[conan]

Being from Alberta and having been to the coast only a couple of times some of my questions might seem trivial to some ,but if it wasn't for folks looking for advice I guess forums like this would not exist.

As I understand it the best time to fish for halibut would be during slack tide where there is little current so no anchor would be needed. When a anchor is needed I was wondering what the locals use to retieve their anchors? Is the buoy retieval the most common or is a winch system better.

Thx Conan eace:

 

[Dogbreath]

Re: anchor retrieval

Most people don't anchor at all no matter the tide, southern Vancouver Island they do but that's about it.

The Anchor Lift system as manufactured by http://www.ironwoodpacific.com is easy to use.

Remember that once that tide starts to move you're still pegged to the bottom and that can cause all sorts of problems personally I think anyone who anchors is nuts (or very experienced).

EDIT-I should have said that most people don't bother even fishing for Butts in bigger tides, it often means so much water moving so fast that you need pounds to get down to where they live.

 

[conan]

That answers my question. Good advice thanks eace:

Conan

 

[onemorecast]

I've anchored up for halibut in places like FishTrap out of Kitimat. It is less than 100 ft. and the tides kind of swirl for a while before and after slack. Once the tide starts running you can't make it to the bottom anyway. Most times we just drift and try to stay on top of the rigs. It might be my imagination but the wind always seems to blow the opposite direction that the tide is running making any drift double hard.

 

[conan]

I think next year will be going to Kitimat, never been but I've heard allot of good things.
Port Hardy this year.

 

[Steelie Trav]

Re: anchor retrieval

Most people don't anchor at all no matter the tide, southern Vancouver Island they do but that's about it.

The Anchor Lift system as manufactured by http://www.ironwoodpacific.com is easy to use.

Remember that once that tide starts to move you're still pegged to the bottom and that can cause all sorts of problems personally I think anyone who anchors is nuts (or very experienced).

EDIT-I should have said that most people don't bother even fishing for Butts in bigger tides, it often means so much water moving so fast that you need pounds to get down to where they live.

Is this anchor lift sold in stores locally? Or does it have to be ordered from the site? I have a 40lb river anchor on my boat and pulling that thing up is a tiring job...especially when you do it numerous times in one day.

 

[Megabyte]

I've anchored to fish for halis. In general, you anchor in water to maybe 120' deep, near a dropoff to deeper water. Always use a large Scotty buoy - never tie directly to the anchor rope without a Scotty in place. This buoy means 1. your boat bouncing pulls the buoy, not the anchor, so it's less likely to move the anchor; and 2. you can let go from the anchor any time you want (e.g., to go pull up that barn door you just hooked into). If you recognize the wisdom in 2, you'll also realize you want a way to easily and quickly let go of that anchor line. Funny how excited you can get when you hook a big fish.

When it's time to pull the anchor, and I don't care whether it's slack or the tide is running 3 knots, this is more or less the approach: 1. start up and warm up big motor (stalling while pulling anchor is not good) 2. motor up towards the Scotty to get some slack 3. untie the anchor line and, while maintaining slack, re-tie it to a stern cleat 4. run the boat at power in a big arc either side of your anchor, toward your anchor - you're trying to pull it up forwards and sideways 5. even when you know it's free, keep going till the anchor is planing behind you 6. turn the boat sidways to the anchor line which is now behind you, and stop 7. get your deck hand to pull the line in quickly (quick because the anchor is now dropping again, but little risk of hitting bottom). I've done this lots of times with no anchor pulling hardware. It's smart to wear gloves.

Good luck.

 

[dra21]

Saw an anchor lift at Steveston Marine in Langley, $26.00.