Boat anchors

[harvey lee]

With the early river fishing I do with the current, I decided to look at another option for anchoring the boat. I have always used two anchors with 150ft of rope on each. There were still times my boat broke loose.

After alot of reseach, I decided to go with a Digger Anchor made right here in Minnesota.

From what I have been told, they dig in very well and one pop of the anchor rope and the anchor is loose. If it works as well as I have read, its the ticket for my river fishing for sure. On the larger lakes like Mille Lacs and Rainy, this anchow should also hold well for jigging and slip bobber fishing.

I like the ideas of using just one anchor to hold the boat.

Has anyone else used these anchors?

I cannot wait to use it.

[jwmiller33]

how much are these compared to like a richter anchor?

[Northlander]

About the same cost and from what I have seen I may be running 1 myself. I saw them at the Ice Fishing Show in St. paul and they looked like the real deal. Harvey Lee let me know what ya think of yours once you run it.

[harvey lee]

I sure will Steve.

I have the Richter anchors and with two I can still breal loose on the river. This anchor should cure that with only 1.

[Northlander]

Ya the guy at the show said that my Richtors are great but the Digger really excels in sandy bottoms where there isnt much for a Richtor to hang on to. Said that the digger will just keep driving itself into the bottom with the more pressure put on the rope. There are some spots in the St. Louis that when the current is fast and there arent any rocks to grab I have to run 2 anchors. Especially when I dont want to sway.

[harvey lee]

That exactly why the Digger looked like the anchor to use.

[Scott K]

But will the digger anchor release from a log as easy as the Richter?

[Northlander]

Yes it sure looked like the way it releases it would. Maybe even better.

[harvey lee]

But will the digger anchor release from a log as easy as the Richter?

From the people I have talked to Scott, one tug on the anchor rope and the anchor releases. This baby will be the ticket for the Minnesota.

[JohnMickish]

How does that one tug thing work. Wouldn't the wind and big waves act the same as a tug and release you?

[harvey lee]

Just a "jerk" on the rope when pulling up anchor will drop flukes. All mud, sand and weeds will stay in the water.

[harvey lee]

Just a "jerk" on the rope when pulling up anchor will drop flukes. All mud, sand and weeds will stay in the water.

This ancher really looks to be a great invention.

[chief]

Didn't see pricing on the "Digger" HSOforum, so I have no idea what they charge for their special features. However, it looks to be, basically, a fluke style anchor with a quick release feature and cogs that help the flukes "dig" into the bottom.

A standard "Navy" style anchor works very well in about %85 of the water in MN. On hard sand, and in strong current, a "Fluke" style anchor, with its thin blades, is needed to bite into bottoms that are often very hard and featureless.

In this last situation, I extensively use a very affordable ($35.00) fluke anchor that attaches to an anchor rope via a sliding ring. This ring travels the length of the anchor shaft, so a user can free a stuck anchor simply by backing over it and pulling the flukes "backwards". I've never had a problem freeing this type of anchor, and my 17ft. boat has always held reliably in a raging Rainy River, and a very windy Upper Red Lake.

Richter anchors are very versatile, and they hold well on a variety of bottoms and conditions, but they are pricey, and those protruding fingers tend to get caught on timber, cables, ropes, and what-have-you. I have lost two Richters in the last three years to the gnarly Mississippi River.

My two cents: a fluke anchor, and a navy anchor combo is all you're likely to ever need. These can probably be had for less than the cost of a "Digger".

[harvey lee]

chief

The nice part with the Digger is one only has to haul and deal with one anchor. I do not like hauling two anchors as they take up room that I could have other fishing items stored.

Thats why I decide to go with one anchor and the Digger, fits the bill.

I also purchased a Drop and Stay unit. This will help keep the anchor in its position. If its windy out and the waves are bad, the Drop and Stay will take the rocking pressure of the anchor.

With this system, I believe I can anchor in any condition and my boat will stay in place.

