wreck advice

[stugots]

Want to give cod fishing and some jumbo founder a shot. ..never tried it before. Running out of the Highlands. Any advice on tackle, bait, location, and anchoring/ drifting would be awesome. Thanks in advance guys.

[Angler Paul]

You probably should go on a charter boat or a party boat first to get can idea how it is done. Most wrecks in at least 100' of water may have cod and flounder on them now.

[TheTenman]

It's worth it to pay a charter just to fish their numbers, not to mention how much less time and effort it takes an experienced captain to settle in on a 2-anchor pulpit directly over a loaded wreck

[Capt. Lou]

Good advice , u need some expierence best way to get it as described !

[Blackfish Doug]

Want to give cod fishing and some jumbo founder a shot. ..never tried it before. Running out of the Highlands. Any advice on tackle, bait, location, and anchoring/ drifting would be awesome. Thanks in advance guys.

Keep it simple in the tackle high low rigs or bottom rigs. Stay away from all the jewelry or dogfish attacker's most of the time that's all it does. Drifting in the deep for Flounder? too much current plus you would need the absolute perfect conditions for that to happen & it doesn't happen often. Location? nobody over here is going to give you that info here. If you put up 1 number here you will never be able to fish it again. Most of the captains here put in years of searching just to get some productive numbers only to find private boats on them when they have a boat full of customers looking for a few fish. The best advice you got on this board is either fish a charter or party boat.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Great advice above.... Finding, anchoring on and staying on deep water wrecks is definitely an acquired skill and you need the right equipment. Most charter boats who are into this sort of fishing have double anchors. Double anchors not only make it easier to position the boat over a wreck, they also help the boat from swinging on and off the wreck as compared to a single anchor. If the wind or current shifts, it's often times as easy taking in some scope from one anchor and letting some out of the other or both.

When I say it makes it easier I don't mean to make it sound like double anchoring is easy... If however they are dropped correctly it makes it easier to make adjustments so you are on and stay on the wreck.

If you are serious about doing this sort of fishing on your own, there is definitely going to be a pretty steep learning curve and if you try to do it with a single anchor it becomes much harder to get and stay over the wreck.

[stugots]

Thanks guys

[rumster]

It`s not quite as hard as you may think. Been bailing fish for the last 2 1/2 months. There have been days this year when 2 or 3 guys catch 12-15 keeper cod, 1/2 dozen pollock 3-4 fat flounder and 30-40 nice ling. Beats bucktailing for fluke with the way things are any day.

[RATS]

From all I have read best thing to do as a novice to an area is find a buddy boat that knows their stuff and follow them out and learn from them. If you do hook up show the courtesy and ask if you can save his stop points in your GPS.

[Harpoon]

Step 1. Follow one of the 2-3 bottom fishing charter boats out of the Highlands

Step 2. Drop your anchor on a piece of the wreck near them

Step 3. Wonder why they are catching all the fish and you are not, oh and ignore their yelling/laughter.

Just kidding.

With all due respect the charter captains (and rumster since he seems dedicated to bottom fishing) know the wrecks, know which piece of the wrecks will produce, know how to handle the drift/wind on the anchor, know what bait is working best, know when to move and most importantly have the right boat and anchor for that type of fishing.

Can anyone go out and drop and anchor and get lucky? Absolutely. But there is probably a bigger chance that you could lose an anchor or catch bergals and skates all day if you are not sure what to do.

If you have your own boat I'm sure (not positive) that the $150 for fare and tip will be some of the best money you spend. You will go home with some filets, some knowledge, and most importantly you will not have to clean the boat!!!

[Joey Dah Fish]

Step 1. Follow one of the 2-3 bottom fishing charter boats out of the Highlands

Step 2. Drop your anchor on a piece of the wreck near them

Step 3. Wonder why they are catching all the fish and you are not, oh and ignore their yelling/laughter.

Just kidding.

With all due respect the charter captains (and rumster since he seems dedicated to bottom fishing) know the wrecks, know which piece of the wrecks will produce, know how to handle the drift/wind on the anchor, know what bait is working best, know when to move and most importantly have the right boat and anchor for that type of fishing.

Can anyone go out and drop and anchor and get lucky? Absolutely. But there is probably a bigger chance that you could lose an anchor or catch bergals and skates all day if you are not sure what to do.

If you have your own boat I'm sure (not positive) that the $150 for fare and tip will be some of the best money you spend. You will go home with some filets, some knowledge, and most importantly you will not have to clean the boat!!! I
I double and triple this

[rumster]

LMAO Joey. Also more often than not the good bite is on the down current side of the wreck.

