Anchoring your boat is a very important aspect in fishing and really boating in general. Different styles and types of anchoring systems are available to satisfy various boats and fishing conditions. Having the right anchoring system for your boat and your fishing application will greatly improve your overall success and experience. Not to mention there is a safety aspect of having a good anchor onboard your boat just in case your boat is disabled and you are at risk of drifting into dangerous areas such as rock.
What are the best anchors for a flats boat? Due to their relatively high holding power to weight ratio the Danforth or Fluke anchors are the best for flats boats especially when fishing over sandy or muddy bottom. Particularly the Fortress FX-7 and the 12 lb SeaClaw are the most popular and recommended anchors for flats boats.
When we think anchors, most if us immediately go to what I call the traditional style of anchor system which consists of a large weight attached to anchor line and/or chain. However, as you will see through this article, there are many other anchoring systems that can be used especially when fishing on a flats boat. For example, fishing for Tarpon in an 18 foot flats boat in 16 foot of water in the Florida keys works best with a 12lb SeaClaw and 25′ of line and a float ball. However, if I am fishing for reds in 3′ of water in Mosquito lagoon I may instead just hold the boat in place with an 8′ anchor pin.
Common Anchors Styles
There are many different styles of anchors out there that have been developed over the years. Each of these have their pros and cons. Depending on the size of your boat and the typical bottom you are fishing on will determine what the best style of anchor will serve you best on the water. The 4 most common styles of anchors are listed below.
- Bruce or Claw
- Delta or Wing
- CTR or Plow
- Danforth or Fluke
- Grapnel
For flats fishing in a flats boat or skiff, the Danforth or Fluke style anchor is the best choice for most conditions. While this style may not hold as well as others in sand or mud bottoms, it should still hold enough for most flats boats. If you are fishing an area with bottom other than sand or mud your Danforth or Fluke anchor isn't cutting it, the Grapnel anchor may be a good 2nd anchor option option.
Best Anchor Brands for Flats Fishing
Sea Claw Anchors
The folks that make the original Sea Claw anchor have been in business a long time and have made a name as providing one of the best anchors for flats boats. Sea claw makes anchors from 6 lbs on up to 22lbs. These anchors are constructed of a stainless steel bar and bronze fluke that will not corrode and will hold well on any bottom conditions. For most conditions seen in a flats boats, the 12 lb SeaClaw with the 14″ cross bar is more than enough anchor and will be able to hold you in place with only a 3/8 inch anchor line. If you are on a smaller flats skiff the 6 lb or 8lb will hold just fine in most conditions and take up even less room in your boat. To take a look at these anchors, click here to view the SeaClaw website and order today.
Fortress Anchors
Another leading and popular brand of boat anchors is the Fortress Anchor. These anchors are widely across the boating industry and is a common choice for many US Coastguard boats and ships. Fortress earns a top spot of flats boat anchors for their superior holding power vs weight. Through various independent studies comparing various styles and brands of anchors, fortress was reported to have 4 times the holding power when compared to anchors of similar weight.
The fortress anchor is very versatile when it comes to the type of bottom it can hold due to it adjustable fluke. Steeper fluke angles are better for muddy bottoms and shallower (flatter) angles are better for sand bottoms. This eliminates the need for multiple anchors if you fish areas with varying bottoms. Another benefit we the fortress has is their ease of assembly and disassembly and compact storage. With most flats boats, real estate is limited so any space savings in your boat is valuable.
For most flats boats applications, the Fortress FX-7 is the recommended boat anchor. This anchor is rated for boats 16 to 27 foot and only weighs 4 lbs.
Selecting the Right Anchor Weight
A common mistake made with buying an anchor for a boat is purchasing one larger than actually needed. This causes you to take up more room than needed on your boat, add unnecessary weight to the load of your boat, and wear yourself out more than needed by handling too larger of anchor. It is best to refer to the manufacturer suggested sizing to select the right anchor for your particular boat. For flats boats you will notice that the suggested anchor size will generally be near the smallest anchors offered by that manufacturer.
Rigging Anchor with Breakaway Setup
The breakaway anchor setup could be the difference between retrieving a stuck anchor and returning home without your anchor. This setup consists of connecting your anchor line or chain to two points on your anchor. The main connection will be at the base of your anchor and the second point will be at the top of your anchor. The main connection is permanent and made by a directly tying the anchor line to the attachment point on the base of the anchor. The second connection is made at the top of the anchor by attaching the anchor line to the attachment point using a zip tie or strong piece of monofilament.
How this setup works is, with low amount of force, the anchor is retrieved with the load taken by the monofilament or zip tie. If your anchor gets stuck, the zip tie or mono will break and then transfer the load to base of the anchor which causes it to rotate and hopefully dislodge from the structure in which it is stuck.
Drop Anchor Setup
So you are anchored up in a perfect spot fishing for some big Tarpon. You hook into a big one and in a matter of minutes you have lost 200+ yards of line with your only option being to tighten down the drag to attempt to turn him around. Then, just like that, your line is broken and you have lost another one. If only you would have been able to chase him down to recover ground as he ran without having to pull in your anchor.
One pro tip that will help you quickly detach your boat from your anchor without losing your anchor or your spot to attach a small floating anchor ball to anchor line. With this rig you can simply detach your anchor line from your boat, toss it all overboard, go chase down and land your fish, and return to your anchor to retrieve it or hook back up and keep fishing. If you are fishing in waters too deep for a power pole I highly recommend you invest in this setup.
