It is mind-boggling to me just how many bass fishermen never use anchors. It wouldn't surprise me if more than half of bass boats don't have a single anchor in them. The truth is - most of my biggest bass were caught with at least one (but usually 2) anchor. I think one of the reasons anchoring isn't popular is because bass boats aren't designed with anchoring in mind. You look at the bow of any new bass boat and it will have one cleat on each side. There's no place for rope! You have to keep your rope in a box somewhere. So, if you want to anchor, you have to open a box and dig out the anchor and untangle all the line. What a pain!
One of the first things I do when I get a new boat is to add some cleats. I like to have 3 cleats on each side of the bow, spaced out about 2 feet apart. That way, I can use the front one to tie to and wrap 100 feet of rope around the next 2 cleats. I will do this on both sides of the bow. One is for anchoring and the other is for tying up. You might be surprised how much you tie up and/or anchor when you don't have to dig rope out of a box.
Anchoring in Shallow Water
To anchor a boat good in shallow water (<10 feet), you need to use two anchors. One for the front and one for the back. What I do is drop the back anchor at least 20 feet behind where you want to anchor the boat. Then, I troll forward about 10 feet past where I want the boat anchored (while letting out rope from the back) and I then drop the front anchor. Then, I pull the boat backwards with the anchor rope in the back while letting out rope in the front. Once both anchors are out and the back anchor is far behind the boat and the front anchor is far in front of the boat, I tie off both ropes tight and the boat is stationary.
Anchoring in Deep Water
Just dropping anchors under the boat will rarely hold. You must have plenty of rope out. You will need at least 5 ft of rope for every foot of depth. The deeper the water, the more rope you need. If the water is over 15 ft deep, it is probably best to use only one anchor. Front is best, so you don't take waves over the back of the boat.
It is very difficult to anchor a boat on a downward slope with wind pushing the boat toward the deeper water. In that case, you need to have enough rope to put the anchor on a level spot (in the shallower water) before the drop and allow the boat to drift over the drop. If it is windy and you are fishing deep and you are on a downward slope with the wind pushing towards deeper water, you can expect it to be very difficult to anchor. You will need a lot of weight and a lot of rope. Then, you can expect it to be a lot of work getting it back in the boat. The windier it is, the more likely it will get hung to the point of no return. If it is more than 20mph wind, you should consider whether it is worth the risk of taking waves over the bow and possibly sinking the boat.