Purchased a new mighty mite reef anchor from west marine last thursday. Decided to give it a go and cruise out to the charleston 60 in search of spades, bsbs, and kings.
Ran out saturday morning around 630, get to the 60 and anchor up over some good structure. Anchor worked great. perfect. happy with anchor purchase.
Get the chum slick rocking, AJ’s busting the water around us early, hook up to a few but they broke us off on the structure. (i know now to motor away from the reef) Get one small king in the boat and the bite slowed down around 1030 so decide to move.
Now, its time for the reef anchor to shine. Dude at westmarine tells me just to pull the anchor straight back. So i do as told and pull the anchor straight back. nada. keep it going, still nothing. Then i notice that im slowly moving from my position. I then realize that i either broke a chunk of the reef off or im stuck to a small piece of the reef that im dragging. crud.
Luckily i see some divers next to us. Tie the anchor up to a bouy. Motor over and ask if they could assist. THANK YOU!
I didnt catch ya’lls names but thanks alot for the help. I really appreciated it. They unhooked the anchor and away we went.
On the way in, hit the far bouys looking for cobia. Had one guy throwing a bucktail and another free lining a pogey. No cobia, ended up with 4 more kings off one bouy. Wind started to pick up so called it a day.
All in all, really fun day. Thanks to the guys in the contender, my reef anchor lives another day.
WOW, WHERE WERE THOSE DIVERS WHEN I LOST ALL OF MY ANCHORS?that is really cool they helped you.funny thing, i bought a mighty mite reef anchor, it now resides at comanchee.
I have one at Capers, and the one I have now has only 2 tines left…
“Miss Amanda”
-KeyWest
-Bluewater 2020CC
-Yammy F-150 www.joinrfa.orgGod is GOOD!! ALL the time!!
The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.
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Reelly?? I wish that I would have thought of that…
Stuff happens.
I guess when you think you are off the structure, there is no way for you to accidentally hook some other structure away from the intended structure you planned on fishing…
“Miss Amanda”
-KeyWest
-Bluewater 2020CC
-Yammy F-150 www.joinrfa.orgGod is GOOD!! ALL the time!!
The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything.
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I pick a spot to drop anchor with the cursor on my chartplotter.Then I just check that area out reel good for structure/live bottom before dropping so I know I am dropping the anchor on sand.I use a super hooker and plenty of chain.Out of ~35trips a year,I probably get it hung twice due to dragging and get it loose with the anchor ball when I do.I am not a fan of throwing any kind of anchor into any type of structure offshore.I want the spot to remain intact and not spook the fish.I do,however,own a reef anchor that I use to hang on the exposed jettys or anchor on the beach @ Dewee’s or Caper’s.
“Modern day Robin Hoodism-Steal from the sucessful and give to the poorly motivated.”
i make them out of 2.5" pvc pipe, one small bag ready concrete and small rebar… work great…
bend 1st long piece (6 feet or so) to form the hook/shackle
bend two more for the other tines
push all into pipe, PVVC or metal conduit (rigid doesn’t work well, hard to fill)
tape or foam seal the bottom
mix quickcrete in bucket and fill pipe
wait 24hrs ready for use… not 15-25 bucks to make…
Talk about destroying reef and livebottom area… you should see how the larger charter boats do it if you haven’t already! just drop it and when you get ready to repostition…tie off to the rear cleat and throttle up. I know they use an anchor ball but its hard for me to beleive that it not destroying the bottom!
Talk about destroying reef and livebottom area… you should see how the larger charter boats do it if you haven’t already! just drop it and when you get ready to repostition…tie off to the rear cleat and throttle up. I know they use an anchor ball but its hard for me to beleive that it not destroying the bottom!
what boats are you talking about?Head Boats have been gone for a while.They didn't anchor in or on structure anyways.They anchor off the stern for easier retrieval.Mark Brown on Teaser has forgotten more about anchoring,than most will ever know.He taught me about anchoring OFF the reef,and in sand.
I am not questioning the skill level involved… don’t get me wrong but can anyone really be so sure what’s on bottom that the anchor can be pulled around and reset that way without causing damage?
I am not questioning the skill level involved… don’t get me wrong but can anyone really be so sure what’s on bottom that the anchor can be pulled around and reset that way without causing damage?
Ummm... That IS the appropriate way to anchor. And YES, that is what your SONAR is for... The whole idea of dragging your anchor is pinpoint accuracy. Why do you think that when he stops you are right on the fish? Nobody wants to anchor in the reef. That's how you lose anchors.
Really… nobody wants to set anchor on the reef? In the sand only? Lol I get that but if that were so there would never be a lost anchor… let’s be realistic guys it happens
Really… nobody wants to set anchor on the reef? In the sand only? Lol I get that but if that were so there would never be a lost anchor… let’s be realistic guys it happens
It seldom happens to those who know what they are doing (that's the key - knowing what you are doing). I haven't lost a single anchor in my adult life.
But, you posted your original post as if the big charter boats run about tearing up the reefs due to the drag anchor method and we pointed out that you have a misunderstanding of what is going on. Sure, it might happen once in a while, but that’s the exception, not the rule… However, the “reef anchor” is made to grab solid structure. The danforth is made to anchor in soft structure (sand or mud).
If you still have doubts, maybe you should hop on board with someone who knows this technique and you will see what it is all about… It doesn’t really pay to make assumptions when you can’t honestly say that you know the technique. The whole idea of dragging your anchor is that you are pulling it out over the sand and then positioning your boat over the substrate.
mrmullen80, We were the guys diving out of the Contender. Glad your anchor lives to see another day! You actually were not caught up in the wreck, but a random wagon wheel lying in the sand. If you are fishing the 60’ anytime soon, bring fiddlers. It’s loaded with Sheepshead right now.
Get one small king in the boat and the bite slowed down around 1030 so decide to move.
Then we agree!It does happen LOL:stuck_out_tongue: