Anchoring in current

[Pinniped72]

Going to try something different this year, I intend to anchor my float and stick in the same spot rather than drift. I use a 1.5Kg collapsible anchor for my kayak which has never slipped so it should be good for little old me Depth is only a maximum of 6m in the location but the current is strong, the problem at the moment is that I drift along the coast and out of the spot I want to fish and in my mind am wasting energy just getting back in place. Has anyone done this and how did it go, all advice or experiences are much appreciated.

 

[growingupninja]

You're a diver: drop the anchor, then dive down and make sure it is properly set.

I use a relatively heavy anchor on my inflatable, a 30# kettlebell plus 8' chain. It is a bear but for very deep spots I can bullseye the reef/wreck and keep my anchor line nearly vertical so I have something to follow to the target--I use my entire boat as one big dive float. Kettlebell doesn't *typically* hook or get stuck in anything which is again nice for those deep spots; dealing with stuck anchor at 40M is very taxing.

 

[Pinniped72]

Many thanks for the information, the heavy kettlebell and chain is a good idea to reduce getting stuck and keeping a vertical anchor line for sure. When kayak angling I use the collapsible anchor, six foot of chain and an anchor line a lot longer than the depth I am fishing at obviously to give the boat some play in the chop/swell and to allow the anchor to set well. But when diving, a near vertical line and a heavy non grappling anchor makes sense to me, thanks again for your experiences

 

[Mr. X]

Just to be clear, growingupninja - you are using a 30lb kettlebell weight to anchor your inflatable boat, rather than for anchoring a regular 12 litre dive float - correct? [BTW Tesco (yuk!) in the UK often have one of their kettle weights - far less than 30lb tho' - on sale for about £6]

Pinniped72 you are looking to dive around a regular torpedo-shaped dive float - is that right? - rather than from your kayak. I think my kayak anchor is the same size as yours - if so, then I think that would be rather large & heavy, to swim out with. There is a smaller size of collapsible anchor which I would be inclined to use (one forum member used one of these tiny anchors to secure his jetski - don't think I would have trusted it) for a regular 11 litre-30 litre diver-down float - haven't tried it tho. [The article linked to below* suggest: "a standard folding 0.7kg anchor".]

There is also a smaller collapsible stainless steel anchor which is more expensive but perhaps designed for this purpose(?).

I believe the Guerns use old curtain/sash window weights for this purpose but probably not suitable for strong current. You might also want to look-up and consider the use of reef hooks (Rob Allen make one) or reef clips - the idea there is that you hook onto a ledge or clip some strong weed; SCUBA divers sometimes carry them too. I did read one report of one being used as an emergency anchor for 1 or 2 SCUBA divers who were unable to resist a strong current, it allow them to wait until the tide/current slackened without being dragged out to sea.

Kelp clip:

*For more information on reef hooks see: http://ultimatespearfishing.com/page/spearfishing-reef-hook-anchor?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

 

[Mr. X]

http://www.roballen.co.za/gear/accessories/reef-hook.html

An innovative way to anchor floats to an area without using cumbersome drop weights. The Reef hook is attached to the end of the floatline before the gun and is effective even in strong currents.

Reef Hook (Code RFHK)

In the UK available at: http://www.spearfishing.co.uk/shop/spearfishing-accessories/spearfishing-reef-hook/
I just ordered one myself - time to give it a try! Might be a useful safety device too.

I reckon some kind of reef hook would have been useful on Gower: if you dare to move from the shelter of a bay, the force of the huge tidal range of the Bristol Channel can be overpowering. Also when crossing over reefs in strong currents/tidal flows.

 

[Mr. X]

Amazon have several different reef hook designs available, for example this one:

 

[Pinniped72]

not worthy, not worthy Mr X, you have excelled yourself, thank you so much for the information and the time that you have spent assembling it, it gives me everything I need. I'm going to go with the small anchor to belt idea as in the link that you provided. Thanks again

 

[Mr. X]

Thanks. Yes, I reckon I will pick up one of those small anchors next time I see one. They are widely available. Saw one just the right size near the entrance in the angling store at Mumbles last Summer & it did cross my mind to get one then. Available on ebay too.

 

[Mr. X]

http://www.roballen.co.za/gear/accessories/reef-hook.html

In the UK available at: http://www.spearfishing.co.uk/shop/spearfishing-accessories/spearfishing-reef-hook/
I just ordered one myself - time to give it a try! Might be a useful safety device too.

I reckon some kind of reef hook would have been useful on Gower: if you dare to move from the shelter of a bay, the force of the huge tidal range of the Bristol Channel can be overpowering. Also when crossing over reefs in strong currents/tidal flows.

Just received the Rob Allen reef-hook BUT unlike the image:
1. It is bright "High-Viz ORANGE" not drab olive green!
2. There is no metal ring holding the hook, linking the swivel to the longer rope.
3. The is no tough clip at the floatline end.
Must say I am disappointed; the value-to-price ratio seemed poor before the above changes - but with the above (cost reduction?) changes...

You could probably make one of these yourself:

• The hook appears to be a very large (~8.5cm long) stainless-steel (I hope) barbless fishing hook (think shark/halibut/tuna) with the point rounded off & an eye big enough (~6/7mm internal diameter to accept the rope of ~5mm diameter).
  
