Using anchor with pontoon??

[michael44]

I have never used an anchor with my pontoon. Anything that I shouldn't do? Any little tricks?
What about slow parts of a river?

Thanks in advance!
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[flygoddess]

Anchors on rivers can be great for slowing you down. Down side is in extreme conditions it could be disaster. I have seen frames fold in videos.
A lot I knbow that use them on rivers and I use when I do use one, is a larger carabiner with large links of chain attached. I use about a 4" long Carabiner and about three strands of 3 to 5 links of heavy chain. Not much weight but great drag. They seem less likely to hang up, but some say they can also tear up the river bed.
Something to be aware of.
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[Idaho]

A small bucket can work will. Trolling a 5 gal. bucket slows a small boat down.

Idaho
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[Idaho]

A small bucket can work well. Trolling a 5 gal. bucket slows a small boat down. Perfect.

Idaho
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[Mojo1]

Just make sure you either have a sharp knife handy, or a knot you can shuck quickly if things start to go bad...
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[SagebrushID]

For lake fishing, I generally use a 20ish lbs pyramid-style drift boat anchor on my 9 foot pontoon. It holds in CRAZY wind. I also have a smaller 8 lbs mushroom style anchor that works pretty good, especially when there's mud/muck or rocks for it to get stuck.

Always err on the side of caution (i.e. slowness) when anchoring in a river. And keep a knife handy just in case!
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[flygoddess]

20lb? Holy crap, that could build some muscles[laugh] Isn't that a lot of extra weight on a pontoon?
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[idahoron]

The current is too fast for a lot of the places I fish. If I want to anchor up I use brush anchors. I use a clamp that has teeth and I tie a piece of rope to it and tie it to the boat. I would anchor up for sturgeon but I am afraid that I couldn't get it up and deal with the fish at the same time. I have seen guys in big boats that have a float on their line and just throw the float overboard when they hook up. I would be afraid that a sturgeon would wrap the anchor line.
I see more con's than Pro's for my ways of fishing, I don't want one.
Ron
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[michael44]

one of the reasons I ask is that I found a couple holes on the river that have private property on both sides, nowhere to stop and fish. I have tied into some really nice fish every time I have floated that section. problem is that you drift through pretty quick and you don't get much of a chance to fish. I'm going to try FG's Idea with the chain and see how it goes.
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[Mojo1]

If you can pull over to shore, and stay below the high water mark, you are legal to fish. In Idaho, private property only goes to the "mean high water mark", meaning average high water mark. Heck, usually you can pull in to an eddy, or shallow water and just put your feet down.

in some rivers, dragging a chain or other "drag anchor" can wreck redds, and destroy insect habitat that is crucial for fish food. Definitley better than doing the "San Juan Shuffle" though...

Just a thought.
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