# Anyone use push pole as a stick it anchor?



## J-Dad (Aug 30, 2015)

CodyW said:


> Been tossing the idea around of modifying a push pole tip and convert it to a stick it size tip. I don't know how well the actual push pole tip works as a stick it. So, how is it?


The diameter will be larger than the typical anchor stick, might be harder to stick it in the bottom and have it hold ....


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## CodyW (Jan 26, 2016)

J-Dad said:


> The diameter will be larger than the typical anchor stick, might be harder to stick it in the bottom and have it hold ....


Yes, that is why I was thinking about rigging a stick it pin on one end of my push pole. Reason I'm doing this is because the stick it I have is a pain to put in and pull out of my gunnel holders and gets in the way. The push pole has it's set place and easy to store.


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

Other than in the keys where the bottom felt like nothing but shell, I haven't had too many issues just sticking my push pole into the bottom.


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## J-Dad (Aug 30, 2015)

CodyW said:


> Yes, that is why I was thinking about rigging a stick it pin on one end of my push pole. Reason I'm doing this is because the stick it I have is a pain to put in and pull out of my gunnel holders and gets in the way. The push pole has it's set place and easy to store.


Ok, now I get it. Let us know how it turn about if you do it.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Just make sure you put it at an angle. If you put it verticle and it's really windy it will snap don't ask how I know.


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## CodyW (Jan 26, 2016)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Just make sure you put it at an angle. If you put it verticle and it's really windy it will snap don't ask how I know.


Fiberglass or carbon fiber?


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

CodyW said:


> Fiberglass or carbon fiber?


It was an older fiberglass one you may be fine with carbon fiber if you do an angle you'll have no issues.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

If you're in a mud bottom area, it is easy to stake out with a push pole. They don't work well in sandy areas.

I don't like getting mud all over the last 4' of my push pole, because that means I get mud all over everything I touch thereafter.

Nate


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## matthewb (Jul 4, 2015)

I had the opposite problem with my push pole way too easy to stick in the mud and I couldn't get it out. I am located in Louisiana though lol


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

matthewb said:


> I had the opposite problem with my push pole way too easy to stick in the mud and I couldn't get it out. I am located in Louisiana though lol


Yeah, the mud doesn't like to give it back.

Nate


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

I think Anytide sold me a small diameter fiberglass stake out pole. He can cut to length. Better/lighter than the stainless steel stakeout rods I have used in the past.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Guess I qualify as an old timer... for years and years most of the folks I know that used a pushpole automatically used the pointy end to stake out on any soft or shell bottom (anywhere you can stick it and have it hold). That's why when the first power poles came out I just snickered and thought that they were a great idea if you didn't want to have a push pole in hand...

There's a clear difference though in how you use a pushpole for staking out and the way a "stick it" or similar pole is employed. The stick it pins go in straight down - if you do that with a push pole you'll soon break it... A pushpole has to go in at an angle (and you won't be staking out with a pushpole in high winds -at least not for long....).

I keep three tethers on my old Maverick - just for staking out - two are in the stern permanently attached to my poling tower (one on each side -about three and a half feet long) as well as a third short line for the bow that only comes out when I need to stake out bow first (for areas with current or days when it's blowing...). Each has their uses but staking out with your pushpole is a learned technique (and I broke more than one pushpole learning the art - but back then poles were a lot cheaper...).

Here's a tip for staking out in really sticky mud or soft sand - where it's all too easy to place your pole too deep to be able to get it out easily... Simply set it down into the bottom then twist it a bit in place - if it's hard to twist, pull it out slightly.... you'll be glad you did when you finally need to pull up and work another spot... When your pole it stuck and you can't seem to move it - grab the fork end to gain leverage and be able to twist it in place until you loosen it enough to remove it...

Like most of what I know how to do on the water - every lesson should have come with a box of bandaids since I made a lot of mistakes. By the way, what I've just spoken of was common knowledge long before power poles and stake out pins ever showed up. Things seem to get forgotten (or not passed on) a lot more these days - or maybe I'm just getting older...


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## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

I think it's also worth mentioning that it's probably better to stake out with a fiberglass push pole, as they're a lot more forgiving.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

I would focus your energy and money on coming up with a storage and deployment system for you standard 3/4" stake-out pole. If you don't like keeping your pin under the gunnels, they make some stick it pin holders that you con mount to the top of your gunnel or floor, or you can get a stick-pin bracket for the transom that holds the pin in both the up and down positions, or you could drop $600 on a powerpole micro. 
I'm imagining that if you have a 3/4" pin on the end of your push pole, then when you stick the pin in the mud, it will have to hold your bot and the 18' or so of fiberglass push pole above...and it would like likely tip over and come loose from the mud/bottom.


