Lake Zumbro And High Water, Wind, & Anchoring

I see, at this moment, the water level is at 921.06 which is alittle over a foot higher than the 920.00 that they want the level at or lower. Which means the No Wake is still on. Has anyone been out fishing this week? With the high winds and colder temps it should be challenging at least for staying warm and boat control. This is where the old but never forgotten boat control of anchoring comes in handy and possibly a neccessity. That is unless you find a small bay out of the wind. But for the sake of sharing and learning lets talk alittle bit about anchoring. The rule of thumb is to let out 3 times as much rope as the depth of water. Now granted, there are times when we are in a protected bay wheres theres no wind and the water isn’t that deep so we can get by with less rope being out to hold the boat still. My question is: what kind of anchor do you use for your anchoring presentation? And how well does that anchor hold for you under different situations?
Thanks, Bill

I have been using the Chene anchor lately and it holds well if you let enough rope out and set it so it digs in. I haven’t used it in real high winds or fast current so really can’t say how well it will hold in those conditions. I am hoping that it will work real good because of the weight. These anchors are very light yet are suppose to hold well. Time will tell.

Thanks, Bill

Here is a different view.

On one of our Zumbro outings last week, we discovered how effective anchoring really is. It was a tough bite, and when we found some active fish, we put out the anchor and stayed on that spot for about 2.5 hrs. That is how we got the bulk of our catch that day. It really helped to stay on the “spot on the spot” that day and anchoring was the ticket.

I use a WaterSpike…like your Chene but with longer “fins”. Mine is the 15# model and it holds like crazy…remember 2.5-3X water depth for anchor rope length.
20 fow= 45-60′ on anchor line out…depending on severity of wind/current.

I use an 18 pound river anchor with a 5/16 inch-link chain leader as a primary anchor. I will also toss out a smaller ten pounder if I want to maintain boat position.

One anchor that seldom gets mentioned is a brush anchor. Nothing more than a jumper cable clamp on a four foot tether of 1/4″ nylon rope with a loop tied into the loose end, these are used to snap onto brush or limbs when fishing certain structure and when dropping and anchor down might risk a hang up or spook fish. I also carry an 8″ screw-eye. If I find some wood without an appropriate way to tie off on it, the screw gets set and I tied from that.

This is a good thread. I’m actually looking at buying a spike style anchor in the next few weeks. I’ve seen Gander has Attwood spike anchors #13 and Walmat had the #10 for less.

Anybody know if I can get a water spike or Chene in town? I personally would like the #15. I just think those Attwoods brand anchors are too light. They are a thiner aluminum.

Tyler,
You probably already checked, but doesn’t Fleet Farm carry chene style anchors. They have many styles of anchor and I could’ve sworn I saw a chene there once. Might want to call up Al’s Specialty Marine too. I know they have the Digger anchor which I’m not too familiar with.

I’ve been using the Richter anchor for the last few years and have been pleased with it. I think it’s the 25lb one. Like CTom I also have an 18lb navy anchor for out back when I don’t want any sway.

FF has Richters in 2 different weights and Gander has the diggers. Both are spendy, that’s for sure! I didn’t see any spike style anchors at FF, but I might need to check again. Maybe the bin was empty for those models.

I’ve got the back anchor covered with the 18# claw as well. I just need one for the nose of the boat and I was looking for a spike style.