Skinned…Yes, he goes out on days I would never do. I am like you, I wont take my boat out on anything higher than 3’ seas OFFSHORE. So, I am confused now…If I am directly over the reef, I can use the reef anchor and in 100ft of water have a scope of 2 to 1 and that will be fine? I have a 24lb Plow anchor (DELTA) on the bow of my boat with 250’ of line and 20’ of chain …this anchor is a grabber and I was told not to even think about using this offshore at the reefs…anyway, now I will have the reef anchor set up with enough line to do whatever the h*** I want…lol…I really do appreciate the ■■■■■■■■ from everyone, I am a bit nervous 1st time I anchor to the reef, to be honest.
My boat is going to Rivers edge marina for the year next week. So, I will be ready to go
Be sure to pay attention to wind and current and the natural “swing” of the boat on the surface too. A lot of the bottom we fish is small but hold great numbers of quality fish. In fact, the more you bottomfish, you’ll realize that the smaller the piece of relief, a lot of times that means that area hasn’t been abused and will hold quality fish. Those large areas that everyone knows about usually get hammered all year long and will only hold smaller fish. If the current changes or wind direction changes, it can often swing your boat off the structure you were trying to stay on top of. Your compass combined with your sonar can be your best tools when looking to get on good bottom fishing.
If I get murdered in the city, don’t go revenging in my name…
SkinneeJ…in a perfect world, this is what I plan on doing. I am just afraid that I wont be off the reef far enough and I will end up throwing that plow down on the reef…what a mess that will be…lol. I have a Garmin 550 series fish finder / sonar…so I am hping it will do it’s job and give me good detail of the bottom. Thank you…Jim
Reef anchors are designed to bend out releasing the anchor. A Danforth or similar anchor isn’t designed to bend for release. Be careful trying to retrieve that anchor if you get it entangled in the reef.
If I get murdered in the city, don’t go revenging in my name…
I am just afraid that I wont be off the reef far enough and I will end up throwing that plow down on the reef
with 700’ of anchor line this should not be a problem…run into the wind and current until you show no more structure below you, go another couple hundred feet, deploy anchor and drift back accordingly…
No…I got that 23sailfish…I understand all that. I was saying that IF…IF I used my plow anchor…I would probably be too worried about being to close to the reef so I didn’t get it hooked on the reef. So, I guess I am saying, I will prob. end up using the reef anchor so if all else fails and it gets hung up, SO WHAT? I will cut the rope and get the hell out of there. I can make them for next to nothing, I have a little shop, welder, cutoff tools…I will always carry 2 of them with me incase I have to cut it away.
A lot of good info for me…it’s been nice with the responses…thanks all!! Jim.
Now…if I can get you guys to teach me how to set up my rigs and how to fish these reefs…so I will look good in front of my wife…lol.
Or should I start another post for that??? …yes, I have watched youtube, googled the rigs and have a kinda good idea.
Don’t ask me what I am fishing for…me and the wife just want fish on the deck. I have been reading, studying water temps, depths, different fish for different months, what they eat, when they eat it…you name it. So…basically, I would love some actual experienced knowledge on Charleston fishing for grouper, reds, snapper, BSB, etc…
My boat goes to the Rivers edge Marina next week…so I hope I have some sort of good intel on some fishing spots in April / May…thanks a million Gentlemen, Jim
Jim, the rigs are the easy part, take about 3-4’ of leader, we use about 50lb, tie a small loop in one end to attach to the swivel, and a large loop at the other end for the weight. We usually use a 6-8oz bank sinker but it depends on the current. Then somewhere in the middle, tie a dropper loop for your hook. Make sure you tie the loop big enough for the size hooks you want, but with this rig you can change ou weights or hooks without untieing anything.
regarding your plow anchor…depending on how it is set up, you may be able to attach your chain to the opposite end you normally would and then ziptie (enough to hold, but not enough where it won’t break away) the chain along the shank to the eye where you would normally attach it. That way, if it does get stuck, you should be able to pop the zipties and pull anchor backwards.
Catfish…Yes, that is the rigging I have been seeing on youtube and some chat rooms…so…nothing fancy I guess. So, I guess this rig is used for MOST offshore fish?? I have 8 poles…4 for inshore and 4 for offshore…heaviest being an 80# set up…lightest being 15# set up…So, I think other than choosing the right spots and bait…I might catch something.
Schoolsout1…That is the problem, the zip ties…I would love to do that, but I am not sure how to guesstimate the zip tie strength unless I took a day and played with it on the water…I live in the Upstate and when I get to Charleston, I want to go…I am doing all my homework from this computer…lol. My boat is heavy heavy and with some wind??? I don’t know about the Zip tie thing??
Thank you both for the ■■■■■■■■…:)Jim
Thanks 23SailFish. While mine works, I will be buying the next reef anchor vs. building it myself. What I built is a tetanus shot at the end of a lot of rope that just happens to work as a boat anchor…
Sure I saved some money, but without the proper tools to bend rebar, making that thing was a chore.
I like the dropper loops a bit long so that if you send a live bait down it can swim freely. I think it also helps hook ups to have longer loops when fishing with circle hooks.Not a big deal but when I started making chicken rigs, I made the loop too short.
Hopefully this picture works, but here is the basic idea.
We use this for typical bottom fishing with cut bait: sea bass, vermillion, triggers.
Grouper/snapper targeting is different. You should take Sellsfish with you on the boat someday. You’ll learn more in a day with him bottom fishing than a lifetime on the internet.
If I get murdered in the city, don’t go revenging in my name…
I like the dropper loops a bit long so that if you send a live bait down it can swim freely. I think it also helps hook ups to have longer loops when fishing with circle hooks.Not a big deal but when I started making chicken rigs, I made the loop too short.
Good info right there. it depends on the species you are targeting. When I am fishing for triggerfish I keep my drops 2 inches long, b-liners about 4" Long, and snapper\group er about 6 inches long
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PROUD YANKEE
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Appreciate all the information…making a trip this weekend with the wife. Boat wont be in Charleston till next week, so we coming down and maybe fish off Folly pier or just play around…If the weather does right.
Here is the new REEF anchor AMAZON will have at my house tomorrow to go with that 600’ of rope I ordered. NO, I am not putting all of the rope on board. I think 400’ tied off onto this reef anchor will be plenty…PLUS, on the bow having the PLOW anchor set up with 250’ is all I need…I think I will be ready as far as Anchoring goes.
