# anchoring on the tanks, and grouper help



## woody1661 (May 7, 2008)

i have tried anchoring on the tanks many times and have always struggled doing so,such as it wont ever grab,i have anchored other places with little to no trouble is it harder to anchoronthe tanksor is it just me. Also we went outlast weekend and tried a few spots on, what i think is called"the hilton chart" and all we caught was one oversized red fish and red snapper and alot of them, are there certain kinds of structures to look for to catch grouper, maybe a certain bait all we used were frozen cigar minnows, or is it a distance thing this time of year with the water temp. any help would be much appreciated.

jason


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Big live bait is necessary because the snapper have overrun the inshore spots and anything you drop will most likely be imhaled by a snapper before a grouper even gets a sniff.


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## Wade Schepper (Mar 11, 2009)

grouper prefer live bait like pin fish, or butterflied bait. you will find mostof themon rocks or live bottom


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

Jason what size boat are you running? Tackle , what are you using? What kind of grouper are you after? you know scamp, gag ? Bigger the bait bigger the fish but you better have the gear to pull them out with.


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## Sea Monkey (Dec 26, 2008)

The OLE need some help. Not sure what the anchor problem is. Might have been a bad day to try an anchor. Might need some more chain. Is the tank the deepest water you 've tried to anchor in?? What kind of anchor are you using?? I have spent many of days sitting on the tanks off Alabama. They can be productive. 

Now, Grouper is a story within itself!! Will have best luck in deeper water 120-400 ft. Many people catch them in the bay. Don't ask me bout the inside. On the outside, natural bottom will help. Big bait will help also. Dead or alive it don't matter. We catch more grouper on dead stuff than live. Different strokes for different folks. Some days livies work better than dead, trail and error. Gotta pump and wind on them though. I put mine in the rod holder and set it and forget it.


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## woody1661 (May 7, 2008)

the tanks sit in what 90 to 95ft of water i think the deepest would be close to that yeah maybe allittle deeper it just seems like our anchor never wants to grab there i dont know the answer to the anchor questions you have the anchor came with the boat we bought last summer and i am still pretty new to this whole thing and everytime i go down there i forget to look i will make it a priority next time to look and see what anchor we have. you say you put your rod in the holder while grouper fishing do you put out a rod just for grouper while you are say snapper fishing or are all of your rods baited for grouper. is it a good idea to fish for snapper while having a rod just for grouper.

thanks for the advice 

jason


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## Wharf Rat (Sep 27, 2007)

> *woody1661 (4/15/2009)*the tanks sit in what 90 to 95ft of water i think the deepest would be close to that yeah maybe allittle deeper it just seems like our anchor never wants to grab there i dont know the answer to the anchor questions you have the anchor came with the boat we bought last summer and i am still pretty new to this whole thing and everytime i go down there i forget to look i will make it a priority next time to look and see what anchor we have. you say you put your rod in the holder while grouper fishing do you put out a rod just for grouper while you are say snapper fishing or are all of your rods baited for grouper. is it a good idea to fish for snapper while having a rod just for grouper.
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The tanks are pretty much sitting in nothing but sand, if I recall...silty, soft sand. Gonna need a good bit of chain and obey the rode "laws"...ie 5 times or more length of rope as depth of water you're in. I'd pretty much overdo it on the chain, bigger links than you probably need and a little longer length than is called for and anchoring when not obeying the proper rode will be easier...and when in the sand. I ain't no pro, but these modifications have made it easier for me to anchor no matter where I go.


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## Sea Monkey (Dec 26, 2008)

The OLE need some help.

When we Grouper fish we Grouper fish. We will fish some chicken rigs from time to time while fishing for Grouper. We clear the pass with nothing but frozen squid for bait, and have had great success with squid as a start. I will not anchor unless bottom time is short(current/drift) I stay on the move!!! As mentioned before I set it and forget it. Anyone that has fished with me knows what I mean. I'm usually driving the boat and fishing, maybe thats why I set it and forget it. My fishing partner will hold his rod all day. My bait placement is different than his(water depth) but we both seem to have goodluck at pumpand winding on them. Different strokes for different folks. WE figure you will only catch 50% of the Grouper bites you will get. Its all over if they bite our hook though!!!!!!!!!!We do catch snapper and AJ while grouper fishing. Breaking the 30lb. mark on Red Snapper is coming, all in due time. We have won the grouper division 2 times in the ADSFR. 71st. & 72nd. annual. The 71st. was caught on my20ft. boat. The fish weighede 60.28lbs. Gag. Still the largest that has been weighed in since the 71st. ADSFR. The 72nd.won the grouper and beeliner division. Have not fished the ADSFR since the 72nd.We did fishthe 74th. i think it was. Sad cause we boated a 45lb. King and were not in the King jackpot(1500.00 fish)Will are going to get after them this year though. We usually stay out for two days during the ADSFR.OK enough of that.

