Alan

Ben (his son) had heard Shelly saying to me that we would have a well earned glass or two that night so he ran with that and yesterday morning a courier package arrived containing 3 bottles of very good French wine and a note.  I'm no wine buff so I searched online for info and they are well above what I might buy. ($47, $65 and $110)

We popped the cork on one of the bottles last night and it was really good!

Alan

Here in WA the boating regulations state that the anchor must be capable in all seabed conditions.  For that reason, almost all boaties will have a Danforth or Plough style anchor onboard.  These are seldom deployed though as the majority of our targeted fish species frequent areas of structure such as coral or reef.  Drift fishing over areas of flat coral can be productive. 

I vary my fishing between reef and mud, depending how the plan is working. Often fish the very edge of the reef. So I def can't be bothered chopping and changing anchors every time I pull the pick. I need a mud anchor, and rig it in such a way it may cope with the reef issues. 

Of course the Minkotas have done away with the issue completely.

But I don't have one of those.

Alan

My fishing will vary, depending on how the plan is working. I may be on reef one minute, then mud the next. I often fish the very edge of a reef. So I def cannot be bothered with the hassle of chopping and changing anchors each time I pull the pick. So I need a mud anchor, and rig it so I have a chance of dealing with the reef issues.

Of course the Minkotas have done away with the issue completely. But I don't have one of those.

Alan

I was of the view that straightening the prongs under load on retrieval was what the grapnel / pronged anchor was designed to do.  If the prongs are straightening prior to retrieval the anchor is too light.

I had a grapnel on my old trailer boat that I used in rocky areas when I wasn't planning on going spearfishing. Straightened the prongs a couple of times ...

Some older / larger launches are setup with two anchors so you can choose which one to use. My launch only has one and the bowsprit and anchor locker are not setup for two anchors.