I have been getting into river smallmouth fishing and have had some success with it so far. What has been working for me is finding dead tree piles along the bank of the river where they are making slower water and eddies. I paddle into these and back up my kayak to the downstream side of the dead pile and drop anchor. I have currently not had a problem with the anchor getting jammed up in the logs under water, but I have a suspicion its coming if I keep up this tactic. Do brush anchors (essentially very large alligator clips) work and what is a good one? It would be nice to back up to a log pile, clip onto it, and fish without having to worry if I am going to get snagged in such a way that I may need to cut my anchor line.
I haven’t used them, but I have …
… simply tied a rope to brush to do what you describe. A brush anchor should be a perfectly good method, which as you say, doesn’t carry the risk of getting your anchor permanently snagged. Also with this method, a fish can’t wrap your fishing line around the anchor line.
I can’t recommend a brand. The only ones I’ve seen looked to be sensibly designed.
I didn’t think of that…
…but I think I am going to try that first and see how I like it. Tanks for the idea.
I’ve used pne in a jon boat
It worked ok.
I don’t like extra rope laying around in a kayak.
What to do with excess rope
Standard anchor lines need to be pretty strong, mostly so the anchor can be recovered when it gets stuck. For a brush anchor, the connecting line doesn’t need to be strong at all, and standard parachute cord would be overkill, yet an easy diameter to work with. 50 feet of parachute cord wound onto a home-built flat spool wouldn’t be much bigger than the average person’s wallet.
I never have anchor rope laying around in any boat. Flat spools made of any thin, stiff material, eliminate the need for loose rope to lay around.
Should have thought of this before
Tying a rope with one hand is not easy if the current is pulling on your boat, and virtually impossible for someone who’s not well-practiced with knots. I’d suggest that if you don’t get a brush anchor, at least get a small hook with a finger-actuated clipping action, such as what is common on dog leashes or fasteners for small chains. Tie the base of the clip to your rope, then you can just wrap your rope around a branch and clip the hook back onto the rope. Easy on, easy off with one hand.
Brush Anchor
I made one and it works great. get a large plastic clamp from Lowes some rope and a brass clip. drill a hole in the handle of the clamp to accommodate the rope and attach it. use the brass clip and clip it to your boat so you can release it quickly if needed.
Blakemor brush gripper
– Last Updated: Sep-03-15 9:20 PM EST –
The Brush Gripper from the Blakemore company (famous for the "roadrunner" jig)is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Been using on my canoe for 25 years, and now have one on each end of new kayak. I buy the smaller of the two they sale, clip on overhanging sugar maple branches to fish mid-river, backpaddle, release with one hand. The harder you pull the more they clamp. Makes great pull rope for your vessel also.
a carabineer
an oversized one on a short line should clip on easily
brush anchor
What works as well as anything is just a regular old clamp. they can be found in any hardware store. Buy a large one, no need for the extra large. Slip a length of 1/8th para cord between the handles, through the opening around the spring and secure (as with a loop of some kind). I leave about 10’ to 15’ to tie to my craft that’s usually plenty.
Another option is the kayak anchors with the fold out arms. Leave them closed and secured with the collar! Tie your anchor line to the bottom of the anchor. Bring the line to the top eye and secure with a light duty"TIE WRAP".If you hang up a stiff jerk will break the “TIE WRAP”. this will let your anchor rope turn the anchor upside down automatically closing the arms and hopefully pulling free.
Bruch clip
Blake Moore brush clip will hold a 16’ flat bottom boat with 3 people in river they lock down with pressure have some serious teeth they bite in and way rope goose through hook they pull on clip keeping it hooked to what ever they got a hold of .i own 3 of them simple effective .