Have been fishing Hali's for years now off my windlass with a custom set up with C Links spliced in at two different depths on my rode line so I can set my anchor, un clip the rode from my windlass then clip onto a line that goes from bow to next to my fish deck with quick release. On that line I also use a scotchman. There are two small rings on that line so that if I have to unclip or cut the line in emergency I don't lose my anchor/rode set up cause the line goes out my bow and stops at the scotchman which marks/floats my rode to anchor line so I can come back and get it if I have to later. Also when fishing the same spot for a couple days sometimes I leave my set up out there to come back to later. I just unclip and keep my set up floating/marked with the scotchman till I come back later. If it's in a more heavily traffic area I don't keep it out without us there fishing though so it's not a navigation hazard.
I have done both types of off shore anchoring for bottom fish with my windless custom set up and the way most guys do it with the stern set up, hand anchor, sliding ring on bow to stern line and they both work well but for me I would never change to the stern set up/swinging line on a ring/hand anchor set up. I've got friends that have now changed over to their windlass's too after fishing with me with my set up and friends that installed them after just to use the set up this way.
But to each their own, whatever is safest and most efficient for your own set up and boat configuration. Safety should be first priority with any set up you do.
What makes my windless set up work very well for me is the way my boat is set up with a man hatch at the cuddy and separate windlass button controls at the bow right next to the hatch opening as well as windlass controls at the helm. So I don't have to go out on the bow to mess around with my set up. I can unclip and clip onto my other line right there from my hatch very quickly. And I'm not a fool so I don't anchor/fish in dangerous weather/sea conditions where I would risk myself, friends, or clients lives. I also keep knives up at the bow and next to the clip at the fish deck. I've also got 35 years of sea time in sport and commercial boats fishing in and offshore and I trust my own judgment on the sea with tide, current, and weather conditions so I don't ever fish/anchor with unnecessary risks. If folks are newer to anchor fishing or just any ocean fishing they should spend a lot of time getting used to fishing different conditions.
Couple years ago I was with friends on their boat a bit offshore on the north island using their slide ring set up anchored bottom fishing and the weather and see conditions changed very fast. I suggested we pack it in but my friend lives up there and said no worries we will be fine. He insisted it was a small weather system that would blow over us quickly and he stayed anchored. It ended up being more of an almost panic situation cause the boat turned sideways to the split ring/rode/scotchman tension very quickly when the wind shifted very quickly with force, then the boat swung around more with tension quickly building to the stern. He fired up the engine to get the boat bow to the wind but he now didn't have much slack to work with cause he was towards the end of his available line and clipped on without being able to adjust that "slack free line" and while doing so myself and another friend were telling him his marked floating line was getting in behind his kicker which was in the down position still cause we trolled to that bottom fish spot. With bad wind, changing tide and building waves that were coming from different directions it was a **** show and I told him to unclip. We did eventually and my friend played it all off like that's normal and he said he had things under control. No he didn't and so many other things could have gone wrong so quickly if we didn't unclip. The ring won't always slide to the bow if you are in conditions that change very fast and come from different directions but yes, you should not be out in those conditions anyways. But saying that with the way I set up my system there is zero chance ever of my bow not being towards my marker line, my quick release line, and my scotchman/rode line. The bow of your boat is build to be the part of your boat meant to always be into the force and direction of waves for control and buoyancy.
After all that the weather didn't get better the next couple of days and I went back with him to retrieve his anchor/rode set up (by hand, stern slip ring set up) What a **** show and it wasn't even in very rough conditions as it was when we unclipped. He almost got his set up into his prop a couple times. He's been fishing off shore this way for 15 years. A year later this friend met me for a fishing trip on my boat on the West side and we went bottom fishing. Two months later he installed a windless with bow controls and set his boat up like mine for bottom fishing. He has access to his bow with a windshield opening so it worked very well for him but obviously the same set up can't be done safely for all boats.
I have also welded a small diameter metal rod rode attachment slide bar to my anchor so there is no need for zap straps, or ways to fix your rode to your anchor so that you can break free from it if you get stuck. With your rode attached to your anchor with a small diameter rod slide bar then your clip to the anchor just slides back and forth on the top of your anchor. So if I get stuck in some rock I just let out some slack and go to the opposite side of the anchor and pull from there. The rode to anchor clip slides to the opposite side of the anchor and pulls the anchor out that way from the opposite direction it got stuck in. Have been stuck a few times really well and never lost an anchor this way. The small diameter rod is welded lightly enough so that if you had to break off of your anchor you could do so by pulling hard enough and that metal rod would break free and you would save your whole rode, chain etc set up.
We have also anchored this way from our fresh water river jet boats for a very long time, from windlass, with scotchman's, and with anchor clip slide bars welded on to them. In the rivers anchors get hung up a lot in rip rap rocks, under water log jams etc and we have to pull out from the opposite side often. In the rivers guides also use this system a lot cause they want to keep their Sturgeon or Salmon spots on the bars so they just quick release from the scotchman/rodes to make quick trips to take customers back and pick up other customers then motor back up to their scotchmans to re hook back up to them so they can continue fishing in that same spot.
I also have a lot of extra line on my rode in case of instances where I ever have to let out extra line to get slack in the line to either unclip, or pull the anchor from a different direction. I've got 750' or rode and chain. It all gets stored in my cuddy and I made a custom aluminum rode chute so that the rode goes in and out of my boat neatly without getting bunched up or tangled. We were caught in a flash storm up island motoring back trying to beat it in and it was a 30 km ride so we decided to tuck into a small semi sheltered bay to wait out the storm. I anchored in what was a very rough bottom reef. The winds picked up to gale and we were in a small bay anchored. Tide was ebbing strong but the wind was coming from different direction at the port side full force. Pilot house boat is like a large kite to the wind. With the windlass and lots of extra line I was able to play with the slack line and boat facing direction to stay safe but after a bit I ended up pulling anchor to be safer and kept the boat bow into the wind under power in that bay for more than two hours. But it was a catch 22 situation cause if we lost power to the motors we would be at the mercy of the conditions so I would have been force to drop anchor again in the bay if that happened. It was all rock cliffs around us. There was no leaving into the open ocean, no going to shore, and no staying anchored safely in those conditions. But if I had to, If I lost engine power in those conditions I would have felt much better doing so with my set up, with the availability of the windless for slack line, power, and from 100% of the time being hooked up tension wise from the bow than being anchored with a hand line sliding ring anchor set up. We actually ended up catching three nice Lings in that spot while waiting out the storm hovering under power into the conditions so it worked out well but just goes to show how quick things can change and how safety levels get very dangerous very fast even when you think the weather will be decent.
Moral of the story: there's more than one way to skin a cat but do what's safest and most efficient for you and your guests.
