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Fly Fishing With Stand Up Paddle Boards
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August 09, 2011
Fly Fishing With Stand Up Paddle Boards
By Tim Romano
Last evening I had the pleasure of taking my first spin on a SUP - or Stand Up Paddle Board. In layman's terms, it's pretty much a long surfboard with a grippy top and a super long paddle. There are rigid ones and inflatable types; some are made for surfing waves and many are for flat water paddling. Recently, companies like Bote are making them exclusively for fishing with accessories like ridged aluminum fishing posts, integrated coolers and rod holders. Check out the video below to see a fishing SUP in action.
After a short time paddling the board and getting my sea legs, so to speak, I immediately wished I had a fly rod with me - as bass, carp and bluegill were breaking the surface everywhere. While I won't say it's for everyone, getting the hang of paddling and feeling comfortable was remarkably easy and came to me much quicker than I expected.
I went to bed last night thinking of the possibilities of where this thing could go: deep in the mangroves, super skinny flats or back bays that the bass boats can't get to. Unlike a kayak or belly boat, they give you the advantage of height. And if you have good balance, you don't have to get wet. You can even take them down rivers. No, I didn't actually cast a fly rod yesterday evening, but I mimicked the motion and can say there would be no issue whatsoever. I think the video below of my friend Michelle Bowman speaks to the fact that it's entirely doable.
What about you? Anyone out there using a SUP for fly fishing?
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Comments (38)
Ha, I can just picture someone hooked onto a big fish getting dragged all around on that thing. I can see it being fun on a calm lake or somewhere super shallow, but having such a high center of gravity may get you wet in the ocean or when a boat drives by too close
There was a kayak in that video?
If these videos are any indication of the friends you fish with while using a SUP, then I'm buying one today.
Chad - huh?
I'm just sayin' I watched both videos and for some reason I never really noticed the kayaks...
Oh got it... I lost you as there are no Kayaks in the vids. They're Paddle boards. Had me confused there.
I don't think either of these gals looked particularly comfortable. The flyfisher did seem to know what she was doing but wasn't getting a full cast that I could tell. Maybe some of you fly fisher people can let us know what you think.
Sorry, Tim, you're right. Kayaks, SUPs, I'm horrible with semantics, especially when I'm distracted...
I could see you leaning back against a 10 pound wiper at Aurora Res. Tim. And when he blitzes your drag and snaps your leader, you'd go backwards into the drink......would be fun though...
I think you could simply kneel down and be fine...
Kneel down.....and lose cool points?
I saw a lot of paddle boarders while I was kayaking La Jolla a couple years ago. Had a young couple offer to let me try it out but I declined. Wish now I had tried it out.
I see a hybrid paddle board/kayak coming soon. Sort of like the pontoon yaks but a shallower body.
Sure would hope this fantasy world stuff would reduce the anglers on my trout rivers, but I doubt it.
Sayfu, Just wait - SUP boarders will be all over your rivers in no time.
Buckhunter - There already is one. Check it. http://diablopaddlesports.com/
Koldkut - Yeah, you're right. Total lack of style points...
Koldcut has trouble casting with two solid feet on the ground let alone one of those topsie turvies. Can you imagine koldkut trying to double haul while chewing gum on one of those things?! The worst I've ever had it is the jetskies far up in a headwater of a pristine river.
Sayfu, I bet I could throw a double haul off that board farther than you can on solid ground. The only thing I don't like about that board is that you have to paddle with your hands, which takes away from your fishing in order to move....the folks at Hobie have that covered in their kayaks....which I would love to own one.
I owned 3 hobie cat pontoon boats. I was kiddin about your double haul abilities. I'm off to the SF of the Snake tomorrow. Hope to see a couple of those babes on their paddle boards.
nice
#2 seemed to know a little more on casting, but i cant get over #1's ........ uh...sunglasses.
I'm just sayin go to about the 2:49 mark.
Looks like fun.... I wonder if she could teach how to do it.
See, if your gonna market something, this is how you do it!
These are great videos. Not sure what they are about, but, kudos OL.
The woman is video #1 is actually Magda Cooper - co-founder of BOTE. Hopefully she knows a thing or two about fishing, although maybe she just handles the marketing side of the business!
Iv seen a few people paddling these things around the slow part of the Animas here in Durango. of course if you know anything about Durango chicks you know your more likely to find a hippie chick with arm pit hair then a girl like the video
Interesting. I think after one hour of standing, balancing and casting, one would find themselves exhausted. The one thing that kept popping into my head was Skin Cancer. Terminal-No Cure. Sorry, but that's what I kept thinking. Kirk that might be an interesting topic.
does she come with the board? just askin...
No skin cancer!...that is when Sayfu comes along to rub sun screen on those chicks.
Seems a lot cheaper than sinking 35k into a flats boat. I can imagine landing fish might be different story. If she really wanted to impress me she would've cracked a cool one and set it on the deck. I've been looking to try out kayaks down here in SW Florida so we'll see. Thanks for lookin out for me Tim.
