Breakaway anchor system based on a tie wire reel

I have a pretty good anchor system which I use with an anchor trolley to anchor next to weed beds when I’m spearfishing for pike.  But a couple of weeks ago Wobbler took me sturgeon fishing, and I was real impressed by his anchor system.  It’s compact, we were anchored in 110 feet of water, and it releases easily and cleanly if you catch a big fish.  I decided to make a similar anchor system.

Wobbler’s system is based on a plastic tie wire reel.  Here's what a tie wire reel looks like.  My handle is different than Wobblers, and I included a D ring at each end of the handle so I can clip a leash or a buoy to the reel.



Wobbler uses Ashaway 200 pound tuna leader as his anchor line.  I like that a lot.  It’s plenty strong, it’s thin enough so you can get a lot of line on the reel, but it’s thick enough so it doesn’t cut your hands.

Here’s the reel and buoy.  After you drop your anchor you run the rope from the buoy through the ring in your anchor trolley, clip the end of the rope into a zig-zag cleat on your gunwale, and run the ring from your anchor trolley back to the stern of your kayak.  Then you’ll be set up facing downstream below the buoy.  The pointed end of the buoy will be pointing into the current.  To release the anchor and buoy, you just pop the rope out of the zig-zag cleat, and the rope will slide out of the ring in your anchor trolley.  It's easy to do with one hand while fighting a fish with the other hand.



Here’s the anchor.  I use grapnel style anchors because I frequently anchor in soft mud.



Here’s a closer look at the reel.  I added a longer crank handle to the spool.  If I don’t need to be able to break away from the anchor system, I can unclip the buoy and replace it with a rope leash.  Wobbler locks his reel with a long pin which runs through the spool and the housing, but I'm currently using a loop of shock cord, which has worked well as a lock on other things I've made.



The handle is made of a piece of plastic hose with a length of webbing running through it.  I folded over the ends of the webbing and melted holes in it for the stainless steel bolts which hold the handle to the tie wire reel.  The handle is pretty comfortable, and provides good leverage when cranking in anchor line.



Once you assemble the components, this is an easy and quick project.

Here’s the anchor line reel which I’ve been using for spearfishing.  It works pretty well, but I like the tie wire reel better.

Like that, I've been looking for an anchor system, ordered the tie reel, will get the rest at fishermans, thanks for posting.
John

I like that reel a lot more then the one I'm using. I might need to order one.

Pretty slick setup...  Question - with that small diameter line on a reel, does it get tangled up in itself if you're reeling it in with tension on the line (weight of anchor, drag, that sort of thing)?  I have run across a couple of youtube vids that said to haul in some line, jam with foot, and only reel in the slack...  Guess that is more a Wobbler question tho 😎

Jim

This is probably one of the cleanest setups that I've seen. I've actually been on a quest to find a set up that I want, and think that I just have.  Thanks!

I see that the bouy and the release line are connected to the plastic via a D-loop.  Is that plastic of the reel strong enough that you would not be worried that is it going to break in a strong current?

I see that the bouy and the release line are connected to the plastic via a D-loop.  Is that plastic of the reel strong enough that you would not be worried that is it going to break in a strong current?

The plastic of the tie wire reel is real sturdy, and the stress of the bolts at the ends of the handle is spread out by two big stainless steel fender washers.  I bent the fender washers to fit the curvature of the inside of the tie wire reel.  Wobbler's handle is attached to the plastic belt loops on the back of the reel.  These belt loops probably aren't as sturdy as the body of the reel itself, but as far as I know he hasn't had any problem with the plastic belt loops breaking.  I cut the belt loops off the back of my reel.  Here's what the belt loops look like:



I forgot to mention in my original posting that the black D-rings at the ends of the handle aren't plastic, they're brass. 

What size and type of anchor do most people use on the willamette?, freshwater lakes like Hagg?

Thanks

I've been using a folding anchor, like the one pictures above.  Either 5 or 7 lb, don't remember.  But most of my fishing has been in the Gulf, until recently.

I noticed that you didn't use the existing handle as your handle, was it just easier not to?

I noticed that you didn't use the existing handle as your handle, was it just easier not to?

The original handle is only 1 1/8 inches long and doesn't rotate, but it would work tolerably well.  The handle I added is 2.5 inches long and is made of a stainless bolt and lock nuts with hard nylon spacers on top of it.  It rotates with little friction, and works a lot better than the original handle.  If I want to get fancier, I could replace the nylon spacers with a more ergonomically shaped handle like those on fishing reels.

What size and type of anchor do most people use on the willamette?, freshwater lakes like Hagg?

Thanks

I think most people on the Willamette use a mushroom or pyramid anchor.  There are lost of rocks to snag on with a claw anchor.

Pammpete, are you willing to share the details? I've already started ordering some of the parts needed.

Pammpete, are you willing to share the details? I've already started ordering some of the parts needed.

The project is pretty obvious from the pictures I posted, but I'd be glad to answer any questions anybody has.  I used stainless steel bolts, lock nuts, fender washers, and snap-clip.  I used  brass D-rings and some nylon webbing and plastic tubing which I happened to have in my copious spare parts archive. I used a hole saw to cut two disks of high density polyethylene  (a piece of cutting board would work fine) to hold the float on place on the rope.  The rope is climbing accessory cord, but if you want the rope to float you could use polyethylene line.  Tonight I'll post a close-up of the crank handle I added to the spool.  I sawed the belt loops off the back of the reel to make it a bit more compact, but you could leave them on.  I used a quick-link to attach the chain to the bottom of the grapnel-style anchor.

Awesome. I'm sure I'll have more questions. Thanks.