Anchoring for fishing or diving purposes is a very different game than anchoring to spend a night or longer on the hook and/or leave your boat unattended. Because you’re usually fishing in daylight, usually not too close to other boats or the shore, and usually with the crew present and ready to handle any potential problems, a dragging anchor isn’t nearly as big a deal as it is at 2 a.m. when everybody is asleep.

In fact, when anchoring for fishing or diving, boat positioning and ease of deploying and retrieving your anchor or usually higher priority than security.

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Rocks, Reefs and Wrecks

The biggest difference between anchoring for fishing or diving and anchoring for a night is where it's done. When anchoring for the night, you can choose the best shelter, the best depth and the best holding ground available. But when it comes to fishing or diving, the fish, in effect, choose the depth and the bottom composition where you anchor.

For better or worse, the bottom they choose for you usually isn’t nice hard sand. Instead, it tends to be rocks, reefs or wrecks, all of which make it difficult to get your anchor to set. Then, once you do get it set, there’s a real chance it will end up fouled.

A quality anchor for an 18- to 25-foot boat runs $50 to $200 these days, plus a similar amount for rode, so having to cut loose a fouled anchor can really hurt. The simple solution is not to drop several hundred bucks worth of anchor and rode into a reef or wreck.

Realistically, you should carry two anchors anyway. Anchors are undervalued but critical pieces of safety equipment. If you lose engine power and drift toward a shore, your anchor is the only thing between you and the surf or rocks. Consider equipping your boat with at least one “serious” anchor (and preferably two) plus an additional anchor for fishing and diving use.

Grapnel Anchor

If you often anchor over rocky bottoms, artificial reefs or wrecks, your fishing anchor should be both easy to retrieve if it gets fouled and inexpensive enough that losing it isn't going to break you.

Grapnel-style anchors, essentially large, weighted grappling hooks, fit the bill perfectly. Commonly referred to as “reef anchors” or “wreck anchors,” they catch easily on protrusions and openings in rocks and wrecks. Thanks to soft prongs, though, you can simply bend them straight to free a hung anchor.

Factors to consider when choosing a reef/wreck anchor include not just physical size but also weight

There are numerous brands and models on the market made from aluminum or galvanized steel. Factors to consider when choosing a reef/wreck anchor include not just physical size (their shape makes them difficult to stow) but also weight. In deeper water or heavier current, an unweighted grapnel anchor can take a long to reach the bottom. A couple of well known manufacturers are Anchorman Wreck Anchors and Grappler Anchors.

Breakaway-rigged Anchors

Another option is simply to buy an inexpensive fluke-style anchor for fishing or diving use and rig it “breakaway” style so that it can be pulled out backwards if it gets hung up.

To do this, drill a hole in the crown of the anchor if it doesn’t already have one, fit a shackle through it, and attach your chain. Then run the chain along the shank of the anchor and use a large cable tie to connect a link of the chain to the eye or shackle on the end of the shank where the rode would normally be attached.

The video here goes over how to rig your anchor with a zip tie as well as some additional tricks for anchoring in structure. keep in mind this rigging can be used on all types of anchors including danforth anchors.

With this setup, as long as the cable-tie is in place, the pull from the rode is on the end of the shank, where it would normally be. But if the anchor hangs up, you can break the cable tie with the boat engine(s), and then pull on the anchor's crown to free it.

You may need to experiment with the size or number of cable ties needed to hold your boat. Under controlled conditions, set your anchor and test progressively stronger cable ties until your boat holds in the kind of wind, waves and current you normally fish in. Then make sure you’re still able to break the cable ties with engine power when you want to. A few wraps of stiff wire or a crimped loop of heavy monofilament line can also work in place of cable ties. The commercially available Anchor Saver device accomplishes the same thing with metal shear pins.

A Word of Caution

It must be emphasized here that 1) you shouldn't depend on a grapnel-style reef or wreck anchor or on a cheap fluke-style anchor as your primary anchor, 2) breakaway-rigged anchor should be used only for fishing, diving or other short-term applications when there’s always a competent skipper on board. Again, anchors are important safety equipment, and every boat should be equipped with an appropriately sized and correctly rigged anchor with plenty of rode.