I got to go!

[anchorpuller]

Got the kids off to school and hooked up the boat. It was a beautiful day here, in the 80's. It was cool this morning though, real nice.
I tried around a few more of those barrel "fish attractors", to no real reward.
I quit trying for crappie and went for the kitties. I'm used to catching my best crappie at night. Caught about 8-10 cats , when the boat started swaying.
You guys will have to pardon a woman that is still learning all the "goodies" that make fishing more fun.
My boat has a little metal thing that my anchor rope goes through on the bow. It has a clamp thingie that keeps the rope from going out once it hits the bottom. I'm thinking that I'm going to do away with that thing. It makes it really hard to set my anchors and get hold on both ends. I can get the back one good. I just start letting it out a ways off from where I want to be and pull it until it sets. But, the front one is a bugger. Anyone know how to make that thing work and be easier than without it?
Anyway, I came home and did my first filet! I was taught to scale and gut, cut the heads and tail off and then fry. I've read on here how to filet, so I went and bought me a filet knife (not electric) and did me a home-school after fishing today.
They turned out great. I had maybe a dot or two of skin where I got to close. But, for the most part, I wasted little and got some nice filets. I was surprised at how quick it was to do, too.
Alright.. I've babbled enough, Thanks guys for the pointers and chance to learn.

[funfishing]

Glad you had a good day. I too have been known to go after cats if the crappie are not hungry. Even on a night stalk if no crappie are to be had I'll drop the lines to the bottom and get a few cats. I am taking my nephew and a freind of his tomorrow night for a little stalking. I hope we do not have to resort to catfishing but I'll take whatever I can get.

[Darryl Morris]

Sounds like you had a great day. And, I'm extremely impressed that you're trying new things on your own. Way to go. The day my wife fillets a fish is the day I hire a private investigator to find out what that woman did to my wife, lol.

[rango]

Got the kids off to school and hooked up the boat. It was a beautiful day here, in the 80's. It was cool this morning though, real nice.
I tried around a few more of those barrel "fish attractors", to no real reward.
I quit trying for crappie and went for the kitties. I'm used to catching my best crappie at night. Caught about 8-10 cats , when the boat started swaying.
You guys will have to pardon a woman that is still learning all the "goodies" that make fishing more fun.
My boat has a little metal thing that my anchor rope goes through on the bow. It has a clamp thingie that keeps the rope from going out once it hits the bottom. I'm thinking that I'm going to do away with that thing. It makes it really hard to set my anchors and get hold on both ends. I can get the back one good. I just start letting it out a ways off from where I want to be and pull it until it sets. But, the front one is a bugger. Anyone know how to make that thing work and be easier than without it?
Anyway, I came home and did my first filet! I was taught to scale and gut, cut the heads and tail off and then fry. I've read on here how to filet, so I went and bought me a filet knife (not electric) and did me a home-school after fishing today.
They turned out great. I had maybe a dot or two of skin where I got to close. But, for the most part, I wasted little and got some nice filets. I was surprised at how quick it was to do, too.
Alright.. I've babbled enough, Thanks guys for the pointers and chance to learn.

Id do away with the anchoring system you got and get me a couple 3 to 5 gallon buckets to store the rope in to keep it from tangling and get a couple good grabbin anchors and learn how to set them. use at least a 3/8 inch rope so it wont cut your hands. you can get it at walmart in 150 ft spools. tie a block of stryrofoam to the end so you can retrieve it if it slips out of your hands. the foam is handy if you have to toss the rope over the side in case you need to get an anchor unstuck. you need to set your anchors away from the boat and draw the boat between them good and tight. that will keep the boat from shifting and swaying. just droping an anchor off the back and one off the front WILL NOT stabilize your boat for a good fishing platform. the guys using heavy weight anchors will probably disagree with me, but heavy wind and boat wakes will cause even them anchors to shift. but they the ones thats gotta pull em in . you dont need a anchor thats gonna bust a gut gettin it in. the grabbin type anchors ( I use the chene style) are not heavy and will dig in just about anywhere and hold your boat till you want to move it. Ive been in boats thats had anchors that weighed up to 50 lbs. needless to say, when it come to set em, i let the captain put em out and take em in. if you dont have any help settin the anchors, once you get the back one hung, run all its rope out and then drop your front one and let a little rope out, then tie it off and pull the boat to the hung anchor. most of the time you can hang it on the first pull if you got a grabber. once its hung then tie off the rear anchor after you got the boat good and tight tween the two. when you get ready to go, loosed the ropes, and pull to one thats got the shortest rope, pull it free, puttin the rope in the bucket as you pull it in.(prevents tangles) then get the second anchor. like i said earlier, if one is stuck you can toss the rope over the side till you get the other one loose then use the boat to pull the stuck one free if you have to, by pulling in the opposite direction it is hung. I have never lost an anchor due to a hang, we've always got em back, execpt for one that slipped out of my pards hands and it dint have a foam block to make it float.
as far as cleaning the fish, if you gonna fillet, id get an electric knife. makes it a lot easier. if you aint, then id gash the fish to the backbone down each side, puttin the gashes about an inch apart. this lets the oil get in and the fish cooks pretty fast. the tails is my favorite part, so if im gonna fillet, ill take a fillet off one side and leave the other side intact on the backbone with the tail. that way you can have your cake and eat it to. most of the time i just gash, unless i know some kids gonna be eatin with me. then ill serve up some fillets for them. nows the time to learn to set your anchors before they really turn on. once they turn on, you dont want no slipping anchors to spoil your night. good luck

