Double Anchoring in Rivers

OK, here's a new topic for y'all to kick around.

On coastal streams, a lot of the driftboats will deploy two anchors to keep from swinging in the current or playing ring around the rosey in a back eddy.  The second anchor is deployed from the front of the driftboat. 

Anybody have an idea on how to implement this on a kayak?

-Spot-

i take it you're talking about doing one  each from bow and stern??

why not try 2 from the bow, forming a Y at around 11 and 2 o'clocks?? that might mean running  a2nd trolley down the other side from your usual place, but why wouldn't it work, too?

Yup, bow and stern.  I'm talking about drift anchors in heavy flows which require an arm or something for deploying.  Two anchors on one side would probably still leave you swinging or spinning.......

Could you thread the a rope thru your anchor trolley, and use the trolley to direct the anchor to the front before dropping it to the bottom? Of course his would be after dropping the rear and ensuring you were securely anchored first.  Just a thought. 

Would you even need to send the second anchor all the way to the front?  If you have enough scope out the back, wouldn't you be able to just drop an anchor straight down off the side to keep you from swinging? 

I guess if you are in an eddy current and doing donuts, you'd want both ends anchored at some point.   I would vote for the trolley setup so you can move it to wherever it works best for the conditions you are in.

You guys might be right.  I'll have to do some tests.  It might not be as critical to have the bow anchor centered as it is for the stern anchor.

And then there's the question of line management....

Instead of a downstream anchor, how about a drift chute instead?

Instead of a downstream anchor, how about a drift chute instead?

That's something I considered but it would have the drawbacks of adding additional drag on the anchor (you tend to slip over time as it is) and it would just follow the eddying of the water, accelerating your spin.

Good ideas though guys!  They've definitely gotten me thinking in new directions.

-Spot-

Spot, that's a tall order! Sounds tricky at best.  I kind of like WR's idea of an anchor trolley on each side of the yak.
WR's suggestion of both anchor lines leading off the stern in a "V" configuration sounds like it might work if the "V" was wide enough. Seems to me that the yak would stay at the bottom of the V. I haven't ever tried anything like that, though.

I don't think I would want to hassle with a second anchor on the downstream side. I think it would have to be dropped out to one side of "directly downstream" so that your yak would be in an angled position relative to the current, and then you could try to land a smaller fish on the downstream side of your yak.
A sturgeon, (deducing this from reading all you sturgeon fishers' reports) sounds like it would require you to release from your anchors and play the fish drifting downstream.
You could end up looking like a Keystone Cop or a one-armed paper hanger, trying to release from two anchors when hooked up. Big fun!

My driftboat buddy only uses one anchor. We don't anchor in tricky situations or in big deep eddies, since we are usually fly fishing, and going after steelhead or salmon, and sometimes trout. We'll often park the boat on a gravel bar, get out and wade and fish. But that's not much help to you.

I assume you are sturgeon fishing or plunking the travel lanes for steelhead in bigger water than I usually fish.
Sturgeon fishing, or plunking bait from a boat in bigger, deeper rivers is another thing altogether from the kind of fishing I'm used to, and I assume that if you are fishing thusly, you have to keep the boat or yak from swinging. Your question is a good one, and I hope we can come up with a solution.

Over all, what are the practical dangers to consider with double anchor, one on each side in V, or a different configuration. To recover if doing a quick release are buoys needed on each line?  Sounds like a sharp knife should always be handy (true in any case)?  How do you reach the line or lines to do quick release? or is a quick release a necessary consideration?
Newbie asking.
holt

I think the V option is not practical for this application, you need to be able to retrieve your anchor quickly and/or release it even quicker if necessary.  I also think the two anchors would only help in holding you in place, but your bow would still swing.

Drift chutes aren't really an option because of the excessive drag on the anchor.

A second front anchor wouldn't need much if any scope at all, but you still have to deal with the quick recover/release issue.

I found that if I have a decent anchor set in moderate current I can control my swing back and forth by hanging my feet slightly over the side and differentially dragging them.  Drag your left foot a little and you'll swing right, drag your right a bit and you'll swing to the left.  I works well enough to keep you fairly straight.

There were other times that we found ourselves anchored in mild eddies.  The anchor would hold us in place with ease, but the mild circulating current caused you to go around in slow circles.  I think in these situations there is less of a safety issue and a second small bow anchor would really help.

Brian

I fished a few rivers with Espiga and he tried with two anchors off his prowler. One off the stern and then used an anchor trolley to take another to the bow. It kinda worked but if I remember correctly it kind of made the yak actually whip back and forth a little harder. I guess the cut down in distance of the swing equalled more power to it. Eventually he ditched it and went back to one anchor off the stern.

From what I remember talking to SBD down in NorCal it's more about where you anchor in the river. I guess it's a lot different than a boat. I haven't fished a river out of a boat so can't compare.

Z

I almost never anchor in an eddy, when I'm using the raft. I have noticed that if I lean to one side, or anther, (edging!) the boat will swing that way. On the raft, we use a throw bag for a stuff sack, to control the anchor line. For small, shallow rivers, I wouldn't bother with a buoy, just use a drift boat type of system, scaled down for a yak. I'd use a jam cleat and make sure there were never any knots in the lines, so I could jettison them quickly.

I'm not sure the gains from a double anchor set up would be worth the PITA downside. Dealing with a hot fish, and one anchor, is enough for me. Staying on station would just give the fish more targets to wrap around.

Maybe using some kind of a side rudder to steer with?  

A retractable hand controlled rudder that could mount off the side(s) and be able to give some level of steering control while on anchor. Maybe made of PVC or other light weight plastic.

OK, here's a new topic for y'all to kick around.

On coastal streams, a lot of the driftboats will deploy two anchors to keep from swinging in the current or playing ring around the rosey in a back eddy.  The second anchor is deployed from the front of the driftboat.  

Anybody have an idea on how to implement this on a kayak?
-Spot-

Revisiting Spot's initial comments, I have trouble with his original premise.  I would tend to disagree with the statement that "a lot of the driftboats will deploy two anchors..."  
The reason for this is that on the rivers I have floated, I can't recall ever having seen this done more than a few times. My buddy floats a lot in his Willie 16 and he doesn't ever use two anchors. Most driftboats I see use only one anchor.  However, my driftboat experience only has been floating down WA higher gradient freestone rivers like the Hoh, Bogy, Wynoochee, & Satsop, as well as the Cowlitz, and others.  I have used my mini-drifter in some slower rivers like the Grays, as well as the Cowlitz, and I just use one anchor. I guess we just choose not to anchor in spots that will give us trouble.

This is just my opinion based on my limited experience, though. Maybe a lot of guys do use two anchors and I just haven't seen it.

Side-drifting bait you don't anchor. Pulling plugs you don't anchor. Casting a float & jig, you don't need two anchors, and we like to park the boat on a gravel bar and get out and cast when we're flyfishing, since my buddy has gotten into the double handed rods and there isn't room in the boat for both of us to flail line. We take turns rowing so that each will have a chance to cast from the bow position.
When tossing hardware toward the bank, structure, or logjams with baitcasting or spinning gear,  only one anchor is necessary.
Also, when we anchor up to fish, if the boat starts swinging, we just move the boat to where it doesn't swing, or the guy in the rower's seat controls the boat with the oars while the guy in the bow is fishing.

I would never have thought of using two anchors when fishing from a yak. But I'm probably overcautious and am definitely a "keep it simple" type.

About the only time I need to use two anchors is when I'm chironomid fishing for trout in a lake.

Remember, this is just my worthless opinion based on my limited experience.