• 7.5cm of rubber tube (fits in 8cm long rope loop)
  
• A big game swivel (5cm long, bigger than on the RA fish stringers) and
  
• One meter of polyester rope* ~5mm diameter - in olive drab** for heavens sake!

*Alternatively, perhaps you could rig up something with 2mm+ thick monofilament (e.g. fishing line, strimmer/weedwacker cord) & crimps? A combined reef-hook & ghost leader perhaps.
**a.k.a "Thai curry green"

 

[Pinniped72]

That's a real shame, many thanks for the review, I always considered Rob Allen to be a quality product, I think most of their stuff is, its just disappointing when a good brand lets something slip! Its good that Rob Allen produces all the instructional videos that they do, giving something back and all that. Mako 1 from Mako spearguns is always giving advice on here and I think that's great, its good to see a manufacturer keeping in touch with the grass roots, to be honest when I get some new gear I will probably go with Mako, as far I can see they are one of the few manufacturers that gives direct input, which I think is fantastic! Its like Aaron Crist in the states with his pole spear advice which he is always giving on a well known USA forum. Its refreshing when manufacturers make the effort, if there's any justice it will reflect in their sales figures!!

In how many other activities would well respected manufacturers give advice for free on public forums, God I love spearfishing

 

[Mr. X]

Hi Pinniped72. It is not a bad product, just not what I was expecting. I contacted the seller & they sorted it out straightaway. I will try it out. If it proves useful for spearing but the orange bothers me/the fish, then I have some drab olive polyester rope, I may just replace the orange rope with my own drab olive lines. The other option is to use it like a SCUBA diver, as an emergency anchor for the diver, perhaps tucked into a (drab/camp) pouch attached to the diver (perhaps to the weight belt but in an emergency you might want to drop that so perhaps somewhere else?).

I was first told about the reef hook and its possible uses almost 10 years ago. Even though I often dive in quite strong currents I never really felt the need for a reef hook (I like to keep things fairly stripped down & simple) until last year, when I experience much stronger currents (probably tidal flows) diving off the Gower (the Bristol Channel has the second largest tidal range in the world - and it's best not to forget that). I see the potential uses as 2 fold:

1. To anchor yourself/your float while actively spearing in a strong current. I am picturing a particular reef that I sometimes dive over as I write this - the current is often strong there & can flow in either direction. Sometimes there are fish there but just staying in place is hard work, so usually you only get one or, perhaps two shots, before having to move on.

2. To anchor yourself in an emergency, if you feel yourself being dragged along, perhaps out to sea or along the coast, you may be able to secure yourself well enough to ride out the worst of the current/tidal draw (I have heard of 2 specific examples of this use - both significant "epics"). I would not want to depend on this and it is not without its dangers (e.g. you might anchor yourself such that you cannot escape, perhaps in rising water that could submerge you) but it could be a life saver in a tight situation. Best to avoid such situations though.

 

[Mr. X]

BTW Pinniped72, Rob Allen has posted on this forum in the past. As you might expect, he has done quite a lot of experimentation, for example with various spear diameters & rubber combinations and was able to provide some interesting insights. I think Darryl Wong made a few posts too. But I take your point, Mako stays current on the forum and that, among other things, does give you a "warm fuzzy feeling" about them.

The frustrating thing about buying from the USA currently is: the shipping costs, 20%VAT (on goods AND shipping), possible customs duty and the Royal Mail £8 collection charges tend to add up . Perhaps we should do what they do in the USA: no sales taxes on out-of-state purchases (i.e. most mail orders).

 

[Pinniped72]

Thanks for the heads up Mr X, those charges do add up!!! I like your points about the uses of the reef hook/anchor, my intention is to use my anchor set up in the way that you described in possibility number 1, without anchoring I drift too much for my liking, especially if I have a certain depth or place in mind, the tidal flow just takes me along the coast, it would be an exercise in futility to try and beat the flow! I will hopefully never have to use my setup to anchor myself in an emergency but I can easily see it as a real world scenario and although luckily things don't go that badly wrong that often, when they do the sea is not forgiving. I can visualise many things going wrong when anchoring up could help, until you self rescue or are rescued. Good thinking Mr X!

 

[Mr. X]

Picasso offer an small spearo anchor (available from Scubastore) that might be of interest:


For marking locations I came across this (presumably a step up from using an old, brightly coloured pop bottle):

Not sure how useful/how best to use the latter - perhaps intended for use when diving from a boat? When you have a spearing float, wouldn't it make more sense to drop a weight from that & use that as your location marker?

 

[growingupninja]

When I used to shoredive deeper spots I would use a small reel on my belt and cheap rolled up signal tube. Kick out then inflate the signal tube, take a weight off my belt, attach them the reel and drop the weight, wedge it in a crack if the current was ripping. Good to get bearings and also a nice place to hang my stringer and game bag.

 

[Pinniped72]

I have the Omer line winder except mine is not the bardi one and is yellow, I use it to wind my float line and then to my float. It will be part of my set up this year, it will go anchor (either attached to my belt or anchoring!), line to the omer line winder, bungee with a 317Kg dyneema core to my float. I have high hopes for it, used in conjunction with either a modified omer cayman 60cm or my Ray Odor pole spear reduced to 4 foot with a JBL slip tip, rigged with a single 18mm speargun rubber. Roll on the viz!! Also plan on doing a lot of fin swimming for fun and fitness, gonna make this year a good one!