[Capt Sal]

Ok for what it is worth. Most professional capts. that bottom fish use two anchors. Either one can be pulled with there hauler. Most private boaters have one ''windlass''. If this is your situation you will first need a good marker with a sash weight and drop it on the wreck. Next is to figure out your lie. You will need a spare anchor with plenty of scope and an anchor ball. Set the first anchor with the anchor ball and leave plenty of scope. Set the second anchor with your windlass and adjust to come back on your marker. When you are ready to pick up and leave bundle up all the line on the first line and tie it off to the anchor ball. Throw it overboard. Pull in your other anchor with your windlass. Go back to the floating anchor anchor ball and untie it and attach it to your stern cleat and pull it up with the anchor ball. Hope this might help. Capt Sal No pro is going to give you his numbers lol

[skate king]

Capt Sal, You just gave him some great advice! Did not have to do that. True professional who does not mind sharing a lifetime of learning. Now let's hope he learns something and is successful at it.

[Striperswiper]

Capt Sal gave some good advice.

When I double anchor, which is often. I mark the wreck and do a couple of drifts over it to see how the boat will lie. Use tracking on your gps to lay tracks and get a compass heading.

I drop one anchor directly up the track line and then go off on a 45 degree line and drop the other. I don't throw all my line in the water like he does but you'll have to figure out what you are most comfortable with.

A lot of times I use one sand anchor up the track line and a second grapple to just hook the wreck and keep me on the best part.

Wheter you use one or two anchors you can get into some serious trouble really fast if a line or two gets caught in your prop and you get spun stern to the sea. You'll be flooded and upside down in a heart beat.

I recommend when picking up the anchors to use your bow cleat and steer 15 - 25 degrees off the line so it stays out of the prop when using a ball to retrieve.

Putting a rope on a stern cleat is asking for trouble . It can limit your ability to maneuver and anchor you stern to the sea.

Go on a charter and see how they do it. It's not rocket science but it does take a certain amount of skill on the part of you and your crew. you might want to practice in the middle of nowhere so you can't lose anything and get it down good.

Capt Brian

[Gerry Zagorski]

Some anchoring tips for those using one anchor.

You first need to find the wreck and the part of it you want to fish... This is best done with a GPS and once in the area with your fish finder to zero in on it.

Once you are directly over the wreck, mark the spot on your GPS and bring the boat to a complete stop.

Now with the engines in neutral, let the boat drift for a few minutes. As you drift off the wreck, this is going to tell you which way your boat is going to lie on the anchor based on the effects of wind and current.

If you have a track feature on your GPS start the boat and follow the track line directly back to the wreck and continue along that line over and past the wreck. If you don't have tracks simply take a direct route back to the wreck and continue past it on the same coarse.

Now drop your anchor and if all goes well, it gets dug in ahead of the wreck and you let out or take in enough scope to put you back over the wreck.

A few tips here....

Wreck anchors come in handy since they have soft tines so when you want to retrieve the anchor and it's stuck, you simply cleat off your line on the bow of the boat and put it in reverse and the tines will bend out and you can get it back. You simply bend the tines back when you get it back on board. A small piece of hollow pipe will help you bend the tines back into position easier then trying to do it by hand. Put the pipe over the tines and use the leverage of the pipe to bend it back in shape.

Some people use a reverse pull method here as well.... This is where your line/chain is connected to the bottom of the anchor rather then the top. You take the line which is connected to the bottom of the anchor and take some wire ties and wire tie the line to the shaft of the anchor running towards the top. If the anchor gets stuck and you put some force on it the wire ties will break and now instead of pulling the anchor from the top which makes it dig more, you are pulling it from the bottom. More on that here http://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?p=375484

I've seen some people anchor from the stern but you need to be really careful doing this and I would not recommend you do it, especially if you have a outboard boat with a shallow notched transom. Problem with anchoring and tying off to a stern cleat is that it forces your stern into the seas and you can easily get swamped by the seas or a stray boat wake. The anchor gets tight, a wave comes by and it forces the stern down, you get swamped and you're done.

For the same reason you never want to try and free a suck anchor by tying it off to a stern cleat and putting the boat in gear. If the anchor does not come loose it's going to force your stern down to the point where you could get swamped. When trying to free an anchor with the boat, you always want do it from the bow.

A generous length of chain is a must as the weight of the chain helps set your anchor better.. A good rule of thumb if you anchor a lot is to make the chain at least the same length of your boat. This also helps when anchoring in the stick stuffy since sharp edges of rubble or wreck can cut through a line but not the chain.

A windlass comes in very handy and if you purchase one, you want it to have the free fall feature. This feature allows the anchor to free fall instead of the relying on the windlass motor running in reverse to let the line out which happens pretty slow. The faster the anchor drops the better.

If you don't have a windless then anchor balls come in handy. Anchor as you normally would. When you are ready to leave, snap the anchor ball clip around your line, cleat off the line to the boat and run the boat away from the anchor. When the anchor lets loose of the bottom, it will come tight to the anchor ball on the surface and make it much easier to bring it in. More on that here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7v8uiDWFnE

Hope these tips help some of you that are new to anchoring on wrecks or reefs.

[RC.]

