[FIRE-FISH]

Putting together a river anchor for my 15 ft Smoker. Friend made me an anchor, just looking to get the rope and chain. Been to Home Depot, but were out of the chain I want. Also, is 50ft of rope enough? Was going to buy 50ft of 1/2 inch braided nylon with 5/16 Galvanized chain. Does this sound appropriate? I think the anchor weighs 40lbs. Any other suggestions for cheap rope/chain?

Thanks guys! :beerchug:

FF....have you noticed there are alot of FF's on here?

 

[fisherforever]

I'd go with 100' feet of rope and 15' of chain (chain should be same length as your boat)

 

[Yamadirt426]

ya he's right i second that eace:

 

[woody]

If you're fishing the fraser you definitely need a hundred feet, it's not unusual to anchor in thirty to forty feet of water in the lower fraser when sturgeon fishing, at those depths fifty feet would be to short.

 

[STLHDR]

Isn't it something like every foot deep the water is you should have 3 times the rope out? That way the anchor (with the help of the chain) will lay on its side and actually bite into the river floor.

 

[gretzky2kurri]

I thought it was 5 -7 times. And you need to add the feet from your bow to the surface of the water too.

So if you sounder says 16 feet and your bow is 4 feet from the surface you need 100 - 140 feet. Shoot for 120 say. Now that I've equated that......it seems like a lot to me. Hopefully someone will chime in.

Just to steer this off course more. Whats a good method of knowing how many feet of rope you actually have out? How are people marking their ropes or whatever? Paint?

I'm very sick of guessing and want to get a bit more scientific............ :

 

[firstlight]

If your only fishing up a above Chilliwack then 50 ft will be enough with a minimum 15 ft chain.
Dont forget to attach the anchor backwards and use zap strap at the non business end so if you snag you can pull it out backwards.
Spend the money on decent rope and galvanised chain.

 

[mefish]

I taken my basic sailing course a few years back, and we were anchoring off English Bay about in 25 ft of water.

You can check out the following website about anchoring:

http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/ReviewPages/BoatUSF/Project/info5e.htm

 

[rpt]

The info on the link “mefish” provided is great. I would only add that you might want to have the chain in two sections so you can remove one section to anchor in shallow water such as the Sumas canal where the depth might be just 6 or 8 feet – it’s easier to tie off a rope than a chain.

 

[abbyfireguy]

Put a quick link in the middle of 15 feet of chain if you are going to anchor in shallow water. Use the same amount of chain as your length of boat at a minimum. NEVER use chain only in The Fraser as you want to be able to cut you anchor line instantly if your boat or anchor line gets caught up by debris drifting down river. This will sink your vessel super fast. I have a knife in a sheath permanently attached very close to the anchor attachment point (in my case a power winch)and it never gets taken out for anything but an emergency.
I would have 100 feet or even 125 feet of rope..
Use BBB chain if you can't find Proof Chain.
A good large ,galvanized or stainless swivel between the chain and anchor is a good transition point as well.
Try Thomas at TNT as they have bulk anchor chain and rope of the proper type in stock at all times.

 

[FIRE-FISH]

Thanks for all your replies! Some very useful info. Went with 100' of rope, 15 ft. galv. chain to go with the anchor a friend made me. A real beauty river anchor, weighing in about 40lbs. A little big for my boat, but real nice work. Worked well on the Fraser yesterday, wish the sturgeon had of shown up for us. No pics this time.

 

[firstlight]

You might want to get a danforth anchor if fishing from the Vedder mouth downstream as they are cheap.
You wouldnt want to lose that nice river river anchor.

 

[Big Green Machine]

You should also attach a buoy / channle marker (not sure if that is what it is called; looks like a big orange ball) to the end of your anchor line so if you have to leave your anchor for safety reasons or to chase a fish you can always come back to it and your best fishing spot! I didn't think about having to cut my anchor line. In most instances one could simply untie it from the cleat but I suppose there would be times when cutting is necessary.

 

[mefish]

Never thought about having a knife, just in case for emergency where one has to cut the anchor line. Never can be too safe when it comes to boating and what to do in an emergency case.

Be sure that the right type of sailor knot is used when anchoring or mooring, so that you can loosen the knot easily when it comes time for an emergency.

 

[abbyfireguy]

Anchoring in rivers is totally different than ocean or lake anchoring. Many don't realize this and end up in trouble or worse,sunk in seconds. Believe me, it happens so fast it would shock you..

 

[woody]

One reason I can think of for cutting your anchor line would be if a tree or log drifted gown the river and snagged your anchor line, would pull the front of your boat under pretty quick and unlikley that you would be able to untie from your cleat.