side-down [excited] and that's wouldn't be fun............ [sad]

[TH]

Has anyone tried anchoring through a scupper hole? It seems like an extreamly stable option.

[Charkbait]

don't do that, it's probably the most likely place to have a leak on your kay, it will wear an already suspect area down.

[Sandtiger]

TH originally wrote:
Has anyone tried anchoring through a scupper hole? It seems like an extreamly stable option.

Yeah, I have and so have the guys I fish with. We use 3/4" diameter electrical PVC conduit (Shedule 40). On mine I bought some dowel material and glued in the the end with Gorilla Glue with about an inch or so sticking out the end of the pipe. After the glue hardened, I then took a power sander and sanded to dowel to a dull point and then coated it with epoxy. This whole PVC pipe is 60" long and fits thru the scupper hole.

When you want to anchor in shallow water, just stick this "stakeout pole" thru the scupper into the bottom (usually in less than 3 feet of water). It's quicker and a lot easier than anchoring. If you need to move in a hurry, it's quick to do so.

[fly by night]

In any kind of current or wind, like any boat, you need to anchor from the pointy end. Nice thing is a yak has two pointy ends; one at the bow and another one at the stern. I have a anchor trolley system with a pulley at the bow and another one at the stern. Parachute cord goes thru both pulleys and is connected with a carabiner. I latch another separate anchor line in the carabiner amidships then tolley it forward to the bow or aft to the stern (or any where in between in lite current) depending on how I want to fish. For shad fishing in current anchoring from the stern works great. I use a 3# dumbell for an anchor on 50' of parachute cord for anchor line. I keep the anchor line stored on a flat plastic extension cord holder.

[Mattaponi]

Ask "Ruthless" on this board about his dual anchor rigging. I saw his bow and stern anchor set up this weekend and it is very nice and functional.

[grouseboy]

Sea Gristle,

Take a look at the April 2006 edition of Chesapeake Angler Magazine (chesapeake-angler.com). On page 40, there is a very good article about rigging up a pulleyed anchor sytem for your yak. I have anchored from the side previously (WS Tarpon 140) and have not been comfortable with the safety aspect of it. I rigged up per the article this past weekend ($60 of parts from West Marine) and am much more comfortable. You can move it from back to front depending on conditions.

Tight Lines.

[Cory ruthless Routh]

You cannot beat the shuttle system. THanks for all the kudos on the article. I plan or writing more rigging articles in the near future.

[Sea Gristle]

All the articles and tips are very helpful, thanks. If I am getting it right the anchor rode goes thru the caribiner clip and is secured to the cleat. The float remains at the end of the rode. In a quick release situation, do you shuttle the clip back and undo the rode from the clip so the the whole thing goes free? I need to do a search on the buntline hitch, sounds like it probably uses the tag end to keep from slipping through the clip, but slides free with a tug. If that is the case, the shuttle system bears the strain of the anchor as opposed to the cleat, yes?

[Cory ruthless Routh]

In my system the cleat still bears the strain, just redirects it in line vs. abeam of th kayak. Yes you have to un clip it to dump the float.

[Sea Gristle]

Well, I have my project for the weekend. I appreciate everybody's tips and advice, and special thanks to Cory for your articles and all you do for the sport.

[kayakn]

i made a kayak trolley and it works great. i am going to put some elastic cord and attach it next to the caribeaner clip so it stays tight while traveling or when not in use.

[Megabyte]

Ask "Ruthless" on this board about his dual anchor rigging. I saw his bow and stern anchor set up this weekend and it is very nice and functional.

http://www.chesapeake-angler.com/storyapr06-anchorsystems.htm

[kayakn]

i have a small foldable anchor and it does not stay in place in the mud, i was wondering if there is anything that i can do to it besides buying a drift sock or will a bigger anchor work

[JoshKaptur]

need a better type of anchor than the claw... like the "hooker anchor" on this page: http://marineengineparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/page311.html

it will dig into the mud/sand... whereas your claw/folding anchor needs to catch on something.

Also a lenght of chain above your anchor will help tremendously.

[kayakn]

thanks for the suggestion, do you think that a 5 pound folding anchor will do better than a 1.5 pound anchor

[JoshKaptur]

Yes... much better... but you could still get pulled along because the anchor is just dragging and not actually catching. But a 5 pound folding anchor and a length of chain will probably be enough for most wind/current situations. If it wont hold in the current, it's probably a good idea not to anchor in it anyway.

But if I were you, I'd upgrade to one of the lighter-than-5-pounds hooker (or similar design) anchors if you are regularly anchoring in sand/mud.

[kayakn]

OK, thanks i will look around for a good anchor