I wanted to get an anchor for time when I take friends out who wanna panfish, etc. After doing quick research, and talking to a guy at Cabela's, I decided to get a 15lb navy-style anchor. My understanding is the navy anchor will do well in both hard and soft bottoms.

 

My boat is a 17' 1/2" mod V, so it isn't overly heavy.

 

Yesterday I was out and had the anchor down (silt/muck bottom). The wind picked up and it blew me like nothing. Should I just get a heavier anchor? Or should I get a mushroom style instead? Or are there other options for sallower water anchoring (minus power poles, which I'd love at some point).

 

Thanks.

Many times, when an anchor isn't holding on a soft bottom, it's because you haven't let out enough rope. 3 times the depth is the normal amount of line to have out. 

7 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Many times, when an anchor isn't holding on a soft bottom, it's because you haven't let out enough rope. 3 times the depth is the normal amount of line to have out. 

Oh, ok. Thanks for the tip. I definitely didn't have that much rope out. I had slack, but not THAT much. Do you think 15lb is heavy enough?

 

I have the anchor tied straight to the rope. Some have said to have a chain attaching the rope to the anchor. Thoughts on that? 

17 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Many times, when an anchor isn't holding on a soft bottom, it's because you haven't let out enough rope. 3 times the depth is the normal amount of line to have out. 

I'm going with this ^^

 

Need to have plenty of line out to get the best angle and some cushioning so the flukes can do their job, at least 2X depth and preferably 3X as Scott mentioned. Mushroom anchor would be much worse under most conditions. You could add a chain as you mention, but usually not necessary under normal conditions. Fifteen pounds should be plenty under typical winds. Buddy and I both run 15# anchors with 16-18' aluminums with minimal issues.

1 hour ago, Team9nine said:

I'm going with this ^^

 

Need to have plenty of line out to get the best angle and some cushioning so the flukes can do their job, at least 2X depth and preferably 3X as Scott mentioned. Mushroom anchor would be much worse under most conditions. You could add a chain as you mention, but usually not necessary under normal conditions. Fifteen pounds should be plenty under typical winds. Buddy and I both run 15# anchors with 16-18' aluminums with minimal issues.

Thanks. Do you guys use the navy style anchor? This is what I'm using.

 

I own 2 boats. One is a glass bass fishing style boat I use on lakes. I've had it 30 years and can count on one hand the number of times I've used an anchor. I do have spot lock on my trolling motor that I use.

My other boat is a jon boat with a jet motor that I use on rivers. On that boat, I'm fighting fast current and I anchor frequently. I have spot lock on that boat too, but it doesn't hold me solidly enough so I use this 55 pound chain anchor with an electric winch that has held in the fastest water.

I use an uncoated river anchor, 15# with a little sharper fluke ends than what is shown. Digs into muck well, but you have to be a little careful around rock and stumps.

 

8 hours ago, NorthernBasser said:

Yesterday I was out and had the anchor down (silt/muck bottom). The wind picked up and it blew me like nothing. Should I just get a heavier anchor? Or should I get a mushroom style instead? Or are there other options for sallower water anchoring (minus power poles, which I'd love at some point).

 

As others said, what you probably need is more line ("rode"). Dropping it straight down just won't work. For reasons my brain hasn't entirely figured out, you need an angle. If your water is max depth 20 feet, try ~50 ft line. Drop the anchor well ahead of your desired spot so that when the line plays out at an angle, you're on the desired spot. 

 

If you can afford the cost and the amount of line to store and manage, consider a continuous loop instead of a single line. This way if your anchor gets snagged to the point of no return, you can cut the line and retrieve all of it, losing just the anchor, instead of cutting the line at the boat and losing both. Somewhere at the bottom of Square Pond in Maine there's an example of the latter