Some thoughts for those who anchor and cast when fishing

[Newt]

I fish from a boat rather than a yak and fresh water rather than salt so rarely have anything to offer here but a nice 'how to' I read this morning seemed worth sharing. If you like to anchor and cast to fish, you like to have the boat positioned for easy casting but wind and current can make that difficult.

 

I'm no good with drawing so will have to do this all in words but basically, you mount two small pulleys on one side of the boat, one near the bow and the other near the stern where you can easily reach a part of the cord from your seat. Run a cord through the pulleys and tie the ends to a stainless steel ring of 1-2 inches in diamater.

 

When you put the anchor over, run the upper end of your anchor line through the ring and then tie it off to the cleat. You can then move the effective 'mount point' of the anchor line anywhere along the length of your yak making it easy to position the boat for easy casting regardless of wind or current direction and to quickly change as they do.

 

And a bit on the cleat thing. I fish quite a bit on impoundment lakes created with dams. The ones local to me have their floodgates remotely controlled (the operator is nearly 1000 miles west of here) and the only warning we have when they are about to release lots and lots of water is a horn that sounds about 30 seconds before they open the gates. To remain at anchor below the dam when this happens is a good way to lose your boat and maybe your life. Trying to recover an anchor before heading away from the dam is also a very bad idea.

 

I rigged floats at the upper end of my anchor line so I could run away and come back after the flow eased to recover my anchors but the time needed to release them from a standard cleat was way longer than I liked so I looked around for alternatives. I found one and like it so well that my standard cleats almost never see use these days. When I first tried one I thought line slippage would be an issue but it absolutely is not.

 

I highly recommend them for any boater who ever anchors. I'm not sure if you can source these in the UK but if not, BassPro and other online shops in the States have them. Available in black plastic or non-corroding metal (the ones I have now).

 

 

 

[richi]

We call them anchor trolleys and have been using them for ages

 

just a note on the cleat,most of us use cam cleats as they are a quicker release

Edited June 24, 2007 by richi

[SpeciMan]

Thanks for that Newt.

 

As Richi mentions what you describe are anchor trolleys we fit to the side of a kayak enabling us to position the anchor line. The cleats we use are smaller than the one you use on your boat being designed for sailing dingys and should be readily in our local chandlers. Good point about the quick release setup - I've started using one myself although try to hook up to a pot buoy if theres one in the area.

[Newt]

LOL - I guess I need to read more on here. I'd never read about the trolley system before.

 

Cam cleats are excellent for some uses but are not as well suited for my needs as these are. Had at least 3-4 different cam designs and got rid of them all. They did not prove nearly as durable or versatile for me. I do have a cam on the bow for the rare occasions I want to anchor bow-on in heavy and steady current but can't remember the last time I used it.

 

Line release with a cam style cleat is usually fine but I literally cannot live with 'usually'. All the cams I've ever seen worked best with a very narrow range of line diameters and materials (hard vs soft) and I'm not fond of having to match my anchor line to the preferences of a cleat.

[SpeciMan]

Must be quite unnerving quietly fishing away when a horn blasts through the peace and thousands of gallons of water head your way!!!

[pescador]

Hi Newt

The system I use is a cleat at the side of my seat. Drop anchor and tie off on the cleat then pass the rope through the caribiner on my sliding pulley system. Move the pulley rope to the rear usually and this turns and anchors the yak without the danger of being swamped by a wave and pulled under as it is near the stern. Alternativley it can be slid along to near the bow. It works very well, the elastics at each end act as a shock absorber also again allowing the yak to move a little.

Just though it may be of interest.

[pescador]

Obviously of no interest to anyone just the same as any other posts I have put on this forum. Maybe time to bow out gracefully!

Good luck with it all from Spain.

[richi]

Obviously of no interest to anyone just the same as any other posts I have put on this forum. Maybe time to bow out gracefully!

Good luck with it all from Spain.

 

it is of interest Gary,most of us have used the AnglersAfloat system that you describedhttp://www.anglersafloat.co.uk/Prowler_AnchorTrolley.htm

[s2vto]

Always nice to see how people rig their kayaks out

 

Keep the pics coming

[pescador]

Sorry I seemed to have "designed" my own version of the system.

I have not visited the anglers afloat web since e-mailing them last December regarding my Kayak Fishing Spain venture and not receiving a reply.