Dragging anchor - AGAIN

When kayaking here in Ca. , I don't have to deal with the rocky river bottoms you have except when on steelhead rivers, but for my drift boat I have an "Animal anchor" I bought from Willie Boats years ago, the thing weighs about 20 lb. 3"x12" steel tubing filled with lead shot and rebar whiskers poking out of the ends, it never gets stuck (knock wood) and pretty much always holds.

Dave Scadden pontoon boats at www. northforkoutdoors.com sell a 12 and 15 lb model (pictured below ) for $40 to $50 bucks, but I don't think we need one that heavy for kayaks.

I think a person could weld one up for about $10 worth of 2" x 10" pipe, some rebar, and some pipe end caps from Home Depot. I would use screw on caps and fill with lead shot until you get the weight right. If you don't weld, another $5 for a sixer of beer for a friend and a few crabs should get the job done. I would think 5 lb total weight should be max needed. If you used the right size and length of pipe, you could use it the stash  stuff too( extra beer   ).

I would keep a 9"x13" cake pan in the tankwell to store an "Animal Anchor" . I wouldn't want those rebar legs poking a hole in the boat.

while we're talking about scope and rode, too; was in sportco this evening window shopping to clear my head from a very bad day of work, and found myself back in the crabbing section.. and they have, for $31.00, 300 ft of yellow poly pro rope wrapped on an orange electrical cord winder, branded as a "crab pot rope retriever".

about the only advantage it might have over our versions of the same thing is that the rope is actually 300ft continuous. otherwise, we save big time money and have the same rig. 

Most of the time I use a small folding/ 4 fluke anchor. It's meant for soft bottoms- sand and mud. I would hesitate to try anchoring in big rock and big current. I have it set up so that the anchor line (1/8"? braided) is attached to the bottom of the anchor, with a breakaway link (velcro wrap) at the top. If I'm dragging, it's usually because I don't have enough scope. 2:1 is not enough in a real current. It has to be at least 3:1- 5:1.

I also have a bunch of old sash weights, around 2.5lb a piece. These are what I use (2-3 together) where I think I may have to sacrifice an anchor (rocky river). They're also my second anchor when double anchoring in a lake.

On the raft I use for guiding, we use to use one of those "anchor animals". While it holds well in small stuff, it was hard on the boat and I always worried about it getting jammed in the big stuff. It was also hard on the boat. Now, we have about 35-40lbs of chain that's looped up in to a bundle (with a big carbineer). Years of use, and it's never jammed, whether anchoring in small gravel, big gravel, or nasty, craggy, bedrock.

2:1 is not enough in a real current. It has to be at least 3:1- 5:1.

Yep. When I was a Quartermaster in the Navy, I remember reading about anchoring for advancement exams. 3:1 is the bare minimum, where 5:1 was ideal.
If you're using an anchor setup that attaches your anchor directly in front of your bow, or behind your stern, it doesn't take much for that anchor to hold your kayak. There just isn't a whole lot of drag produced by a kayak that is pointed straight into the current. This has made me feel like I didn't need as much scope, but if the current is really kicking and you're using an anchor buoy, you may notice the buoy having a tough time staying above the surface. So if you can get at least 2:1, I would highly recommend it, but go for more if you're dragging.

Out of the PB I use big lengths of "Boom Chain" the large link chain (6-8 inch links) used to connect log rafts together,a 6 ft section weighs about 50-60 ish lbs.  They work like a slinky does steelhead fishing and rarely if ever get snagged in the rocks.  I just need to make a few "kayak" sized ones as they would solve most of the snaggy anchor problems in that stretch of the river. They don't hold for squat on small rock/cobble or smooth bottom but in craggy snaggy stuff they can't be beat.

Now, we have about 35-40lbs of chain that's looped up in to a bundle (with a big carbineer). Years of use, and it's never jammed, whether anchoring in small gravel, big gravel, or nasty, craggy, bedrock.

Another thing I learned about anchoring while I was studying for advancement exams was the fact that for big ships anchoring, it is the extra shots of chain that holds the ship, not necessarily the anchor. When anchoring, I remember us letting out plenty of chain while moving astern slowly.

you may notice the buoy having a tough time staying above the surface.

yep
(DAMHIK)

That's also why I suggest using the thinnest line you can handle. The line and the float (and anything else attached to the rode) presents waaaay more drag than a kayak (especially nose-to).

Ya just need some anchor chain of this size and you'll be fine! 

