An Idea my fishing buddy uses and I have adapted it as it works well. Using a chalk line reel from Lowes I strip out the chalk line and replace it with about 30ft of 80lb mono and tie a 4-5lb ball weight to it. I got so much other stuff already hanging off the tube 30+ ft of rope gets in the way. This is very convenient to roll up quickly and does not take too much space when not in use.
I got this one: http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|10391|33872|66342&id=2040841 pretty hard to go wrong for $6
After some trial and error I've come to the conclusion that an anchor is a vital part of fishing out of a tube... at least for me. I ended up going with 50' of cheap cord from Walmart, and a 5 lb women's barbell thing. Super cheap, easy to stash behind the seat, and holds me fairly straight no problem. I just use my fins to make slight adjustments.
I have found that when using one anchor I swing around in the wind too much. I bought a "float tube anchor" with collapsible flukes from Cabellas and it was pretty much worthless. After a bit of trial and error I have found what works best for me is two 5 # downrigger balls, each one with its own rope. I tie one on each side of my float tube - no drift, no swing. Just make sure that when you are packing the tube into where you are going to fish, carry the weights separately (not in one of the tube pockets) - it's tough on the seams.
I was down at Outdoor Emporium and saw polypro crab bait bags for $2.99. They would work great as an anchor after you put rocks in the bag. I left one at Lenice right off the put in. MB
