I awoke in the middle of the night with an epiphany; that I need to anchor in the river to truly fish it thoroughly and effectively. Towards the end of the summer I took my current vessel (an inflatable sevylor yak) in the river several times- no anchor. The battle with the current is pretty constant, even during the summer low water. In 2012 i fished half the season in the river with my jonboat and anchor. The anchor was fantastic under a 12ft jonboat with oars. My jonboat had since been stolen. I am asking is it feasible to use a light anchor on an inflatable yak? The yak is stable. I would run the rope thru the little plastic eyelets on the side an then thru the handle square on the bow. This way the anchor rope will not be pulling on the side. My kayak is the sevylor K5.

Yes -  but definitely use it with prudence.

 

For your situation,  a sufficient length of quality nylon line connected to a short section of heavy chain will make an excellent "anchor".   These are less prone to hang ups and possess no puncture qualities.

 

 Some boaters  "shrink wrap" the chain to make it quieter - both ways are effective.

 

A-Jay

I think your good, just don't get sideways or you'll flip! Good luck!

make sure you have a quick release of some sort

Get this style anchor and rig it the way he describes in this video.

 

I would have a sharp knife on hand to cut the rope quick if there is an emergency. I don't want to die out there.

Stake out pole?

anchoring in current with a kayak is tricky and an endeavor that has to be taken seriously.  You have to anchor directly off the bow or stern in any type of current or you will be taking a swim pretty quickly.  I used to carry one with me but don't even bother any more.  I have found that it is easier to just use my stakeout pole and get out of the kayak more effective or use eddies to my advantage and hold boat position.  

 

I don't think there is anything harder in the world of kayak fishing than learning to hold position in a river but over time it does get better and it also really helps in learning to read the water in a more in depth way.

Be careful out there!

I would some how make up a rubbing tube or curved plate to remove ANY line rubbing on the hull.  Also go to a metal or machinist shop for a piece of solid shafting. Have him round the end  & drill & tap a hole for a Stainlees Steel Eyebolt. Short squatty shafting would be best with so little length to the surface..

 

My prop shop guy did one for my 16' Aluminum Lowe boat $ 25 done.  Make sure the S S eyebolt is VERY smooth where the line rides.

 

 

I don't think there is anything harder in the world of kayak fishing than learning to hold position in a river but over time it does get better and it also really helps in learning to read the water in a more in depth way.

Thats an interesting thought. The fish don't have anchors. Maybe to be a river master one must paddle where the fish run, drift where the fish cruise, and rest where the fish ambush. 

There may come a time when a anchor will be needed due to a squall wanting to blow you out to bigger waves .  I now carry 3 anchors in each boat.  Live / survive ? for another day. A light one for little wind. Other 2 are for 3 to 5' waves if I were to be blown into a 300' deep channel in a squall.

 

That one squall did 4 footers in 15 minutes.

Thats an interesting thought. The fish don't have anchors. Maybe to be a river master one must paddle where the fish run, drift where the fish cruise, and rest where the fish ambush. 

i agree except you have to figure out where you can stop where the fish aren't to be able to get a good presentation, that is the trick, especially when working a suspending jerk bait in the cold or a bottom bouncing bait in the summer.

Get this style anchor and rig it the way he describes in this video.

 

This is an awesome video. Plain and simple.

Get you one of those anchors. I have one on my kayak, but I also have an anchor trolley, works great. I usually use about 30' of rope and holds me just fine in current and wind.  I do have a stakeout pole, but it's not that great with wind or current, especially if it's not thick mud on the bottom to get the stake at least a foot in the ground. I would highly recommend some sort of quick release system, and some sort of "bungie" to absorb the shock of waves/wakes, you don't want to rip out whatever you tied your anchor rope to, especially if it's an inflatable....oh, and put a float on the end you tie your rope to your vessel, when you need to quick release, just release and let it float, and pick it up later after the fish has been landed or waves/wakes subside.

The most important part of post # 14 is that TINY piece of plastic going thru the hole at the end of the anchor.  Those anchors can hold too well in soft bottoms.  You Might want to test it in 3' of water & mud bottom & sand after tugging gently on it 50 times. Then go past it & try to pull it out seated in the kayak .  Could be surprised. I was in a current & wind in same direction.  Thought I would roll the boat.

/i own a seaeagle 285 fpb pro and have a scotty mount and anchor system on it ,Use it all the time ,For just what your saying I pull up anchor and fish the whole area .pull it up a bit and slide down,...

Did anybody else think this was going to be a poopy thread?

VolFan if it's so poopy why are commenting on it ?

Did anybody else think this was going to be a poopy thread?

Could you elaborate? why?

MassBass did you see my set up it works very well and is perfect for an inflatable  .... 

For light winds & reasonable currents. I carry a very small Mushroom Anchor in the bow pulley.  Works fine with no points or edges.

I fish with a kayak SOT and use and anchor. It is really easy for me in the river with my anchor related to positioning. As for inflatable, just don't pop it. :-)

Also, make sure the rope is what you use. I wouldn't feel good about a metal chain rubbing on the inflatable part though.

Could you elaborate? why?

"Dropping anchor" is a euphemism for going #2... I thought this was going to be a "balancing a kayak when nature calls" thing...