[PhishingPhreek]

So after Saturday night I've realized I need some new anchors... not just because I lost one when my rope snapped, but because the ones I have apparently won't hold my boat down. Currently I've been using a traditional boat anchor, I guess called a Danforth, on the back and a Mushroom Type anchor on the front. It took a few hours before the rear anchor grabbed onto something and I was set. The front (mushroom) anchor didn't do anything.

What type of anchor and at what weight does everyone here use? Probably important to know the size of your boat as well. I have a 21' Triton that has a body designed to create a wake for wakeboarding so I'm deep in the water I get tossed around a lot!

[sandman]

Equally important is the length of the rode (rope).

Here's an informative link:

http://www.boatus.com/boattech/casey/34.htm

[cousinlll]

For my 18' boat, I've been using a river anchor ( http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops&-x00ae;-River-Anchor/product/45253/-949328?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL ).  I think it's 20 lbs or maybe the 15 lbs?  It might be a bit light for my heavy boat.  Always seemed to hold me in place although I'm not anchoring up in very heavy seas.

Only time I really use it is Striper fishing at Pleasant.  I only have 100' of rope on it now but I defiantly could use another 75' to 100' more.  Have not put a chain on it but know that, along with more rode, will help the anchor catch the bottom better.

LLL

[eo3510]

15 lb river anchor, 150 ft of rope, 4 ft chain leader. x2

[Fish Hawk]

chain leader is the way to go, with lots of rope

[OneBlade]

On my light boat, I have a 15 or 20lb Navy style one on the front and 10lb or 15lb on the back:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Anchoring-Docking/Boat-Anchoring|/pc/104794380/c/104692680/sc/104188680/Cabelas-Painted-Anchors/701531.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-anchoring-docking-boat-anchoring%2F_%2FN-1100644&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104188680

I don't have the chain leader but seems like that's the way to go (don't know why).  I do know you need to have a real good angle (not just straight down) so lots of rope helps like 150ft to 200ft.

[sandman]

The chain leader helps to keep it down where it can get a good hook.

[yandrew8]

I use a slip ring mechanical anchor with 150' of rope.  The nice thing about this type of anchor is you let out excess line to get a decent angle on the rope and it will actually dig into the bottom or hang into the rocks.  If it gets stuck you pull from the opposite direction and it comes out everytime.  You don't need a chain to help hold it down plus it weighs only 6 lbs for upto 18' boat and 11 lbs for 22' boat.

[PhishingPhreek]

The river anchor is the one I ended up losing in the lake, but had a back up one.(I've been calling it a mushroom anchor, but it was most definitely a river anchor. Not really sure what the weight is on that one though. As for the rope, it looks like I've been doing it ALL wrong. The longest rope I have is 100' and I don't even use it all. I should be putting more rope out there when dropping anchor and should probably be investing in a chain as well. I think that should help me stay anchored and I won't be annoying all of you out there when night fishing... well, not annoying as much.

[sandman]

I use a slip ring mechanical anchor with 150' of rope.  The nice thing about this type of anchor is you let out excess line to get a decent angle on the rope and it will actually dig into the bottom or hang into the rocks.  If it gets stuck you pull from the opposite direction and it comes out everytime.  You don't need a chain to help hold it down plus it weighs only 6 lbs for upto 18' boat and 11 lbs for 22' boat.

That's the anchor that I use but I have always used a 6' chain to lay it down quick.

There was a time when all that I used was a 20-25' piece of logging chain