I use an adjustable weight anchor......a bait bag full of rocks

If you're using an anchor setup that attaches your anchor directly in front of your bow, or behind your stern, it doesn't take much for that anchor to hold your kayak. There just isn't a whole lot of drag produced by a kayak that is pointed straight into the current.

You saw the problems I had the other week. I replaced that anchor with a 5# hunk of lead, and headed back out.  This time I had 60' of dacron,150' of para and the last of the poly that remained on my spool.  Today I still have the dacron and para, but that hunk of lead is about 20yrds away from my old anchor.  Not wanting to tie directly to the anchor, I used a heavier ziptie than normal. While dragging bottom again I had all but 20' of my rope in the water. That's well over a 3:1 and closer to 4:1. Then the tie broke and was left with just the broken tie at the end of the dacron.

Its not always the scope.

I'm thinking perhaps its time I look into an 8# mush like you use.  Seemed to do you a lot more good than anything i've used lately now that the water's moving.  Alternatively I was thinking a 5# folding with a shot of chain...

Ya just need some anchor chain of this size and you'll be fine! 

duh. yeh, with each "shot" (link) of chain weighing roughly 110lbs, a few links is all you would need....fun idea tho..

duh. yeh, with each "shot" (link) of chain weighing roughly 110lbs, a few links is all you would need....fun idea tho..

Yeah, that's footage from my ship when we were anchoring off the coast of Kuwait. I was always amazed by the power and force that chain of that size created when it was zinging out of the chain locker.

You saw the problems I had the other week. I replaced that anchor with a 5# hunk of lead, and headed back out.  This time I had 60' of dacron,150' of para and the last of the poly that remained on my spool.  Today I still have the dacron and para, but that hunk of lead is about 20yrds away from my old anchor.  Not wanting to tie directly to the anchor, I used a heavier ziptie than normal. While dragging bottom again I had all but 20' of my rope in the water. That's well over a 3:1 and closer to 4:1. Then the tie broke and was left with just the broken tie at the end of the dacron.

Its not always the scope.

I'm thinking perhaps its time I look into an 8# mush like you use.  Seemed to do you a lot more good than anything i've used lately now that the water's moving.  Alternatively I was thinking a 5# folding with a shot of chain...

The thing I like about the folding anchors is that you can lock them in the folded position in grabby areas. I've never actually tried that idea, but it seems like a 5 or 8 lb. one of those with a nice shot of chain infront would work much like the pure chain style of anchor previously mentioned. You'd probably still want to have a breakaway system even when it's folded tough just incase it gets wedged somewhere.

duh. yeh, with each "shot" (link) of chain weighing roughly 110lbs, a few links is all you would need....fun idea tho..

Yeah, that's footage from my ship when we were anchoring off the coast of Kuwait. I was always amazed by the power and force that chain of that size created when it was zinging out of the chain locker.

persian gulf in general... and it was the USNS Gilliland T-AKR 298 for me...feb 97 to aug 98

I had no problems this weekend, granted I probably wasn't fishing as deep or on a super grabby bottom but I had good luck with a 5lb folding grapnel anchor with 8 ish ft of heavy tow chain.   Attach chain to eye at bottom of anchor with a shackle, then zip tie chain to eye on end of anchor shaft the tie rope to end of chain. The length of heavy tow chain makes all the difference. Used plenty of scope.  Flows are increasing, use caution, there are plenty of spots I would fish out of a PB but not even think about in a yak. To much can happen to quick

I just went to an 8# river anchor like this one

I also went to a 1/8" braided nylon cord... some 500' worth.
 
So far so good! Hooked up easily in areas that i've been failing recently. The 1/8" cord does require gloves, but I've not had trouble retrieving the anchor.  The anchor is overkill for lakes, but has worked well at 100' depths on the outgoing tides.

I just went to an 8# river anchor like this one

I also went to a 1/8" braided nylon cord... some 500' worth.
 
So far so good! Hooked up easily in areas that i've been failing recently. The 1/8" cord does require gloves, but I've not had trouble retrieving the anchor.  The anchor is overkill for lakes, but has worked well at 100' depths on the outgoing tides.

Glad you found something that works.  How has your luck been?  water is real cold, 34 degrees when I fished on Saturday. Needless to say the bite was slower than normal

Glad you found something that works.  How has your luck been?  water is real cold, 34 degrees when I fished on Saturday. Needless to say the bite was slower than normal

It was that cold? That explains it.  Not even a bite for me, no anyone else I spoke to. Was a nice day to be on the water last thursday though.