Anchor line, what is too small

I have only seen a few folks actually anchor with a kayak and in most cases I see them with line that would anchor a full sized motor boat.   I know that too small is going to be hard to handle, so my question is what size line does everyone use and what size should I not go below.   

Also: I am talking about line to the ancor from your spool/reel.   Other quick release or bouy lines will most likely be larger.

Thank you for your replies!

I think you nailed it with difficulty of handling. I've used as little as 1/4" and prefer bigger especially with cold hands. I think my current anchor line is 1/2" of floating line.

you need to find something that's easy to pull while minimizing current drag.

3/16 is about right. You can go a little bigger or a little smaller.

I use 550 paracord

willbd

I use 365# hand line with a wire feed reel used by steel workers. Small and compact and easy to reel.

Wobbler

For my lighter anchors (5-12 lb.) I use something like 1/8" or 3/16" line.  For anything larger, a 20 or 25 lb. anchor for multiple kayaks to anchor up to, I would use 1/4" and up.

I use 3/16 , easier on the hands. After losing an  expensive anchor I use a 5 lb. old window weight. Its about 10 " long and 1" wide.. When you release it, it sinks in and holds my outback even in strong winds. Best of all ,real cheap at yardsales.

I anchor my kayak when spearfishing for pike.  I'm not worried about my anchor line breaking while the kayak is anchored, because with the anchor rope coming off the nose of the kayak on a trolley line, wind doesn't put that much stress on the anchor line.  However, I want my anchor rope to be strong enough so I can pull pretty hard on it if my anchor gets stuck on something on the bottom.  The breaking strength of hardware store rope and cord is disturbingly low.  I use 4mm or 5mm climbing accessory cord, which you can buy at places like REI, for my anchor rope.  5mm is about the same as 3/16ths.