You know, one of the most important factors when it comes to catching fish is boat control. It can make the difference between catching or not catching, fish. Hello again everyone. Boat control is not something a lot of people consider when there out on the water, but they should. Should you be anchoring, drifting, or trolling? Today, let’s talk about anchoring.

Anchoring

This method is used by many, but most likely, over-used. If you are sitting on a large school of Fresh Water Perch or Sunfish, or Salt Water Scup or Croakers, then go ahead – anchor away. This method will allow you to basically catch fish after fish, until such time that the School of fish leaves, or thins out.

When doing so, you will want to gently toss your anchor from the front of the boat, in the water and up-stream or ahead of where you actually want to fish. Put the boat slowly in reverse & be sure to let out plenty of anchor rope, so your anchor catches & holds your boat in position. Usually, if you use enough rope which is equivalent to 3 times the water depth, this should suffice (i.e. if in 20 feet of water, let out 60 feet of rope, minimum.)

Once you have anchored, if you have a second anchor, it will sure come in handy. It will help keep your boat stationed in one position, as opposed to swaying back & forth. You could gently drop it straight down behind your boat, or if you really want to be quiet about things, as in the example above, instead of letting out 60 feet of rope, let out 120 feet. Then, drop in your second anchor. Now you can pull on your first anchor rope until such time that you find your boat in the middle between both anchors. In essence, you will end up with one anchor about 60 feet in front of the boat and your second anchor 60 feet behind the boat, with you located right in the middle. Do this only if you feel that dropping your anchor will spook away your school of fish.

Once anchored, most people will just drop their fishing line straight down & begin fishing. This is fine, however, don’t be afraid to also cast your line out a bit. Try fan casting the area around your boat. By fan casting, I mean casting all around your boat – start on the left & work your way to the right and do so on both sides of the boat. This will allow you to cover more ground & who knows, there may be bigger fish hanging out around the perimeter of the main school?

Once your spot has “dried up” and the fishing slows down, or stops completely – it’s time to make a move & start all over. Generally speaking though, if you are fishing for any type of game fish, anchoring may not be your best option. Drifting, or drifting using an electric motor, or trolling are your better methods. If you’ve been anchoring for game fish, try one of these other methods & you most likely will find yourself catching more fish & bigger fish as well. I’ll explain each of these other methods in up-coming articles.

Until then, best fishes!

Ivo

PS: you can also read Part 2 -> Drifting

PS: you can read about Part 3 -> Trolling