Sand anchor OR Grapnel anchor?

[Rah]

G'day,

what's everyone's opinion? Getting an anchor in the next week for the kayak and unsure which is the best to get. Is a sand anchor ONLY for sandy bottom?

This is only for estuary fishing nothing crazy.

Secondly, is it better to get a trolley anchor kit or is it cheaper to buy the parts individually? If i get them individually what is best to use for the line? Iv seen some different things on youtube that say get bungee or get a certain type of rope, whats everyone's experience with these?

If anyone has any tips or tricks, i'm all ears

Thanks in advance.

Cheers

Tara

[dynabolt]

This topic is perfect. I have worked out that I need an anchor for my yak. Now my experience with boats and anchors has been poor in so far as I have lost 2 sand anchors due to snags. And this has been even though the sounder didn't show any reefs or anything - must have dragged into it. So my first thought is not a sand anchor as trees fall all the time into estuaries... Keen to hear other views though

[Rah]

Thanks for the reply's. Will source out a brick and give that a go.

Cheers

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[antonywardle]

Look for street collections. people some time throw out old bricks

You might even find an old water pipe, fill it with concrete and you can make

one for less than $5 plus rope ;-)

[Brew]

I use a rope tied to the weights used in a diving weight belt. You can add more weights depending on the current. Drop into your local dive shop and see if you can pick up some for a few dollars. They usually have old weights lying around.

+ they are small and don't take up much room.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Brew

[Rah]

Thanks for all the ideas. Will see what i can dig up.

[allen_f]

Here is my experience so far on the yak. I have used bungee for the anchor trolley, I do not recommend it. Yes it stretches and allows for give, but adjusting the position of the trolley is not the easier as there is too much stretch even when it is pulled tight. Currently my new trolley uses just your standard rope, not sure what exactly it is haha sorry my rope knowledge isnt the best. I have used a large and small sand anchor, i think 700g and 1.5kg variety or whatever that come in. I lost one large one in the georges from a snag :'( very sad day for me, and caught no fish that day. But if you're out on sandy, weedy bottom you should be sweet. The small anchor will hold fine if you're fishing the shallows or any body of water with no current, a bit of chain helps too! I've never used a grapnel, so I can't comment on that sorry! I believe its about the same price getting stainless steel components and buying just a prepacked kit, most likely a difference of around $5 as stainless isn't cheap

[sharknett]

The anchor trolley is usually rope and pulleys. The bungy is usually just a short length or loop between the anchor trolley tie off point & the rope attached to the anchor.

It is also a good idea to incorporate a float (in case you have to move away from the anchor) and quick release such as a cleat.

If you need to chase a large fish or release the anchor in an unforeseen emergency you don't want to be stuck pulling the anchor all the way in.

[Rah]

Thanks for the input everyone. Will post how i go.

Cheers

Tara

[jordy]

I use a 3kg kettle bell and some chain does the job for me but I don't fish in strong current.

[Razzell]

My general rule is: if I need an anchor, I'm not fishing! Can't stand the faffing that comes with an anchor...

However, after losing a couple of sand anchors, I switched to grapnels. Have never had any bother with them and they work well enough on sandy bottoms, also.