Confused about not using an anchor when kayak fishing in the ocean....

Welcome, Jim.

You'll find that everybody here takes safety pretty seriously and we all take precautions to A) make sure we come home safe at the end of the day and B) not be the guy that ends up in a situation that gives our fellow kayakers a bad reputation. The ribbing that you've recieved so far has really been pretty restrained (ask a similar question in February  ), but just understand that it's pointedly good-natured.

The point that folks are trying to make is that anchoring in the ocean, no matter how calm the seas, is not the safest decision. This goes for every safety precaution ... not dressing for immersion, not carrying a radio, not wearing a PFD ... simply because it hasn't caught up to you in the past is no guarantee that it won't in the future. With the cards already stacked against us on the ocean, why put yourself in a situation that increases your odds of injury, ya know ?

Go out early before the wind comes up.

A slow drift is actually good, moves you over more fishy spots.  Drift anchors work well if the wind comes up.  Anchoring in the ocean for fishing is something nobody I know really does.  big party boats dont.  Skiff fishers don't.  Overnight boats anchor in shallow and you can fish off the boat, but soon as it's light they pull the anchor to hit better spots.  If you're getting 8 minutes of paddling for one minute of fishing, the wind is too strong.  Get up early.

Have safe and be fun!

Bushy

Sturgeon fishing is the only exception to my rule of never anchoring.  In the bay there is no swell, though.  Still can get dicey even at that,which means time to paddle in.

Throw out a marker bouy and get a pedal kayak is another alternative.  Jump to 30 secs.

what about my response offended you?

So sorry!  Not offended at all.  Just trying to help.  Best of luck.   

I've lost two anchors just trying to learn how to use one.  I've also had by far the scariest experiences learning to anchor.  I use one for sturgeon fishing and when I want to rest in a fast tide.  When I want to slow my drift I stow my anchor and use the 3 lb chain dragging on the bottom...I cannot imagine using an anchor at this point fishing for the species I eat other than sturgeon or dealing with tackle without losing my position.  My only advice is to make sure you use a ziptie properly applied to break the direction of the grappling anchor if you are stuck...be well and fish on...

Best not to use anchors at all. Wrap your leg around kelp or drift. You can cover more ground on a decent drift. Also anchors on light boats can be dangerous. If there is swell it can pull you in. While setting one with a good drift it can pull you in. Just change your weights depending on the speed of the drift. Also, if over really good structure and your anchor gets stuck it can be hard to remove without the power of an engine. This is all why we don't sell kayak anchors here in the shop

Welcome, Jim.

You'll find that everybody here takes safety pretty seriously and we all take precautions to A) make sure we come home safe at the end of the day and B) not be the guy that ends up in a situation that gives our fellow kayakers a bad reputation. The ribbing that you've recieved so far has really been pretty restrained (ask a similar question in February  ), but just understand that it's pointedly good-natured.

The point that folks are trying to make is that anchoring in the ocean, no matter how calm the seas, is not the safest decision. This goes for every safety precaution ... not dressing for immersion, not carrying a radio, not wearing a PFD ... simply because it hasn't caught up to you in the past is no guarantee that it won't in the future. With the cards already stacked against us on the ocean, why put yourself in a situation that increases your odds of injury, ya know ?

Well stated...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk