Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi Guys, I'm considering building some shallow water anchors to my toon to help in sitting off weed beds in shallow water while fishing. The debate is whether to use 3/4" or 1" fiberglass rods. Most of the commercially done pins seem to use 3/4" but they also seem to be targeting 18'-20' bass boats and jon boats. This is a 24' triple toon with a lot more wind catching potential.

Then again, there seems to be some difference in use too. Those anchors that use a rope and tie off to the top of the pin seem to value the flex in the rod and talk about his flex being part of the advantage that holds the boat steady. Those anchors that stick the pin through a pipe mounted to the transom don't seem to focus so much on the flexibility of their poles.

I've already made mounts that look like the attached pic (borrowed from http://www.mgs4u.com/shallow-water-boat-anchors.htm). Anyone have any real world experience to help me decide between rod sizes?

I bought a pair of 8' pins to shallow anchor my 24' toon.

On the stern I use their "brake" mount which keeps that pin pretty straight and minimizes sway. On the bow I use the rope, which allows sway, and the pin does bend a lot in wind.

Depending on the situation, I use one or the other or both.

I use electrical conduit--
A bit heavy but works great for much less dollars--