Finegrain,
I use a Danforth anchor a lot down around Longview.The only thing is I let out quite a bit of line to get it to hold, then pull up as much as I feasibly can so I dont have as much rope out letting my boat swing when the wind picks up.

I also use the rocker style anchor a lot because I can drop it,and be snug in a very short distance.

A lot of the springer holding areas for several miles below the mouth of the Cowlitz are mostly sandy bottom.Probably because of the ash from Mt. St. Helens eruption.

Rick