What's this breed of anchor???

[Dean1]

Hi guys, the 5.2 kevlacat i recently purchased has come with this anchor in it. Anyone here know of these or seen these anchors before? I havent but ive heard about them. It has a slide mechanism on it which obviously works the same as trippin it with cableties. Are these anchors good for reefishing? It has a light chain on it, I have 4 metres of closelink 10mm chain i was going to put on it. Wonder how easy they pull off reef? They look a bit like a plough anchor. Any advice on these anchors would be helpful and appreciated thanks. No fishing this weekend boys!!

[CamH]

SARCA (Sand and Reef Combination Anchor) - as the name suggests you can you use it on any type of bottom and the trip mechanisim with the sliding shackle should free it every time (that's the theory anyway). I bought one recently but haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

[seatime]

Dean1, why is it blue in 2 pics?
what area are you fishing?
they work well in rocky reefs from my experience, tho a lot depends on the technique used, I have a #2 size SARCA.
the close link chain is a good idea, less chance of knotting up.
that SS shackle looks too large for that anchor's sliding shaft, too big and it may twist sideways and jam, e.g. the #2 uses a 10mm standard SS shackle.

steve

[Dean1]

Thanks guys, steve i dont know why it looks blue, i took it with my mobile phone this arvo, its overcast and the flash may have done it, its not blue. I fish off mooloolaba, barwon banks hards etc. I havent tried it yet, I'll get another shackle for it, i could try both. Ive always used a lead filled reefpick so these are new to me. Ive got a plough anchor that ive used once, bit worried bout it hookin up too well but :-/ !

[revs57]

G'day Dean,

I've been using a SARCA for the past couple of years on mainly reef, but alo mud, gravel and sand. Always been able to get it back so far.

a good anchor

cheers

Rhys

[STUIE63]

Dean make sure shackle is stainless steel but also wire shackle bolt so it can't undo. s/s shackles have a habit of that and it is an expensive anchor to leave on the bottom.
Stuie

[samson]

They work pretty good mate but are bloody heavy when used with the minimum recomended chain of 5 meters, they come off reasonably good 90% of the time but if the chain gets stuck in the reef they are a prick to get up, as i have lost one already, the main way the chain seems to gets stuck is when their is minimal current and the boat just swings around in circles with no wind and current and the chain seems to get rapped in the reef making it a prick to get off sometimes especially in the dark.

[Dean1]

Thanx for the useful info guys, ill use the 4 metres of closelink chain that i have get that shackle and give her a go! Theres nothin worse than not been able to get your anchor up at night, puts the shivers up me spine, but i always pull it up from the bow ;)

[Wear the fox hat]

Dean1,
You will need more than 4 metres of chain. I've only got a 5.2m centre console & the anchor kept dragging with 5 metres of chain. Had to go to about 8 metres of chain to get it to work properly & now I wouldn't be without it. Once it's set, it won't let go.

WTFH

[Greg P]

You don't need much more chain than that for offshore fishing - its just a hindrance. 4m will be fine if it is large chain.

[Dean1]

Yeah well its closelink chain which is probably equal to 6 metres of ya normal chain. Its bloody heavy boys..

[Wear the fox hat]

Speaking from experience & owning a SARCA, you will need more than 5 metres of chain with a SARCA for it to work properly while 4 meters of chain works OK with most other reef picks.

WTFH

[John_R]

I have a Mooloolaba pick with 5m of chain. Works good but bloody heavy. I would be too worried about dropping $200 to use a SARCA.

[Out-Station]

Dean1,

I have run SARCA's for a few years on my 6m. Work excellent on broken ground, gravel, wire weed etc where its sometimes hard to get reef pick to bite. Needless to say thay are excellent on heavy reef, but be carefull as sometimes the go in a bit to well in the rough stuff, never to be seen again despite the reverse slide arrangement etc.

I run about 4m regular chain on mine. Sometimes i struggle to hook up when its running hard, I just shackle a small, light reef pick to the top of the chain in these circumstances, no worries then.