There is far more to the boating life than simply buying a boat. Between parts, accessories, and extras, it can be hard to know what you need for your boat and what you don’t. And although many boating extras may lure you in with seemingly endless benefits, some are best left for a specific type of boat owner. One of the best modern boating inventions, the power pole, is one such example. Here’s why power poles are great, but not for everybody.

Power poles: what do these poles actually do?

Power poles are a fairly recent innovation to the boating industry. These inventions are designed to make anchoring your boat in shallow waters easier and more convenient.

According to Pontoonopedia, a “power pole is a shallow water anchor that slides silently into the water with a push of a button.” Instead of the traditional boat anchor, a power pole is designed to quickly and almost silently anchor the boat.

These poles sit on the exterior of the boat, using hydraulic and electric systems to quickly deploy the pole into the water. The pole swiftly grounds itself on the bottom and securely stabilizes the boat. 

Not just a cool invention, these poles serve a variety of useful and convenient purposes. Power poles must be installed, but deploy with just the push of a button and are easier to deploy and use than a boat’s traditional anchor. And because all you need is the push of a button, anchoring your boat in shallow water can be done very quickly, and without having to fumble with the steering, ropes, and rods.

What’s the catch?

There aren’t a lot of drawbacks to installing these on a boat, especially when it comes to fishing. Aside from the fact that it can only be used in shallow water (between six and 10-feet) and can take some time to install, power poles do the job of anchoring your boat quickly and reliably every time.

And many people agree, these poles do help catch more fish. Not only do you spend less time and effort anchoring, but the silent deployment won’t scare away fish like traditional anchors. Not everything can be as good as it sounds, however, and power poles do come with a catch.

Although some other brands have manufactured shallow-water power anchors, the Power-Pole company is the brand behind both the original design and namesake.

Power-Pole is also the most popular and reliable brand in shallow-water anchors. As evident in West Marine’s product listings, Power-Pole anchors might vary in cost, but all will be fairly expensive. Some models start at roughly $1,500, but models for deeper water up to 10-feet cost around $2,000. And this cost is per pole. With most boats benefiting from the stability of two poles, this can get very expensive, very quickly.

Are power poles worth it?

While these are certainly innovative and helpful devices, the steep cost makes it a serious investment. And the benefits may not make the cost worth it for most people.

It’s true, the cost and work involved with installing these poles will help you catch more fish. But according to Fish Game, the biggest question is not if power poles help catch more fish, but “if catching fish is worth the additional expense.”

According to the website, fishermen that depend on “catching more fish as a matter of business,” it seems like a profitable investment. It might also be worth the cost for serious fishermen involved in big tournaments, etc. For the average fisherman, however, power poles probably aren’t worth the crazy price.