If you are looking for spots, start with some of the local reefs. All of the numbers are available online. The Shark River Reef sounds like what you are looking for. Or if you look on any good chart some of the well known bigger wrecks are on there- oil wreck, the Greek, etc.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Our artificial reefs are certainly a good place to start because there is lots of rubble and wrecks spread out over a wider area and practically anywhere you happen to anchor, you are going to be on something sticky. The Shark River reef is an especially good one since it's deeper then most and it's very close to the Mudhole edges and wrecks.

[stugots]

You're the man Gerry. This is what this forum is about. Helping people out. ..some people need to realize that and stop with the peanut gallery comments.

[Capt Sal]

Capt Sal gave some good advice.

When I double anchor, which is often. I mark the wreck and do a couple of drifts over it to see how the boat will lie. Use tracking on your gps to lay tracks and get a compass heading.

I drop one anchor directly up the track line and then go off on a 45 degree line and drop the other. I don't throw all my line in the water like he does but you'll have to figure out what you are most comfortable with.

A lot of times I use one sand anchor up the track line and a second grapple to just hook the wreck and keep me on the best part.

Wheter you use one or two anchors you can get into some serious trouble really fast if a line or two gets caught in your prop and you get spun stern to the sea. You'll be flooded and upside down in a heart beat.

I recommend when picking up the anchors to use your bow cleat and steer 15 - 25 degrees off the line so it stays out of the prop when using a ball to retrieve.

Putting a rope on a stern cleat is asking for trouble . It can limit your ability to maneuver and anchor you stern to the sea.

Go on a charter and see how they do it. It's not rocket science but it does take a certain amount of skill on the part of you and your crew. you might want to practice in the middle of nowhere so you can't lose anything and get it down good.

Capt Brian

I agree putting a rope on a stern cleat could get you in trouble. I have done it for years and go on an angle. Mid ship cleat might be a better choice for a beginner.

[Striperswiper]

Capt Sal

I agree that a beginner should use the bow or mid ship cleat to pull the anchor up with a ball. The bow is probably better because you would not have to turn around and look where the line is you can see it and still look forward to avoid collision or lobster pots.

I'm sure there are different methods used by pros such as yourself.

While I was in the learning curve many moons ago I pulled with the rope on the stern, the anchor would not pull and was stuck . It pulled the boat around in a circle and I almost sunk and had to cut the line and let my anchor go or swamp.

I know of another local boat that went down in the late 80's early 90's with a rope on the stern cleat.

I was just pointing out the dangers and trying to give advise from my experience.

Capt Brian

[Gerry Zagorski]

Capt Sal

I agree that a beginner should use the bow or mid ship cleat to pull the anchor up with a ball. The bow is probably better because you would not have to turn around and look where the line is you can see it and still look forward to avoid collision or lobster pots.

I'm sure there are different methods used by pros such as yourself.

While I was in the learning curve many moons ago I pulled with the rope on the stern, the anchor would not pull and was stuck . It pulled the boat around in a circle and I almost sunk and had to cut the line and let my anchor go or swamp.

I know of another local boat that went down in the late 80's early 90's with a rope on the stern cleat.

I was just pointing out the dangers and trying to give advise from my experience.

Capt Brian

Exactly and great advice Capt Brian... In fact it was a few years back in 2009 when some football players had the same thing happen to them in the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida. They were in some heavy seas, went to try and free the stuck anchor by tying it off the stern cleat. When the anchor came tight against the movement of the boat, the stern squatted into the seas and they sunk.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/fatal-boat-accident-involving-nfl-players-marquis-cooper-corey-smith-caused-improper-anchoring-article-1.366690

There is not and anchor in the world worth risking your life for.. If it's stuck try to get it if you can do so safely. If not cut your losses and the anchor line.

I've talked to more then a few captains who know this all too well... If their anchor gets stuck and the conditions will not allow them to try and retrieve it safely, they will cut the line, mark it on the GPS and come back and try to retrieve it when better conditions allow.

[Capt. Lou]

Most single anchor ball pick ups usually done via cockpit, when something goes array is when u don't read the compass pick degrees correctly & u run a soft angle to near the anchor line. I like about 20 degrees as pointed out
speed just fast enough to keep line coming for coiling ,watch ur ball & hold that angle ubtil it floats no need to cleat anything off ball will float anchor & retivval is sinple.
If anchor gets stuck then its best to run line forward note compass & pull close to 180 as possible to anchors lie thats when cleating off should be used ,now ur back pulling anchor from bow if all readings R correct.
if its a tough area rig u anchor as Jerry described so it can be pulled from backward or fluke part first this will cancel out most conditions & get ur anchor back.
U can work off u GPS lines but compass in clise quarters works best for me.In rough seas then u have to use ur best judgement on how best to free stuck anchor, in those seas never use stern cleat unless u have a big enough boat that can stern the waves w/o swamping.
Always go slow so mu can control the pickup & stay out of trouble. Bear in mind that on smakller boats with couple of anglers one anchor may be all u require, moderate swing will not impede fishing , with most species, Tog may be the exception in some cases. other species not so much!