By Mike Frisch
Various innovations designed for helping anglers control their boats while trying to effectively present baits has been a part, or maybe better put, a challenge, of anglers for decades. Recently, shallow water anchors, which deploy from a boat’s transom and spike into the lake bottom, have been gaining popularity. These anchors, often working in pairs with one on each side of the transom, do a great job of locking a boat in place, allowing anglers to fish and not worry about boat control. I have been using a pair of Power-Pole anchors this summer and have been very, very pleased with how they help my fishing. Here are some examples.
Bluegills on beds
This past June, our Fishing the Midwest TV crew headed to Big Stone Lake on the Minnesota/South Dakota border to fish bluegills and crappies. We fished with guide Tanner Arndt. Tanner used the side scanning technology on my boat’s sonar to “look” to the boat’s sides to see spawning beds the bluegills were using. When a good number of beds were found, we would “pole down” a casting length or so from the beds and start fishing. We caught a bunch of bluegills and the poles contributed to our successes. Using side scan, we could stay away from the beds to avoid spooking the fish as we located them. Then, with the poles down, we could cast to the beds and concentrate 100% on the fishing and not worry about the boat drifting over the beds.
Walleyes on the rocks
Earlier in the fishing season, I fished some lakes that have off-colored water and shallow walleyes. These fish often relate to rocky shorelines or rock piles along shallow to mid-depth flats. In either case, holding the boat out from the rocks to be fished and casting to them is usually a good technique for targeting these fish. With the poles down off the boat’s transom, a partner and I would share the front casting deck on my boat and make casts to the rocks and hopefully the fish. Once again, we could concentrate fully on fishing and not worry about boat control. This came in handy for presenting jig and minnow combinations or slip bobber rigs, particularly on windy days when this bite often peaks. The poles were especially advantageous when a fish was hooked because the angler with the hooked fish only worried about fighting the fish and leading it to the net, while the other angler could concentrate fully on netting the walleye.
Bass on the docks
Dock fishing for largemouth bass is often a move down the shoreline while skipping, pitching, and flipping baits under and alongside docks coming out from shore. When targeting docks as a right-handed caster, I like to keep the docks to the boat’s left side and present my bait to the dock while slowly moving along. When a bit past the dock, I angle the bow of the boat to the shoreline and use roll casts where I skip the bait along the lake’s surface and under the dock. From this angle I can target the face of the dock and the entire length of the dock as well. Plus, an angler fishing off the back casting deck has good access to the dock too. If a fish is caught, or I know a dock is a “good dock” from previous fishing trips, I will often deploy the Power-Poles and hold in place while making multiple casts the entire length of the dock.
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The above are just three of many examples of how I use my shallow water anchors to help me better present my baits. After all, better presented baits, often lead to more fish in the boat. And more fish in the boat usually makes for happy anglers!
As always, enjoy your time on the water and remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!
Mike Frisch hosts the popular Fishing the Midwest TV series available on the Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, and more. Visit www.fishingthemidwest to learn more.
