I have and tried the basketball net for an anchor but prefer an onion bag. They are much lighter, easier to fill with stones and are expendable. I keep one folded and tucked under the bow caps on all of my canoes, that way they are always handy when I need them and I can just use the painter for most times when I want to anchor.

If you want a good anchor, consider buying a basketball net.  Maybe $3.00 at Walmart.  

Feed a short rope through the bottom of the net, cinch it tight and tie it off.  Then, when you get to your lake, find a decent-sized rock, put it inside the net, then thread your anchor rope through the loops at the top of the net and tie it off.  You'll have a perfect anchor every time.

Buying an anchor for canoe country is strictly an exercise for proving you have more dollars than sense.

Mesh or canvas bag (if you can't find one free you aren't trying) and rope.  End of story.

I use a mesh type bag I made out of a old basketball net. I use as round a rock as I can find, so far no hang-ups and it holds well.
I wouldn't use it in a stiff wind becasue if it did hang-up, it could cause problems. I could cut it free easy enough, but I don't like the idea of leaving a nylon bag in the water for critters to be entrapped.

I've never used this product, but I think the principle is sound. With a stiff small mesh bag, it shouldn't snag as easily, and the rope with steel ring allows you to spill the rocks and retrieve if you do hang up.
Could probably make your own if you found a suitable bag, but not sure how much you would save after buying the raw materials?
If nothing else it gives you a idea you maybe able to replicate or improve upon?

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Dandy product.......well thought out.

I haven't done much anchoring in canoe country. If I did however, I would certainly be interested in one. When I anchor in my flats boat I like my anchor to stick and I mean right now. There are few things more frustrating than an anchor that continually drags. I sorta wonder about the pile of rocks in a mesh bag........would probably do pretty good even in a moderate blow with enough scope but that's merely conjecture on my part.

If I was to employ one of these canoe anchors I would like to be able to retrieve it from the backside. PJ is right on with those flukes digging up underneath some boulders. They might not break off as easily as you think and then what? Your stuck.........time to cut the rope.

On my flats boat the rope is affixed to the opposite end of where it is normally attached. Then I run the rope up the shaft and use a cable tie to position the rope in its normal position. If I hang the anchor it is a simple matter of breaking the tie. Now I can pull from the rear of the anchor. I have never lost an anchor with this set-up. If I were to go for this product I would try and rig it likewise.

Yes. Mesh bag. Bring a dozen, they're light and pack small.

Just carry a mesh or canvas bag w/ rope. Anchor rocks were strategically placed all over canoe country so it eliminates the need to carry your own. If you do choose to carry rocks, it helps to pack them in someone elses pack.

Not sure I'd use it in the canadian shield.  Potentially, those plastic fins would not retrieve well from a pile of boulders and if they did, they would quickly break.  Gimmick if you ask me but I like the way the guy is thinking.  You would achieve the the same with any lightweight sack so I see only a disadvantage in the product for where my canoe goes.  Otherwise, if you paddle in a soft bottom lake . . . knock yourself out.

Personal opinion:  Anchors are a bad idea in a canoe or kayak anyway.

Here's a pretty cool product.  Not sure that it is preferable to a sea anchor but might be worth a look.
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