Kayaking friends I see out on Wheeler Branch seem to be able to remain stationary more easily than I can in a Meyers Sportspal canoe. A wide flat bottomed fishing canoe is like a leaf blowing around on the top of water on a windy day.

But, I am collecting the pieces I need to make more effective anchoring options. My list:

1) I built an anchor trolley. It works as well on a canoe and it would a kayak . . . I think. And, I used Yak'n Texas' YouTube video to construct a floating anchor attachment that gets that hank of unruly rope outside the vessel. It works very well though I need a swivel on one end to keep it from wrapping up. Anyway, very good.

2) And, Rick at Angler's set me up with a fiberglass anchor pole. By adding one more optional piece, I can extend it from 8' to about 12' to double it up as a push pole, great for skinny creeks and narrow shallows if you want to stand and push around in the water.

3) Finally, and I sure wish these had come in Saturday so I could have used them yesterday, but my order for two Blakemore Brush Grippers arrived today. See attached photo below. These look like jumper cable grips and can be attached to a clumped handful of tall grass/reeds, to limbs and stumps, just about anything that can provide an above-the-water anchoring point. I was thinking having two of these grippers might mean pulling up to a branch and clipping on, letting the line out and drifting back, then attaching to a second clipping point.

Nothing fancy here but one sort of simple design aspect of the clippers was well though out: the rope runs through one handle and back out the other handle. This means it pulls and tightens the grips with additional pressure.

1,2,3 anchoring options . . . I think I have most circumstances covered now for anchoring out in relatively shallow water areas.

Brad

*** I should add that I saw some really nice heavy black plastic spring grips at Harbor Freight just now. They had a very small hole in the handles that could be drilled out a bit to attach a rope. It seems they were a couple of bucks, would be more than adequate, and much cheaper, than the Blakemore product.

Brad

thanks for sharing, I like the brush grip idea.

another handy anchoring tool is a 3 foot piece of pvc thru which a slightly longer piece of romex wire is inserted. a loop is made one end by ductaping one end back to the pipe. having about 2-3 feet loose out the other end allows the loop to be expanded as necessary to grab an underwater stump/staub. it could take the place of the grabber too, in many cases.

I just recently got an anchor pin from Angler's and my two brush grippers just arrived at Cabelas.