Much like for a successful business, the key to productive offshore bottom-fishing is being in the right location. Once the preferred, rock, wreck or reef is found, the captain must anchor so the boat is positioned just right to get the baits down to the fish. Bottomfish are very specific to their chosen structure, and missing it by even a few feet will result in a lot of waiting rather than catching. When anchored correctly, bites should be felt almost immediately.
If the wind and current always lined up together, anchoring would be much simpler. Sometimes the current pushes the anchor line in one direction, while a surface current or wind turns the boat in another. No one calls plotting an anchor course geometry, but that’s what it is.
The anchor course is the direction the boat has to move upwind and upcurrent of the intended fishing spot to drop anchor. Scope is the amount of line between the anchor and the boat. Anchor course and scope combine to position the boat over the fish and the less scope required the better.
The U.S. Coast Guard suggests an anchor scope of 7 feet of anchor line for each foot of depth as a standard length and 3 feet of anchor line per foot of depth as a short scope. Many experienced offshore bottom fishermen combine a heavy anchor and long length of chain to successfully anchor using a 1.5- or 2-to-1 scope.
Capt. Butch Foster of Yeah Right Charters uses 30 feet of chain, which increases the weight and changes the angle of pull to help the anchor dig in. The importance of anchoring with less scope is there is less line for the boat to swing off the intended position. The extra weight of the chain also acts as a shock absorber for waves.
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