Anchor or drift when fishing deep?

[Eddy1]

My wife and I have just bought a 5.7 m Quintrex Freedom sport and are keen to do a bit of reef fishing off Sunshine coast, Brisbane and Goldcoast. Could any of you guys help out with some anchoring issues I've been thinking about? We have 60-70m of nylon rope with a reef anchor and floatation ball, which I understand perfectly. What normally happens in water depths over 50m? Do you mainly drift? use sea anchors? or simply attach more rope? Any ideas would be appreciated. :-/

[SeaSaw]

Whether you anchor or drift is a personal preference but it also depends on the wind and current on the day, and what species you are targetting. Anchoring is great if you are setting a burley trail in light to moderate current and floating baits. Drifting is better is the current is stronger, or you want to cover an area to locate the fish. A sea anchor is needed for when the drift is too fast.

In any event you will need more anchor rope, at least 100m but preferably more. I have anchored at depths of 120m, but I have 250m of anchor rope in my main anchor and 100m anchor rope as my backup.

When anchoring for fishing, (as apposed to sleeping), I use as little anchor rope as I can get away with and still hold the bottom. It is easier to get over the mark if you don't have too much rope out. In 50m, I would normally only have 70m or rope out. If the current and wind was really strong that might go up to 100m.

Hope this helps, and good luck in the new rig.

Cheers,

Mark

[Magneto]

Hi to Eddy1, Seasaw (Mark) is right on the mark with everything said.
While drifting if you are moving to fast, don't forget the Parachute anchor.
Happy Burleying to you both 8-) 8-)

[Swerve]

We have 60-70m of nylon rope with a reef anchor and floatation ball, which I understand perfectly. What . #:-/

Hey All,

Whats the flotation ball used for ?

Steve

[gazza76]

Seasaw is right.

Swerve,

As for a floatation ball i have one and a snap connect on the end of the anchor rope, this is what i use it for.
When you need to chase a large fish that is taking a lot of line you just unclip the anchor rope and chase the fish.
Once you have landed the fish go back and collect your anchor and rope with the big float on it or connect it back up and continue fishing.
Cheers
Gary

[Eddy1]

Swerve....The floatation ball (not sure if thats the right term?)is a polyurethane ball about the size of a small basketball and is attached to our anchor rope by way of a metre of nylon rope and a stainless ring of say, 70cm diametre. When the anchor hits the drink the ball floats on the surface. When you want to move and retrieve your anchor you simply drive the boat off at an angle away from the floating ball . If you were in, say, 20m of water, the boat is driven say 60-70m and the ball ends up hard agains the anchor itself and floats all the gear to the surface. Makes it a sinch to retrieve your anchor....eddy

[billfisher]

Eddy1,

Just for safety reasons you need at leat twice the amount of rope you have, ie you should have at least 150m of rope. You may have to anchor in deep water if your motor breaks down.

[snappa]

put in at least 300 mts of rope ... u will be surprised...

forgot 5/6 mts of chain ... size med. link [thats the size i use]


best for deep water is to hang a sea anchor off the back
great for float lining [snappa]

[seatime]

Be prepared for any eventuality or method of fishing. Carry an extra 200m of nylon, an anchor buoy and a sea anchor. You'll probably end up using them all at some time and if they're in the boat u can practise with them. Anchoring is an option in all but the strongest current, so the extra line is essential, stick with the nylon. Check out the other threads on anchoring. Drifting is common on larger areas like the banks and E of Sth Passage and sea anchors maybe the least used method in specific situations.
If u want to fish Sunny to Goldy you'll need all the gear I reckon. Anyway, if u have any probs u know where to ask, cheers, Steve.

[Eddy1]

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll certainly be getting another 100m of nylon and a sea anchor. Heading up to Maroochydore the week before easter for a few days, I hope we get some kind weather.....Ed