Anchor Retrieval System

[Doctor]

Anybody on the board use one of these to hoist there anchor up. It uses a large buoy with a slide lock device, you feed your anchor rope into the device after deployment this large buoy floats in front of the boat, when your ready to pull your anchor you fire up the boat and drive away from the buoy at about a 45 degree angle then circle around and away from the buoy always going upriver, it in turns lifts the anchor up off the bottom and when the buoy pops to the surface the slide lock has already pinched down on the rope and you just handline the whole assembly in. I've seen them used on the Columbia River, but I thought they were used when anybody got a mammoth Sturgeon you just tossed the anchor rope and followed the fish then returned and hooked back up.

Being a tournament angler I pull a 25# Richter anchor close to 15-20 times during a period, the ole back is pretty sore by the end of the day so I'm looking at one of these to maintain my lifestyle of fishing for many many years.

The downside to one of these is if your not paying attention you can wrap that anchor line in the prop then your into some serious problems if your fishing a high current area, most all my fishing is done on the Ohio river and when I have the time the Cumberland river.

Thanks for any input......................Doc

[mudd_catt]

I don't know about the anchor retrieval, but if I raised a 25# anchor that many times a day and fished catfish tournaments consistently I believe I would invest in an electric anchor. ;)

[NightTrain]

Doctor:My neighbor installed one on his 80-some yo dad's pontoon...they like it,but,it only will raise either an 18 or 20lb. anchor.Come to think about it,you are refering to a float ball deal...this was an electric winch.

[Doctor]

I ordered the float ball deal, should be here next week, lifetime warrenty, should do well the guy said they use these on the Columbia River all the time fishing for stuergon, said the current is rippin all the time, I ordered the model that will lift a 60# anchor so it should rip that 25# right off the bottom, I'll take shots of it after I get the thing and post, has to be much easier than pulling that thing up all the time, I ordered it on the 16th and it is coming Fedex, but delivery is not till the 23rd, been sitting in Oregon now for three days, maybe that's why shipping was only 6 bucks...........Doc

[NightTrain]

Hey Doc...nice website!:cool:

[Doctor]

Thanks Nightrain,

We love to fish for them Flatheads!!!

Doc

[mudd_catt]

Hey, Doc, how did the anchor retreival system work out? I still beleive I would go with the electric jobber.

[Doctor]

Mudd catt,

I really thought about the windlass system but after talking to another pro on the tour he advised me not to.

The area that it is mounted to has to be reinforced heavy in case the anchor gets stuck, it uses a major amount of power to haul it up and it was a little on the slow side, there are times when the switch would get stuck and that proved to be a major hassle, costs were upwards of $500.00 or more for the faster ones, most of the systems I looked at had to have a large hole for the motor to fit down into as it was recessed into the boats interior, after all that I started looking at the mechanical systems, outside of the fact that you just need to watch that rope it seemed the better of the two, which is what I went and purchased, the thing works great, in fact it was a little scarey at one point we had the anchor hung in 50 foot of water, as the boat tightened down on the rope I felt the front pull around and I was watching the rope when I saw it go slack, the next thing we hear this swoosh behind the boat when we see the buoy explode out of the water, followed by a 25# anchor, the buoy had just ripped the anchor off the bottom and tossed it into the air, I'm glad it was behind me by 150 foot, even with all that the buoy just floated right there till we hauled it in, the system preformed better than I expected and am very happy with it so far, take a look at my website and click on the ARS link everything is there.............Doc

[NightTrain]

a kickin' product report,Doc...thanks.

[Willy]

Hey Doc, nice report and nice web site...thinkin of gettin one myself. Also, friend of mine just bought a grayline bait tank per your advice...willy

[Doctor]

Yep really like the Grayline tank, very few problems and when the weather gets real hot is when this tank really shines, I should be a sales rep for them as I know in 2004 I've had more e-mails from people wanting to buy them, hope he is happy with it, some products are worth the time and effort to write up a report on them, the Grayline fits in a cut-out in the boat so it looks like it is designed for the SmokerCraft, I'll post a picture of it in the boat sometime.

[Katnip]

Looks like a good product, especially if you fish big, deep river systems that may require up to 200 feet of anchor line. I'm still healthy enough to yank the thing out of the mud myself, but I'll probably get one when I'm older.

[mudd_catt]

Dang, dat sounds good. Does the rope lock into the buoy so that is doesn't slide back down?

[CHARLIE]

Anchor Float

Seen them used a lot. They work great but down here in Texas we use a bigger float and it doesent sink. No lock on it just pull anchor up to the float and pull it in. Like you say just dont get it in the wheel (prop).

Charlie

[Doctor]

Mudd Catt,

Yes when the anchor hits the top it locks down on the rope, if you pull back on the bolt assembly it is then released............Doc