Anchor Weight And Type For 9' Pontoon?

[bbhill]

I've read different things in this forum about anchor systems and ideas with mixed views. I have a discovery 9ir pontoon and am new to using a pontoon and want to hook up an anchor system to it. I plan to do a little lake and bow river fishing with the boat and was told to get a 10-12 lbs anchor but reading the past posts seems like most people use a 20 or 30 lb. I don't know if that's mor for drift boats or if I should look at getting more weight?

Also, I picked up a bowl type anchor at wholesale sports but am thinking a dumbbell or pyramid anchor is a better choice.

I also read on here that used climbing rope is the way to go and thought that was a good idea but how much rope do I need and wats a good way to keep it organized?

Lastly, and sorry for so many questions, does anyone recommend an electric air pump for filling the bladders quickly without overfilling and does anyone use a pressure gauge to avoid overfilling?

 

Thanks for any help and suggestions. The people on this forum are great.

[DRock]

I use a 12 lb mushroom anchor for my scadden toon

 

For the pump I use an electric one that can be plugged into cig lighter of car. It works great. I don't use a pressure gauge as I just test with my finger. If I push on the bladder with one finger I'm looking for the bladder to give about a half inch to an inch.

 

I monitor the pressure the same way throughout the day as the temperature increases from the sun so does the air inside the bladder and I let some air out. I also take a manual pump with me on the float just in case.

[murray]

I also use a 12 pound mushroom shaped anchor. The 20 and 30 pound anchors are for drift boats as you said. The air pump I use has a built in regulator and a two stage compressor in it, it runs on 12 volts and you just set the pressure you want, turn it on and forget it. It will turn off when the desired pressure is reached. The length of rope will be determined by the depth of water you are in. I find on the river 15 ft is plenty. You don't want to anchor in the fast moving water anyway but the anchor will hold better if you let out a little bit of rope. Managing all that rope is another story. I generally just stuff it in one of the storage pouches on the pontoon, carefully though so as not to create knots. Although I do use the anchor occasionally on the river, it's not often. Most often, I will simply pull the boat up on to the shore.

When I fish lakes out of the pontoon, I seldom fish in deep water. An anchor is beneficial so I have used one but I think if you had 30 ft. of rope that would cover most situations. Lots of guys will anchor the boat with two anchors. One off the bow and one off the stern.

 

Murray

[screaminreel]

I tried mushroom anchors but they did not hold bottom on a windy day while on lakes. Pyramid anchors (lead) hold a lot better and I used a 13lb one. 20lb is a bugger to get off a muddy bottom. As Murray said, don't anchor in fast water. 30 ft of 3/8" should be plenty for most (90%) of situations but I have 50' for some deep water situations while chironomiding.

 

Wholesales or the Fishin hole have them. You do not need expensive rope. You can buy the 100' cheap stuff at all the hardware places, Canuk tire, Walmart etc. It is stiffer than quality anchor rope. If you don't mind spending the $'s get the true soft anchor rope. This has a tight weave and UV protection not the crap packaged as anchor rope. True anchor rope you buy by the foot. Glenmore sailboats has it. Not sure if Canadian Tire still has the big coils or not.

 

Big hand pumps blow up pontoons quickly and never needed an electric pump.

[bbhill]

Thanks for the advice and extra tips. I want to fly fish for pike this year and I'm a little cautious about releasing them as this is my first time catching pike let alone first time catching fish out of a pontoon boat. I was thinking of using those Lindy fishing gloves to protect my hand and some long needle-nose pliers. My hands are very important for my work. Any other suggestions.

[RunnyD]

Thanks for the advice and extra tips. I want to fly fish for pike this year and I'm a little cautious about releasing them as this is my first time catching pike let alone first time catching fish out of a pontoon boat. I was thinking of using those Lindy fishing gloves to protect my hand and some long needle-nose pliers. My hands are very important for my work. Any other suggestions.

 

Haha... Are you a hand model?

 

[bbhill]

Haha...

Nice. That was good. No I'm a chiropractor though.

[Birddog]

Pyramid anchor works best for me on my pontoon, got a 15lb and holds fine.

[screaminreel]

Princess Auto has anchor rope on sale right now. 100' of quality nylon tight weave for $46.00 large spool or 50' for $23.00