[eimhoff]

This is what Moose1am is talking about as far as anchor mates are concerned

anchor mate on ebay

Thease can be somewhat pricey, but once installed, they are very nice. My friend has one at each end of his boat. Anchors in or out in about 10 seconds.

[rango]

This is what Moose1am is talking about as far as anchor mates are concerned

anchor mate on ebay

Thease can be somewhat pricey, but once installed, they are very nice. My friend has one at each end of his boat. Anchors in or out in about 10 seconds.

How much rope does one of these things hold? I dont beleive it would hold enough to "set" an anchor. If you dont set the anchors and draw the boat tight between em, you gonna have problems with the currents,wind and wave wakes from boats causing you to shift and sway. not a good thing for a nightstalker

[anchorpuller]

Here is a picture of the anchor thingie that came on my boat. I think Rango is right. The way I was shown to anchor the boat is the way Rango describes. I was just trying to use this thing and thought it might make it easier. I have the fluke type anchors and the five gallon buckets. (one at front and one at rear. I have 100' of rope on each. I really think the man that had this boat before me must have used a mushroom type anchor and fished local ponds or something. I believe I'll just take the rope out of this thing and do it the way Rango describes, adding the foam. Do you think a piece of noodle will do?
As far as an anchor buddy, with the chain and all, I'd still have to go to the front of the boat to put the anchor over. So, I think it would do about the same as this thing I have now..maybe just a little fancier.
Thanks everyone.
Here is a picture of the thingie I was talking about:

[eimhoff]

Well, my buddys boat has allot smaller line for his anchors and they work great. You never have to hand reel anything so smaller line tearing up your hands isnt a problem. A little bit bigger than clothes line. Its also very easy to put in and retrieve. Probally 1/2 to 1/4 of what you have. 6"-8" of chain to the anchor and the small cord attaches to the chain. We have never run short as far as depth is concerned.

I'll get a picture next time we are out.


Pretty much all about prefrence and whats easist for you. Im still working on my 1959 johnson seahorse 10 , so I havnt crossed the anchor bridge just yet 8 )

[rango]

well guys and gals, im speaking from experience about this anchoring situation. for nightstalking, you want a stable platform so you can see the bite. the rod tip is your bite indicator most of the time, sorta like a cork is if you using one. and you want to be able to see the bite so you gotta be farily stable. In my opinion theres nothing no worse for a nightstalker than not gettin a good anchor and having problems with boat wakes, wind and current (current thats formed when they start pulling water) after you get set up and get your lines out. the way i described how i do it is the simplest and least aggravating way for me .. and it works great.

[Crappie Reaper]

I got to go with Rango on this one. I don't have styrofoam tied to the ends of the rope, but they are on cleats with plenty of rope to spare. I personally use 1/4" nylon rope, but, my boat is only 15.5' and it's plenty strong enough. It does not stretch like the poly does. I don't put mine in buckets either because it would eat too much room up in the boat. But, It stays very tangle free. Because I use my front anchor rope to launch off trailer too, (100'), I just lay it on the bow as I am getting into the boat and set the anchor on top of it. Because it's only 1/4", it lays very flat and I can walk, lay rods, or whatever over the top. If I start hitting on some fish, I can ease into the wind a bit, and just lower it slowly. Much faster to pull up if one does not have to crank. Only thing I want to crank is the drag back in that the biggun is taking off my reel.