What you will need:
- Anchor
- Main Anchor Line (25′ – 30′)
- Small Float Ball (9″ – 12″)
- Float Ball anchor line (3′ – 5′)
- Stainless Carabiner
To set this rig up you will attach one end of the main anchor to the anchor shackle which is attached to the anchor. The other end of the main anchor line is then tied to one end of the anchor ball line, which is tied to the anchor ball, as well as the stainless carabiner. When you find your spot just drop anchor and attach the carabiner to your tie of point on your boat, typically at the bow of the boat. Then, when you hook into a big boy, simply unhook the carabiner from the boat and toss it overboard to free yourself up to safely chase down the fish. The float ball will take over and hold the anchor line in place for your to retrieve after the fight is won. Make sure you ID your ball by writing your name and number on it incase another angler thinks it is theirs. Also, picking a brightly colored ball is really helpful for spotting it out in the open water.
Shallow Water Anchoring Systems
If you are fishing in shallow waters, 10 foot or less, alternative anchoring systems are available that will hold great and are easily and quietly deployed. In general, for shallow water fishing, these alternative anchoring systems can be far superior than the traditional weight anchors discussed in the above sections. These alternative anchoring solutions include manual stick anchors, power poles, and trolling motors.
Stick Anchor
Anyone who is doing a lot of shallow water fishing could really benefit from a stick anchor such as the Stick-It Anchor Pin or the Wang Anchor Pole. This type of anchoring system can be used on small bay boats, flats boats, kayaks, and paddle boards to quickly, quietly, and securely anchor up for extended amounts of time
Stick-It offers what they call anchor pins in lengths of 5.5′, 7′, 8′ and 10′. These pins are 3/4″ in diameter, are constructed of sold reinforced polyester resin, and come with a full 5 year warranty. Take a closer and purchase one of these anchor pins today by following this link to the manufacturers website. I purchased the 7′ Stick It Anchor Pin System that I can use on my paddle board, flats boat, or bay boat pretty easily. This system comes with a 7′ pin, 2 lanyards (anchor lines), 2 mounting clips, and 2 rough water velcro safety straps. Another benefit of this on the paddle board is that it doubles as a great push pole.
Another option, just as good as the stick-it, is a Wang Anchor Pole. You can purchase a 6′ or 8′ anchor pole online and can additionally purchase a 10′ or 12′ pole from their retail store. Increase the life of your Wang Anchor by attaching their stainless steel tip to the end which will also help penetrate hard bottom surfaces. Wang also has a few mounting systems that can be attached to the bow or transom of the boat which makes for easy stakeouts. If I were to get one I would probably go with the 8′ to give me a good option for the paddle board as well.
Power Poll
Power polls have been a very popular anchoring system that are prominent on a lot of fishing boats today. Bay boats and larger flats boats are ideal candidates for having one of these anchoring systems, bust smaller flats boats such as poling skiffs and microskiffs tend to go without power poles in lieu of a less sophisticated system such as a stick anchor, traditional anchor, or more commonly just using the push pole.
The Power Pole is mounted to the back of the boat near the transom. The purpose of the power pole is to provide an easy and automatic way for fishermen to anchor themselves in a spot by lowering the pole, attached to a hydraulic driven arm, down into the sea floor. In short, this is a really fancy stick anchor.
Up until the recently, when Minn Kota came out with their Talon and Raptor system, Power Pole has been the only one name on the market for shallow water automatic anchor systems. Power Pole offers 4 models of automatic anchoring systems to include the Blade, Pro Series II, Ports Series II, and Mirco Anchor.
Blade Series
The Blade series is Power Pole's premium anchoring system coming in at a healthy price of $2,000 for the 8′ option. This is Power Pole's fastest deploying and strongest holding anchor system which is rated for a boat up to 28′ long or 4500 lbs.
Pro II Series
Power Pole's second option is the Pro II which has a slightly slower deploy slightly less of a hold than the blade. However, what the Pro II does have is a quieter deploy and less weight which means a lot in flats fishing. This model comes in 4, 6 and 8 foot lengths and can be purchased with either black or white powder-coated finish. This unit is also about $400 cheaper than the blade which is another nice perk.
Sportsman II Series
Next up is the Sportsman II which again another $100 cheaper than the Pro. Compared to the Pro Series, the Sportsman will be slightly slower but again will be slightly quieter on deploy. I think the biggest difference however between the Pro and Sprotsman will be the finish and warranty. The Pro Series and blade will both have 5 year warranties where the Sportsman only has a 3 year. As for finish, the Sportsman is anodized aluminum where the Pro is powder coated. This give the Pro Series a leg up on the Sportsman when it comes to longevity.
Micro
Last, and probably my favorite for smaller flats boats, comes the Micro. I like this model because it can anchor me in most fishing depths I normally fish in plus it is lighter, more compact, lighter, less complicated, and a fraction of the price. Even better, slap on the optional micro power pack and charger, and you have a anchor system that can be dropped on you paddle board.
Trolling Motor Anchor Lock
When you think of an anchoring system you probably don't instinctively think of a trolling motor. However, trolling motors have come a long way over the years with all sorts of features to include the ability to lock in on a spot and stay there until you run out of juice. This is an extremely easy anchoring system that is not only less cumbersome than a traditional throw over anchors but also infinitely more quiet.
The best trolling motor in my opinion, and the opinion of many other fishermen, is the Minn Kota Terrova Riptide 80. This trolling motor is reliable, easy to deploy with one-hand stow and deploy, is simple to operate with its Co-Pilot remote, and accurate with GPS features enabled by i-Pilot and i-Pilot Link, such as “spot lock,”” iTracks,” and “jog.”
The only negative about a trolling motor on a flats boat is that it takes up valuable deck space and works best in deeper waters. If I am fly fishing I hate any obstacles that get in the way of my line so, if I am in 5′ or less of water I will probably just opt to use a power poll, anchor pin, or traditional anchor.
Read more about flats boats in our other articles, here.
