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2/10/2018 11:41 am  #1


Anchor

How does everyone deal with the canoe drifting in the wind while trying to fish? Any alternative to carrying in a heavy anchor?

Right now I find that I just don't fish when the wind is out. Or i troll instead. 
Even when the wind is not that strong and I'm fishing, I find that I constantly have to paddle back to get in 'position' after a few casts. 

 

2/10/2018 11:50 am  #2


Re: Anchor

Like you, I avoid fishing in the wind by going early morning and evening. The wind is typically calm around these times. During the day im usually around camp doing camp chores - collecting wood, drying out gear, preparing upcoming meals.  Or i'm out exploring, and if the wind is co-operating, a little fishing.

 

2/10/2018 1:50 pm  #3


Re: Anchor

For an anchor, pick up a basketball net tie the bottom closed and thread a rope through the top[. Fill net full of rocks and just lower. when you are done or reach the next portage dump the rocks and carry on.

 

2/11/2018 3:02 pm  #4


Re: Anchor

Guest99 wrote:

For an anchor, pick up a basketball net tie the bottom closed and thread a rope through the top[. Fill net full of rocks and just lower. when you are done or reach the next portage dump the rocks and carry on.

You just gave me an idea of what to make out of para-cord.  A portable re--usable anchor bag.  Thanks!
 

 

2/18/2018 1:14 pm  #5


Re: Anchor

we used to take 2 or 3 Onion Bags and use them,   fill with Rocks,    small weigh nothing and  they work.

 

2/19/2018 3:23 am  #6


Re: Anchor

You can use on of those blue IKEA bags as well.  Toss a rock or two in it for an anchor or you can tie it off with a short length of rope and use it as a drift sock.  Comes in handy for all types of things

 

2/19/2018 9:25 am  #7


Re: Anchor

Basketball net with a rope through it as previously mentioned. I use a small replacement nylon landing net (Crappy Tire has them). Cheaper than the basketball net and very durable.

In my experience it's best to use just one suitably sized roundish rock rather than a bunch of small ones. The net tends to get shredded if you're using it a lot with a bunch of sharp edged smaller rocks.

The mesh bag with the rope is also used in the summer to cool beverages. Put your beverage in the mesh bag along with a rock and sink it in deep water past the thermocline. Wait long enough and voila - cool drinks even in the summer. 

Last edited by solopaddler (2/19/2018 9:26 am)

 

2/20/2018 3:55 pm  #8


Re: Anchor

This is a great thread .. always had the same problem myself . .especially with a larger canoe with little weight (although I'm putting some on this winter ... ) .. .great ideas about the net ...

 

2/20/2018 7:02 pm  #9


Re: Anchor

I've tried a couple of the options mentioned in this thread over the years but landed on purchasing this one: 
https://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/spring-creek-outfitters/canoe-anchor-bag-21963

I've been using it now for over 7 years and it's been great. Aside from shelling out a few $$, it hasn't shown any wear at all, compresses down to a very small footprint in storage, and very light.and easy to use. The only drawback is picking rocks with a diameter that fits easily into the circumference of the Velcro opening

 

2/22/2018 10:12 pm  #10


Re: Anchor

Thanks for all the ideas.

     Thread Starter
 

2/26/2018 9:22 pm  #11


Re: Anchor

One of the best things I ever did to outfit my canoe was to install an anchor system. I run a thin small rope through a couple fairleads (small plastic tubes to guide rope), which I mounted under my thwarts/yoke and the front seat, then under the gunwales and out through a hole I drilled just uner my bow deck and through my stem (I have a home made cedar strip Winisk). I epoxied in a small brass tube with th eedges peened over through the hole. I then added a clam cleat to the front edge of my seat thwart. The clam cleat will instantly grab your rope to 'tie' it off, but instantly releases when you lift the rope. So when I am set up for fshing etc. I run my anchor line through the clam cleat, then through the fairleads and out through th e brass tube in the bow. I then add a nylon stuff sack, which I fill with sand or small pebbles etc if its a rocky, sand free shoreline. The sand works great and does not ding up the bow as a dangling rock might. With the anchor coming straight off the bow, you reduce the yawing from side to side with the canoe, and it much more drag resistant to wind. Also, so easy to do it myself from the stern, no need for the bow paddler to do anything. We can easily work down a shoreline by just lifting the anchor for a few seconds, drifting downwind,  then dropping the anchor. It has worked really well. 

Moonman.

 

2/27/2018 8:55 am  #12


Re: Anchor

Best anchor I ever found is the mesh elastic tubing they use in hospitals for holding bandages in place! Tie a not in it, fill it up, and tie the end closed. An un-expanded piece the size of a shot glass will expand to about the size of a basketball and hold an easy 20 lbs in the water. Best of all, a good sharp yank will rip the knot, dump the rocks, and pop back up if it snags. Load it back up, tie a new knot, and you're ready for round two!
just found this online- 25 YARDS, enough for a lifetime!
https://www.vitalitymedical.com/surgilast-tubular-elastic-bandage-retainer.html

Last edited by scoutergriz (2/27/2018 9:00 am)

 

2/27/2018 2:12 pm  #13


Re: Anchor

Yeah, but Moonman, if you do that, you'll reduce the amount of line getting all wound up in everything in the boat and twisted around your feet, plus you won't get to pick weeds and muck off the anchor every time you go to change locations.  Actually I like the idea a lot, although I am wondering if it might have worked better in the stern, so you'd have wind or current behind you rather than in front of you. 

 

3/03/2018 2:06 pm  #14


Re: Anchor

dontgroandaddy wrote:

Yeah, but Moonman, if you do that, you'll reduce the amount of line getting all wound up in everything in the boat and twisted around your feet, plus you won't get to pick weeds and muck off the anchor every time you go to change locations.  Actually I like the idea a lot, although I am wondering if it might have worked better in the stern, so you'd have wind or current behind you rather than in front of you. 

Yes true, but I kinda like seeing the canoe moving in steady winds as I feel I have more control. However the original source for the idea was the Global flyfisher website (maybe 15 years ago), and the originator of the idea had an anchor using the same system off both the bow AND the stern - that way you don't move around at all....

Moonman.

 

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