Now for anchoring, it is all in the Chain. I have a 20 boat with 13 ft. of 3/8in. chain with 1,200ft. of rope.I usually achor with a 2to3 times ofrope as the water depth.The saleman tried to sell me the smaller chain, said it would be sufficiant for my boat. I said no thanks I WANT the larger chain. Rulke of thumb is that your chain should be the length of your vessel. Might neede to try and stay over the top of your anchor while the anchor is falling to the bottom. You must get all the chain on the bottom. Hope this helps you out. I will not back-a-way from the point of anchor deployment. Once my anchor hits the bottom I start throwing a bunch of rope in the water to allow the chain to fully rest on the bottom. Different strokes for different folks. This works great for me.


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## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

Chain, Chain and more Chain. And do not just through the anchor over and hope for the best. You need to keep a little tension on it as it goes down. Otherwise the chain can get wrapped up in the anchor causing it not to grab. I have 19 feet of 3/8 chain and an 8 lb anchorfor my 19 foot boat. Ever since I added that much chain, my anchor problems went away.


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## Speckulator (Oct 3, 2007)

What the heII is the OLE??????????????????

George


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

Sea Monkey always uses the "OLE", his signature.

Skip


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## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

It is always hard to anchor over the tanks for me too. Not so much to get the anchor to hold, but in figuring out what angle to put the anchor at to wind up over the tank. The single biggest thing I have found that helps is a pair of buoys. I have 2 2.5 gallon penzoil jugs (bright yellow) with a 5 pound weight and lots of trotline cord wound up on each one. I find the tank, drop the first bouy, then circle to decide where the other end of the tank is. I use the second bouy to mark that end. Looking at the current on the jugs, I jog against the current and drop anchor. As long as I can drift back to the bouy, its all great. However, when you have out 250 ft of line, a small change in current will shift you 40 feet or more. But, at least you can tell it you are way off. The second bouy gives you something to line up on.

Some people will say it is overkill, but I often go fishing without a skilled friend, and I wind up doing all the anchor work, so it is labor intensive regardless of how I do it.


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## woody1661 (May 7, 2008)

so if i have a 24ft boat what size chain and how long should it be. it makes since that the bottom is sandy and silty because i can feel it dragging the ground after it hits the ground. it makes me mad everytime because i have had luck on these tanks the short time we stay over them and i mark fish all the time. 

thanks for all the help 

jason


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## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

Long chain is good until it wraps around a wreck, then not so much. You probably need 10 or 12 feet of 3/8 to 1/2 inch anchor chain. That should realistically be plenty. Lots and Lots of anchor rope, though. If I am in 100 foot of water, I will have out 300-350 foot of rope, and I never have any problem holing the bottom with a 21 foot boat.


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## Sea Monkey (Dec 26, 2008)

The OLE need some help.

I would use no less than 18ft. of 3/8in. Now that would be for a center console, for a cuddy and all the wine and dine features, I would use 24ft.. OK , now your arms and shoulders are all ready burning thinking bout pulling the anchor with all that chain. Hope you have an anchor ball. I fished for two years without one. I use the A-2 size for pulling my anchor. Anchor balls make all the difference in the world. 

I'm sure people use less than the mentioned amount of chain for anchoring, and having success in doing so. The chain is no place to skimp. I will use a shorter length chainwitha wreck anchor.


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## POPPY (Jan 9, 2008)

I fish tanks too - dropanchor with 12 feet of chain about 300 - 350 feet from tank.holds on tanks good for me. i mark tank with a bouy. i drift off tank using track line on chart plotter. gives me a line to follow. i follow line back to tank watching compose heading and go out 300 - 350 feet from tank - mark. drift back watching track line -watching how close to tank/bouy i pass. do this 2 - 3 time....adjusting.....this gives me good idea of where to drop anchor. alsowhen yourun anchor line off thebow (port side or stbd side) -this will help swing your boat right or left as to wind. bouy (made) - i use are pool noodle cut16 inch long. i tie 3 close together, with 125 feet of crab line & 2.5#to 5# bar bell steel weight. i wrap line around noodle. drop overboard.bouy spins as weight goes down & does not tingle up. (weights cheap at yard sales) Poppy (aka Joe)


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## angus_cow_doctor (Apr 13, 2009)

That is wonderful idea, poppy. I was thinking..... What if you were to include in your noodle trifecta a wooden dowel rod. you could then cut a notch in some plywood and make a set of uprights, leaving the end of the rod sticking out. Introduce a cordless drill, and PRESTO! You could wind the cord right up. I always get tired of winding the cord on my jugs I use for bouys. Put the whole thing on a rod holder, and you could use it to pick up the weight and everything.

Sweet!


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## Speckulator (Oct 3, 2007)

lastcast-----question is still not answered...WHAT IS IT???????????????????

George


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## Sea Monkey (Dec 26, 2008)

> *Speckulator (4/16/2009)*What the heII is the OLE??????????????????
> 
> George




The OLE horse will speak..

Ok , the real truth behind "The OLE"

I have been reconized by the forum moderators as to tell the whOLE truth on all my posts. It takes alot of research and time to get to "TheOLE" point of recognition!!!! There is one way to get bye all the BS of getting recognized. You must pay a monthly fee to be in my exclusive club. Hope this helps with "The OLE" curiosity!!


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