[gregg52]

it looks like a version of a water spike

with those cogs in the middle

how big of boat do you have Harvey

i have a waterspike it holds good on rock all though it might take a couple times to get it to hold sometime i use 2 when i dont want the boat to swing

you said it was made in minn i didnt see any thing about that on the site wonder if its the same guys that make the water spike

i have a 20ft glass boat so it takes aliitle to hold i'll hafta look into that or see how you like if first lol

[harvey lee]

I have a 16.5 ft tin boat.

These anchors are made in Sauk Centre, MN

What I really like is the fact that it will hold the boat in sand and mud. The anchors are offered by the length of the boat.

[chief]

My post was not clear.

If you have a navy anchor and a fluke anchor you can use either one, depending upon the body of water you're fishing. For most situations I bring the navy anchor. If I anticipate strong current, or firm bottoms, I bring the fluke anchor. I don't bring, or use, both at the same time.

[PierBridge]

If it's a variation of the Water spike it will work very well. After using the water Spike and chain this past fall with great success I'm going to give that set-up a good testing out in the higher currents this spring.

[DTro]

I’ve heard good things about the Digger/Waterspike type anchors, but have never seen them in action. I have the luxury of having a small/light boat, so I can get away with minimal rope and a standard river type anchor.

Different anchors are specifically designed for different applications and certain anchors will excel in specific conditions, such as a fluke anchor in sand (like Chief said). However, from everything I’ve seen, when it comes to the vast diversity across the board of rocks/ mud/trees/gravel/sand, the Richtor is King. But again, I’ve never used the Digger.

Another thing to remember about 1 vs 2 anchors. Most of the time (on the River) we are only using the back anchor to reduce boat swing and not necessarily to hold us in place, so I would never only carry one anchor for river fishing.

[harvey lee]

I own two Richtors Dtro and also have the chain and 150ft of rope on each. In high current situations, they will not hold my boat.

It appears that the Digger anchor will hold. Then adding the Drop and Stay to the anchor rope, it will hold even in the higher winds with a rocking boat. The Drop and Stay attachment will relieve the pressure on the boat and anchor in the waves when the boat rocks.

I can now use the Digger for anchoring the boat and 1 Richtor for the control of any sway if needed.

[DTro]

If you are unable to hold with 2 Richtors and 150ft of rope w/chain, I would be VERY surprised that you could replace any 1 anchor in that situation and hold. The MN river is one of the fastest flowing rivers in the state and there are just times when anchoring is not an option and in fact could be dangerous even if you are able to hold.

Also, I wouldn’t count on the drop and stay being the magic ticket either. It is designed to reduce shock caused by waves/wind and I think it’s use on small to med sized rivers (where strong current is the biggest issue) is limited.

Hopefully you can report back that the Diggers work better, because river anglers are always looking for an efficient solution to anchoring and is very important because at times boat position can be the biggest key to catching fish.

Good Luck!

[harvey lee]

From what I have been told by numerous users, the combination of the two will hold my boat.

I guess I will need to wait and see for myself.

[JimBuck]

I've seen these before and have been quite curious about them. It seems like they could have a niche in the anglers arsenal.

I'm currently running a richtor and a homemade for most of my fishing applications and haven't ran into a scenario where it wouldn't grab. My thought is if my anchor won't stay in place, I probably shouldn't be fishing there anyways.

Has anyone else had first-hand experience with these?

[PierBridge]

I guess what I enjoyed most this fall while using the Water Spike was the light weight of the anchor, we were hitting Wing dam after wing dam and I was the anchor guy. Sure beat hoisting a 15-20#er up all day. The extra rope needed for the Spike's was a non-issue fishing for Eyes on the Miss but may pose a problem fishing some of tighter places on the Sota.

[Fish Head]

I'll be interested to hear how well the digger works. Does the digger work well on hard/rock bottom where it can't dig in? I use a Richtor anchor now. I like the idea of the drop and stay.