03-17-2007, 12:35 PM
I'll touch on this because proper anchoring is so critical when it comes to catching fish. Many species of fish, like sheepshead since they've been so popular lately, don't come off the structure very far. If you're not on it, you won't catch fish.
The first thing you need to do is find the structure. Once you see the spot on the sonar, mark it on your GPS. Now you know what you're shooting for.
I don't like to be the first boat on the reef. (depending on the situation) I can look at the neighboring boats and tell how my boat is going to swing. This helps out alot because i'll know from what direction to make my second pass at the structure I just marked on my GPS. \
Keep in mind that with a regular anchor, you'll need to let out 3 times the length of rope that the water is deep. In other words, if the water is 30' deep, you're going to need 90' of anchor line to hang it. Notice I said regular anchor. The reason behind this is simple. Take your anchor and lay it on the ground. Now pick up the rod that the rope attaches to until it won't go any further without changing the angle of the base of the anchor. This is the angle that the line has to run to the boat in order for the anchor to function properly.
The next part is easy. Once you mark the structure on your sonar again, depending on the depth of the water, go out as many yard as you need to ahead of the structure and drop anchor. Give yourself enough slack that if you come up short you'll have enough line to let out so you can get over the structure. If you're just a few feet off, that could mean the difference in catching fish and going home empty handed.
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The first thing you need to do is find the structure. Once you see the spot on the sonar, mark it on your GPS. Now you know what you're shooting for.
I don't like to be the first boat on the reef. (depending on the situation) I can look at the neighboring boats and tell how my boat is going to swing. This helps out alot because i'll know from what direction to make my second pass at the structure I just marked on my GPS. \
Keep in mind that with a regular anchor, you'll need to let out 3 times the length of rope that the water is deep. In other words, if the water is 30' deep, you're going to need 90' of anchor line to hang it. Notice I said regular anchor. The reason behind this is simple. Take your anchor and lay it on the ground. Now pick up the rod that the rope attaches to until it won't go any further without changing the angle of the base of the anchor. This is the angle that the line has to run to the boat in order for the anchor to function properly.
The next part is easy. Once you mark the structure on your sonar again, depending on the depth of the water, go out as many yard as you need to ahead of the structure and drop anchor. Give yourself enough slack that if you come up short you'll have enough line to let out so you can get over the structure. If you're just a few feet off, that could mean the difference in catching fish and going home empty handed.
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