Have located some pretty productive bottom numbers in 90-100ft towards Edisto Banks, but have never anchored, always drift. Conventional wisdom seems to hold for bigger/better fish such as keeper grouper, anchoring is more productive. Reckon it’s time to mature a bit and try anchoring. Running a Lewmar windlass with 600ft rode - anything on the bottom in that area and depth on which I might lose my anchor?
Obviously you don’t know the exact loc., but in general is the bottom out in the gen area hazardous to anchoring?
Not sure your boat size or how much you are willing to spend but IMO an electric motor “spot Lock” is the ultimate in modern “anchoring”. I was skeptical but in strong current with little chop it can keep a Key West 239 still. I hate pulling an anchor and even more trying to get perfect over a spot for straight down fishing were a few yards off can mean a full cooler or nothing. With one you can creep all around and watch your sonar and when on spot, hit the anchor function.
Anchoring at that depth is more work than fun, in my opinion, and burns a lot of time. I would rather drift or try to control position using engines, depending on conditions.
The new joysticks have the ability to maintain a position and a direction of drift. That is one of the reasons, among many, that I have ordered a new boat. Explored retrofitting but, as I understood it, spendy to convert.
Not a ton of personal experience with the electric motor approach but I have used inshore and in freshwater and loved it. I have watched others use this effectively to stay on location offshore many times. Seems like a good solution if it works with the boat.
Appreciate the replies gents. It’s just shy of 28ft, and the idea of a trolling motor with like a (**() 7ft shaft on my bow doesn’t excite me, though I recognize spot lock/ipilot would be nice. Don’t have the scratch to implement the stick either. Will give anchoring a whirl…
I just put a trolling motor on and love it, but that’s not what you are asking about.
I have 400 hours on my boat with a lot fishing in 90 ft of water. There’s a good reason that there’s fish at 90 ft. Same reason that can be hard on an anchor in 90 ft. Fishing structure and rocks comes with a cost. The windless will be much nicer than pulling anchor by hand but realize that anchor can get hung out there.
I used aluminum lewmar and fortress and got about 100 boat hours till I had them so bent up that they had to have flukes replaced.
16lb mighty mite reef anchor
30’ of 3/8 galvanized chain
If the anchor gets stuck, tie off to a cleat and drive it out. Get the bent anchor back in the boat and bend back to shape. Don’t risk your high dollar anchors.
Sellsfish did a great video a while back on offshore anchoring, but I can’t find it. This is the anchor style you want.
Save yourself some pain, and go the professional route…
12H high tensile Danforth anchor, 20ft galvanized chain, anchor retrieval system. Anything else thrown out in this thread is junk!
Go look at any commercial grouper/snapper boat and you’ll see what I’m talking about, better yet, go fish nearby said vessel, and you’ll see how easy it is to drag your anchor from spot to spot. Pulling an anchor by hand, should only used for a mushroom anchor on a canoe.
Here is my great wisdom.
Okay don’t laugh. He mentioned he has a windless I’ve never had to Fortune to have a boat with one that worked. I have always use the ball. But as far as anchoring in deep water no big deal. You’re not going to want to anchor on the structure if you find it anyway. A danforth anchor can be rigged with a heavy duty zip tie that will break away if needed at the top of the anchor. Then hook your chain to the bottom if you get hung snatch on it a couple times the zip tie breaks and the anchor pulls out backwards. There’s videos out there. I have always found the best grouper fishing is on ledges other than structure. Everyone knows where the artificial reefs and stuff like that are so they get a lot of pressure. I always carry a second anchor just in case of an emergency. I do use a reef anchor and shallow or water when I’m around a lot of structure.
About 20 years ago I was fishing at the Sherman out of Little River 60 ft of water. My anchor got hung and we end up cutting the rope. About 2 months later. I’m back to the same spot jigging bait. Put the motors in gear and went to haul a$$ and there was a hell of a racket and the boat snatched real hard. One of my motors snagged a rope. Got it unwrapped it turned out to be my anchor. Went to the Georgetown hole from there. On the way back home that night the lower unit went …
We’re still out about 30 miles and the boat would not plane with just one motor.
Helluva good story as usual OTC. I’ve had my differences with poly over the years but he’s dead nuts on with his post. I seen captain Randolph Scott do just what he said and he was one of the best.
If I were fishing in 100 feet of water here’s what I’d do. It has worked for me in the past. When I grouper fished a lot more than I do now we would set the anchor once a day and pull it once a day. We used an anchor ball or a polly ball as they are sometimes called to both pull and set the anchor. In a nutshell, here’s how you do it, but it takes practice,like a dozen times until it “clicks”.
go sit on your spot, directly over it, and find your drift.
drift away from your spot (where the wind and current push you) about 150 feet
go to the reciprocal bearing of your drift 150 feet past your spot and drop the anchor.
drift back onto your spot down the original drift line until the anchor lines comes tight.
when you move spots pull the anchor using the polly ball and at the next spot simply go to the reciprocal bearing and distance you already established in step 3 to drop your anchor and drift back onto the spot
as the wind and current change during the day you may have to repeat these steps again to find the new drift.
