Anchoring

[oldwhiskers]

I have searched the forum on anchoring, but I did not find an answer to my question. My question is when putting anchors out, do you just tie off to the bits on one side for the front and the other side in the rear?

I saw some of canepole's responses on how not to anchor a john boat so I wanted to make sure. :D I have a 17ft bass tracker.

There is a lot of good information and people on this site.

[FishTrap]

Proper way to anchor your boat - Boatsville Network

[oldwhiskers]

I guess I should have been clearer in my question. I read Rango's article on night stalking and how to anchor. I am wanting to anchor and keep the boat steady to do the night stalking, but was unsure of where I needed to tie off on the boat. The ring on the bow is really not reachable from inside the boat and the only other devices are the bits on front and rear on each side and the loops on the transom.

[FishTrap]

Have you considered an Anchor-Mate on your bow? you can mount the crank beside your fishing seat & not have to go to the front of the boat to drop or pull anchor. Alot would depend on what type water you're on.

[skeetbum]

Whiskers, If you don't have cleats in the right place, look into puttin some where you need em. My boat came with 2 anchormates from the previous owner, but I found them in bad condition(rusty and uncooperative) and took them off. Water depth dictates how long your ropes must be. How you position is up to you and how you want to fish. I have 6 cleats on mine so that I can position it to best suit the situation. I put on 4 of those. If wave slap is too noisy for the set-up, I turn my transom into the wind and it is greatly decreased, however this isn't an option in high wind/waves as they'll come over the back and swamp the boat. Hope this helps.

[anchorpuller]

When I anchor my jon boat, I tie off on each end. My cleats are on opposite sides, but as long as you have one tied off on each end, you should get a good sturdy hold. Just remember that the tighter you are, the less give that boat has in turbulence and be aware. It would be pretty easy to get swamped in my jon if I were in a high traffic area and anchored down like I like to do for a nightstalk.

[slabsrus]

this probably will not apply too much to your situation, but anchoring my kayak can be a tricky thing. High winds or a lot of boat traffic are out of the question if I want to stay above water. In light winds and moderate traffic I always anchor directly off the stern, that way my back is to the wind and I am able to better position my baits. The ole kayak is great for night fishing as it is very quiet and the low profile does not create much of a shadow on moon lit nights. I catch a lot of my night crappies within 8 feet of the boat. I usually do not even cast, just put out about 6 feet of line of the end of the rod and swim my baits slowly back and forth at the edge of the circle of light i use. seems to work well.

[gabowman]

I dont think it'll really matter if youre tieing off to cleats on the corners or not. With proper anchors and long enough rope youll get a decent anchor but youll never get it rock solid where the boat wont rock if you move around in it. What Im trying to say is if you get up and move from side to side in your boat once anchored you are still gonna rock the boat some, cant stop that. Now that being said, my trolling motor lying across the bow is positioned right in the middle of the front of my boat so I tie off to it on the front and to a cleat on corner on the back. I just use weights insteady of my chene anchors too, since it's little to no boat traffic at night where I fish. Anyway, here is another opinion on your quiestion.

[oldwhiskers]

Thanks every one. I have a river anchor and a mushroom anchor but I really like the weight of the chene anchors that I looked at after reading some of the recommendations on the forum. My back would like them better to. I just need to get the boat out and anchor it, maybe even catch some fish.

I am thinking more on night stalking to escape the heat.

[TreednNC]

chene is the best money ive spent