Anchoring

[Big Mike]

I fished Piney Point this morning. A good spot is to fish the bridge as it creates strong currents that rip at 3-4 knots. Today the fish weren’t there but I noticed a small, size of a soda can, float sitting close to the bridge and in the main flow. Thinking it was a stealth crab pot where it shouldn’t be I grabbed the float. Ended up pulling up a kayak anchoring system, anchor, clip and float. I thought, how odd and it didn’t appear to have been there long, perhaps a week based on growth on the rope. The only thing I could figure is someone dropped the anchor, found out about the hydrodynamics of fast water against a fixed object, and unclipped as fast as possible. Why they didn’t go back to get it I’ll never know.

Anchoring has its uses but be aware in fast water it can be dangerous. Having an anchor trolley where they could position the rope front or rear would have helped a lot, but even then an inexperienced kayaker might find it unnerving.

[clm]

I used one of those collapsible ones, once...it got hung up in the bottom in the Potomac....pulling on it, nearly pulled the side of the yak under....cut the line and have used heavy chain since then....scary stuff.

[Slobber Bob]

It's possible the float was too small and when they came off anchor it got sucked under the surface by the current and they weren't able to retrieve it at the time.

I've experienced it happen to me before. I anchored up once in the lower bay of the ESVA to soak bait during the late summer red drum bite one evening. I came off anchor to readjust and my anchor float, which was a half sized crab pot float, was instantly sucked under the surface by the current and disappeared. I had to paddle over to a nearby buoy so I could tie up to it until the current slacked in hopes my float would pop back up. About an hour or so later my float popped back up so I was able to recover it. If I hadn't tied up to the buoy to wait out the current I would have never been able to find that float again to get my anchor back. I now use a full sized crab pot float if I'm going to anchor is swift current.

[rob-kayak]

I used one of those collapsible ones, once...it got hung up in the bottom in the Potomac....pulling on it, nearly pulled the side of the yak under....cut the line and have used heavy chain since then....scary stuff.

When you say collapsible... do you mean the type that look like a claw..


Do you attach you line... with a "break away" such that it can be released.
I use small zip ties.. adjusting the strength of the break away by adding or subtracting the zip ties.
Best to start off light.. and experimenting by adding on more ties.

[J. Rentch]

I use an anchor often, not in 3-4Kt currents. I usually wrap a rubber band around the flukes, thus it doesn’t dig into into the bottom. This way makes it easier to raise. I can also paddle to a new location easier. Again, I would not do this in the currents you were referring.

[J.A. Veil]

I rarely anchor in the Chesapeake Bay since I don't feel I need to be anchored for the fishing I do here. However, I do use an anchor when fishing in some other spots. Anchoring in a waterbody with strong currents can be tricky. With the exception of particularly narrow portions of channels, there are usually spots on the flanks of fast moving water where the current is slower and an anchor will hold just fine. With some practice, you can drop anchor in these areas with lower currents and allow the kayak to drift to a place where you can cast to the faster water.

Last Feb I fished in a rented kayak on Sugarloaf Key. It was a very windy day so I found a narrow channel between two mangrove islands. The current really ripped along most of the channel width, but at the very edges, the flow was slower. I dropped anchor along the edge, and was able to hold position, cast and catch several species of fish.

Having a trolley, particularly one that moves all the way to the stern, allows the user to adjust the angle at which the kayak sits in relation to the current flow. When the anchor attachment is trolleyed to the very back, the kayak lines up close to parallel with the current (or wind or waves, as appropriate). If the user slides the attachment point forward so that it is amidships, the kayak turns nearly perpendicular to the current -- this creates more cross sectional area for the current to push against. I have had days fishing on Tampa Bay grass flats where my anchor just barely held when in the rear, but definitely dragged when I moved the attachment farther forward. You can actually use this technique to intentionally set up a slow drift. Or as John Rentch suggests above, keep the anchor flukes folded up so the anchor serves solely as a weight and not a grabbing device.

On the rare occasions when I fish in free-flowing streams that may have rocks on the bottom, I substitute a 5' length of galvanized chain in lieu of an anchor. This is less likely to get hung up on rocks while still serving to slow down my drift.

[Oldbayrunner]

When I do anchor I have a trolley line where the pulleys have backing plates to hold just about any wind and or current. Then I use a product called an Anchor wizard, which if anyone is not familiar with is a winch system... Most of the time I anchor I use a 3lb grapple hook rigged for quick break free, then if I feel like drift fishing and I want to control both my direction and rate of drift then I switch to a 22" drift sock. Lastly if I am going to go into strong current and a soft bottom or if I am fishing a shore line break such as fishermans Island then I use a 4lb Bruce style anchor with a chain, 100' of poly rope and large float rigged for quick release.