| Definition |
This is a cheap anchor, usually made of lead and sometimes having a vinyl or plastic coating. It has a 360-degree cupped lip and an upside-down mushroom appearance. It is solid, fairly small, and stows easily. It is more popular among small-boat owners in freshwater than in saltwater, and it primarily holds due to its weight (usually 8 to 10 pounds, but some are 15 pounds) rather than any intrinsic grabbing ability. Although commonly carried in boats of 15- to 18-foot lengths, such as bass boats, mushroom anchors are mainly useful under ideal conditions, especially where there is a soft bottom; they are not adequate in fast-moving water and cannot hold a heavy boat well, especially in a marl or hard bottom, unless that bottom has plenty of large rocks. When they settle into a muddy bottom, mushroom anchors are prone to bring a lot of the bottom up with them, making for a heavy load to lift out of the water.
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