Here are some pro tips.
Put tape on your anchor line every 25 feet. Change colors of tape every 100 feet. Makes it easy to tell at a glance where you are in relation to the set anchor.
Mostly you won’t be anchoring on the structure, so you shouldn’t lose a bunch of anchors. You anchor is off the ledge/structure/ hard bottom and in the sand behind a bunch of chain , but rig your anchor to break away with the zip ties like the guys stated above to be safe.
If you are in a situation with little to no current and wind and need to anchor straight up and down, or in less than 40 feet or so just make yourself a reef anchor out of rebar. There are lots of ways to make them, check youtube. Then if it gets stuck you just pull hard and it bends easily.
When going from the end of your drift to the reciprocal bearing like we talked about before always use your compass. The GPS is fast, but not fast and true enough at such close ra
Even if you happen to get snagged, you’re running the boat directly over the anchor in the opposite direction, in my many, many years of bottom fishing, I never lost an anchor. May have bent the shank a time or two, but never lost anything.
As far as “reef anchors”, constructed from pipe and re-bar, there is no fluke that allows the anchor to dig into the sand…this device will drag until snags, causing damage to the reef itself. A big NO-NO.
The coral reefs we see today are hundreds – sometimes thousands – of years in the making. Like trees, coral reefs are living structures that can take many years to regenerate once destroyed. Since most corals species grow less than an inch per year, reef destruction can have long-lasting consequences. Unfortunately, many human activities directly damage or destroy coral reefs and associated habitats (e.g., mangroves, lagoons).
I think there is only one coral reef in South Carolina Waters.
And I believe it’s over a hundred miles offshore in about a 1000’ of water. But very good point about not anchoring on a coral reef.
At least we can count on our pontificator in chief to give us their honest opinion gathered from “many, many, many trips offshore” and not just regurgitating someone else’s thoughts on the subject.
For the record, in my many many trips fishing I have lost a ton of schitt, from anchors to lunch (see what I did there), and even a thousand dollar rod and reel once. I’ve never met anyone that fishes much at all that hasn’t lost stuff, anchors being the most common, but thats just me.
Thanks OTC, i really enjoyed watching you hand him his ass in a most polite and gentlemanly way. Props
As You Were
Edited to add: On second thought I think more cushions are lost out of boats than anchors, but they are usually lost coming and going. Thats me anyway…
I’ve got thousands of hours of Blue water experience as a 13 14 and 15 year old kid worked the head boats. At 16 I worked a couple commercial boats. I’ve been a mate a number of times on charter I’ve run charters as a captain countless times. I’ve always had offshore boats until about 6 years ago. Now I have the best kind. A buddies…
I’m guessing the Teaser is a head boat. Tremendous difference between that steel Hall and everyday Joe smuck aTelly’s fiberglass boat. They hang their anchor they’re pulling up what they hung on.
I’ve lost everything under the sun. Coming in the Oregon inlet took one over the bow. Busted the windshield and floated my coolers tackle bags and everything else that wasn’t tied down out the back. (30-ft Stratus) almost lost the boat. Lost the battery one time. Yep lost a battery. Old fella at the vermilion was anchored down and killed his battery. Took one of my batteries out and passed it over to him. He dropped it passing it back. But my most lost are needle nose pliers. I always keep 2 or 3 as a backup. Second most gaff’s.
And by the way.
Had my six pack,Toe then got my 25-ton masters and after I got my hours 50 ton. Let my licenses expire. Lost track of time .
Come on Man! Many years, but how many times? I don’t think I know many that have been a lot that haven’t lost at least one anchor, especially over artificial structure rather than live bottom. Razzing you man, good for you! I was curious about the coral reefs, looks like OTC got it right, one was recently discovered off our coast (2018) 160 miles out. At 2000’ I doubt we will have to worry about anchors destroying it.
Really though, anyone that ever uses a trolling motor with the anchor function will never want to pull an anchor again. Also fishing a stretch of river bank alone, run your pass once and put it on the same loop and hope no one crowds you.
Maybe that explains why I have head up the a$$ itis. I’ve never stayed at a Holiday inn Express. Have stayed in the round Holiday inn once. Kind of dumpy couldn’t even go out on the balcony door screwed shut. Real good breakfast though.
Wife was looking over my shoulder when I made the post last night. Then we got to talking about how much money I made on the head boats. I think they paid me $1.75 an hour or something like that. Usually made another 8 or $10 in tips. Was a tip bucket and we all split it… Then maybe another 5 or $6 cleaning fish. The bigger kids would make 10 or $15. Nobody wanted the little kid to clean their fish except the cheap a$$es. It was kind of like an auction as people come off the boat bidding to clean their fish. Nowadays the boat charges by pound and they get the money…
I made enough money so when I turned 15 and got my license. I bought a 68 rally sport Camaro and not long after that a H2 750 Kawasaki. Mom wasn’t happy camper over the bike.
Dang where did the time go.