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## FSUDrew99 (Feb 3, 2015)

In NE FL its all pluff mud. Have a stake off rope on your platform, drive your pp foot into the mud twist it in place at and angle, tie it off and call it a day. Obviously easier said than done in some harder bottom areas.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

The first few trips on my first skiff here in Texas I found out that the Florida push pole stake out did not work well in a lot of the hard sand bottom. A friend fabricated a 4 ft solid ss steel rod with a loop bent on one end. Very effect but a little heavy. We even stuck a few flounder with it. I would lay it down in the cock pit. It would not slide around. I do the same now except use a longer fiberglass rod that fits on the floor under the gunnels. Stake outs are rare here, but I have used it in the Glades.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

No doubt, you won't be staking out in hard bottom or oyster reef areas... That's when a "stick it" or power pole comes in really handy... I did work once on a skiff that had a "cajun anchor" aboard. At first I was a bit skeptical but it worked like a charm in much deeper water than I could stake out it (with my 22' foot pushpole I can easily stake out in 10 feet of water). For those who've never seen one a "cajun anchor" is a stainless steel rod, about 1/2" diameter and about four feet long, with a rope on the ring end and a point on the other. You place in in the water then use it like a spear - it goes straight down and really penetrates (I think it's the weight that does it...). I was them advertised in magazines for years and never realized their value until I used one....

As someone noted -more than one way to get a job done....


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## bobber (Sep 29, 2015)

You know Bob, you ever put out a book of knowledge and experiences learned a la Andy McLean's Fishin Mate you could sell quite a few copies.


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

bobber said:


> You know Bob, you ever put out a book of knowledge and experiences learned a la Andy McLean's Fishin Mate you could sell quite a few copies.[/QUOTE
> Yes I could read his posts everyday always informative and on point cudos to you sir.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Thanks for the kind words... I just remember (all those years ago) when I was learning - and there was just very little info to be had about most of what we like to do up shallow... so I don't mind passing along a thing or two. The few that made a point of teaching me on one point or other will be in my memory until I'm gone....

Unlike guides working in a place where it's very highly competitive (like the Keys where everything is a state secret....) where I run in the backcountry many days we hardly see another skiff - so I don't mind opening up a little...


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## jlindsley (Nov 24, 2015)

small anchor on the back with line easily accessible to pick up and slide off works in all types of bottom...also it can be quiet and quick allowing you to keep holding on to the push pole makes casts then move on.

or just go w/ a power pole or stick it pin..


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

lemaymiami said:


> Thanks for the kind words... I just remember (all those years ago) when I was learning - and there was just very little info to be had about most of what we like to do up shallow... so I don't mind passing along a thing or two. The few that made a point of teaching me on one point or other will be in my memory until I'm gone....
> 
> Unlike guides working in a place where it's very highly competitive (like the Keys where everything is a state secret....) where I run in the backcountry many days we hardly see another skiff - so I don't mind opening up a little...


Always enjoy your posts


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## Mudbottom (2 mo ago)

I stuck my 3 piece fiberglass stiffy pushpole about 4 ft in the mud. I lost the spike section. How deep do you recommend setting spike in mud and at what angle? Thank you!


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## Mako 181 (May 1, 2020)

Capt Andy…
My father bought a used 1959 16’ Fibercraft from him in 1963. No motor. Dad bought a new 40 HP pull start Johnson to put on it and for it’s time it was a Cadillac. 

flat bottom
Added sponson livewell


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## sgiberson (May 31, 2012)

I am always in favor of carrying as little gear as possible... especially on a skiff. No need for a stick it


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

Yeah if you Flyfishing it stands up too tall, and sometimes it gets so stuck in the mud you can't get it out hardly. I do it from time to time but only when its a pretty slow moving area. 
Not to mention there's no getting it out of the way if you hook up to a big fish.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

I have a stick it style bracket that @anytide makes and attaches to the polling platform. You put the pin in and it's held there by a rubber bungee. Works great and I put the pin in the rod holder for storage. I had a power pole on my old skiff and for the fishing I do I rarely used it for actual fishing. I used it at the dock target than trying off and that didn't merit the hassle.


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