Anchor in your bass boat?

CraigP83 · April 17, 2014, 04:08:01 PM

Do you guys carry an anchor in your bass boat? If so what style and weight? I haven't the last 2 years but there have been a few times were it would have come in handy

Polaris425 · April 17, 2014, 04:28:29 PM

Sometimes my bro N law goes fishing with me.................. he's probably about 250lbs

gelhar17 · April 20, 2014, 10:47:36 AM

I carry a mushroom anchor and 200 feet of rope for it. An anchor can be a huge safety item if you break down and need to hold position. Sometimes floating to shore can be bad. Or worse, being pulled away from shore.

Princeton_Man · April 20, 2014, 02:29:21 PM

I have a couple in the garage that I acquired with a boat a some time ago but never gave thought to putting one in the bass boat. Gelhar17 has a good point regarding safety. I do carry a 150' bundle of rope. -Jim

Mike Cork · April 21, 2014, 10:54:08 AM

Here in Louisiana it's mandatory. I carry a ten pound spike anchor.

bass1cpr · April 21, 2014, 11:09:30 AM

Illinois requires an anchor in the boat also.

Siebert Outdoors · April 21, 2014, 11:11:10 AM

I have a 28lb river anchor. I do not always carry it in the boat just when I'm going to panfish or dive.

boydn1 · April 21, 2014, 11:49:28 AM

bass1cpr, any idea where that is written? I just did some google and can't find it. I took mine out a while back, may to put it back. Thanks

BOATS · April 21, 2014, 07:21:18 PM

Florida not mandatory and I don't because of having secondary propulsion ie; trolling motor, also I never stationary fish.

OutdoorFrontiers · April 22, 2014, 10:17:42 AM

Quote from: BOATS on April 21, 2014, 07:21:18 PM
Florida not mandatory and I don't because of having secondary propulsion ie; trolling motor, also I never stationary fish.

I rarely/never stationary fish and I too have secondary propulsion. But what happens when your outboard won't start, you've run your trolling motor batteries down to nothing and the wind is pushing you toward a rock/rubble shoreline? That happened to me ONE time and I swore I'd never risk my boat and my body again.

I had to jump into the water and attempt to keep my boat off the rocks. I can't tell you how many times I stepped between rocks, had my feet slip out from underneath me and bashed myself literally bloody that afternoon. I'll bet close to two dozen boats went whizzing by and waved at me as I was frantically trying to attract some attention. I did it for over an hour before someone finally noticed I was having trouble and came to investigate.

Because of that, I carry TWO anchors. One is a 28 lb. Richter anchor and the other is a 20 lb. River anchor. I carry two because sometimes one just won't hold if the wind is bad enough....

Steve

Nelsonv1975 · April 24, 2014, 12:35:25 AM

I'd just lower my Power Poles until they stuck in the ground.

Polaris425 · April 24, 2014, 09:47:08 AM

Quote from: Polaris425 on April 17, 2014, 04:28:29 PM
Sometimes my bro N law goes fishing with me.................. he's probably about 250lbs

Man I can't believe I didnt even get a reply to that...

I do not carry an anchor, rarely fish where I would need one. There have been a few times I wish I had a power pole though.

Deadeye · April 24, 2014, 09:47:33 AM

I'm pretty sure Florida does require one, but I could be wrong. I know that they have different rules depending on boat length.

I always carry one and sometimes two if I plan to shiner fish or fish for blugill, helps to position the boat. I use mine whenever I want to take a break for lunch or snap a photo, but then again I do not have Power Poles either.

Jared LeBlue · April 24, 2014, 10:36:52 AM

Quote from: Mike Cork on April 21, 2014, 10:54:08 AM
Here in Louisiana it's mandatory. I carry a ten pound spike anchor.

Mike I thought the same thing. There use to be something about paddles also but I just checked on The WLF boating page and neither of these things are listed.

Mike Cork · April 24, 2014, 11:00:36 AM

That's interesting? It used to be... I'll have to so some digging as well. I know I've been checked before and they wanted to see life jackets, paddles, anchor with rope, throwable PFD with rope and the fire extinguisher

Deadeye · April 25, 2014, 01:43:57 PM

I will stand corrected in my earlier statement that I thought Florida required you to carry one. At one time they did.

However after reviewing the FWC site I found no reference to anything having to do with anchors, except that in addition to the listed rules all US Coast Guard Rules applied. So I went there and once again there is NO RULE stating that you must carry an anchor no matter what size of boat.

I know there used to be, but it looks like for whatever reason the rule has been lifted. It looks like individual states may require it but the Federal Rules and Florida do not.

spetro · May 20, 2014, 08:59:48 AM

Since I am a vessel safety inspector for the Coast Guard here is my take. It is not required to carry an anchor onboard via Federal regulations. Local laws override Federal requirements. You must check with the local COUNTY you will be boating in.

When I am teaching boat safety course, my chapter is number 2 "Before getting underway". There at the end of that chapter is a list of "accessories". I have to laugh when I see an anchor in the accessory list, and I tell the students that it is the most ignorant accessory. It should be Mandatory...period in my opinion.

There are countless scenarios that anyone without an anchor would do anything to have one when needed. I compare a boat without an anchor is like a truck without brakes!!!! The below anchor is the best one for all around use for boats under 25'. Just as important is the length of chain connected to it. It is the chain that forces the anchor to seat. See chart below.
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