I fished off a paddleboard with spinning gear for stripers in the backbay/sodbank complexes of the Long Island South Shore all spring. The platform has some killer advantages. 1.) It's faster than a kayak when you're going into current. Kind of skips over the top of the water. I outpaddled a buddy who was in an Ocean Kayak Trident 13 on a half-mile sprint back to the dock into a headwind and tide. You have to kneel though if the wind is up.
2.) It's super easy to get on and off the sodbanks. Paddle up to a bank, lean back a bit and the nose slides right up, dead silent. You can stay standing on the board (which becomes a lot more stable when the nose is supported) and cast to all the banks within range, then backpaddle, drift a 10 yards, and repeat. Or you can simply step off and walk the banks. No better stealthy way to fish.
3.) Much better sight picture and casting range and accuracy than sitting down.
4.) Super portable and easy to shlep around. Mine weighs 30 pounds. My kayak weighs 70.
5.) Get tired? Want to take a nap? Beach it on wet sand or swamp and you can lay down for a snooze.
Disadvantages:
Wind blows you all over the place
Hard to fish from it in open water; it's difficult to shift your feet and keep your balance, so your angle of attack is limited to how far you can twist your torso. Even in a light wind or current your nose gets pushed off target quickly, so you're constantly having to put down your rod, pick up your paddle, and readjust.
Wake makes you stop fishing to concentrate on balance. Big waves suck. Fishing in swell is a challenge. It's harder to balance without a paddle in your hands in these conditions.
Board I used was a Starboard Fisherman. Has rod holders, tie-downs, some other nice features.
http://blog.surfingsports.com/tag/starboard-fisherman-sup
Nate Matthews, Digital Director
I'm definately fishing the wrong locales.
My buddy and I were doing this this with pieces of styrofoam that floated down the Ecourse Creek from the FORD plant in Detroit. We would spear pike & carp, shoot our wristrockets at Norway Rats and look for places to build forts & other exploring of the youthful offenders
What's next....solar powered?
That Tim sure knows how to sell an idea! I'm ready to go fishing!
If you get tired of standing up on the BOTE board, you can always add a YETI cooler to the paddleboard package to sit on and up against the fishing stand. Check out www.boteboard.com for more info on the worlds first SUP paddleboard actually designed for fishing too!
The BOTE clip was the BEST.....FISHING.....VIDEO.....EVER!!!
It seems ludicrous to fish off of a platform like that without a PFD. I think the odds of falling off are astronomical if you are on water with powered boats throwing wakes around. Does this type of thing meet some sort of exemption for PFDs? I don't remember the regulations around that stuff.
I also don't see where I would be able to keep any fish, so it looks like a 100% C&R craft.
I wouldn't mind seeing one with a simple catamaran-type side balancing arm that could double as a small storage area and reduce the likelihood of tumping me and my stuff out from a boat wake.
Ask yourself, would Chief Brody and Captain Quint have used one?
http://youtu.be/72LAVhx6Eog
Didn't think so.
Great eye candy. No sure how practical fishing from one of those is. Pretty sure I could wade out farther than she paddled too. I'd love to see someone hooked up with a fish on one of those.
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If these videos are any indication of the friends you fish with while using a SUP, then I'm buying one today.
Ha, I can just picture someone hooked onto a big fish getting dragged all around on that thing. I can see it being fun on a calm lake or somewhere super shallow, but having such a high center of gravity may get you wet in the ocean or when a boat drives by too close
I fished off a paddleboard with spinning gear for stripers in the backbay/sodbank complexes of the Long Island South Shore all spring. The platform has some killer advantages. 1.) It's faster than a kayak when you're going into current. Kind of skips over the top of the water. I outpaddled a buddy who was in an Ocean Kayak Trident 13 on a half-mile sprint back to the dock into a headwind and tide. You have to kneel though if the wind is up.
2.) It's super easy to get on and off the sodbanks. Paddle up to a bank, lean back a bit and the nose slides right up, dead silent. You can stay standing on the board (which becomes a lot more stable when the nose is supported) and cast to all the banks within range, then backpaddle, drift a 10 yards, and repeat. Or you can simply step off and walk the banks. No better stealthy way to fish.
3.) Much better sight picture and casting range and accuracy than sitting down.
4.) Super portable and easy to shlep around. Mine weighs 30 pounds. My kayak weighs 70.
5.) Get tired? Want to take a nap? Beach it on wet sand or swamp and you can lay down for a snooze.
Disadvantages:
Wind blows you all over the place
Hard to fish from it in open water; it's difficult to shift your feet and keep your balance, so your angle of attack is limited to how far you can twist your torso. Even in a light wind or current your nose gets pushed off target quickly, so you're constantly having to put down your rod, pick up your paddle, and readjust.
Wake makes you stop fishing to concentrate on balance. Big waves suck. Fishing in swell is a challenge. It's harder to balance without a paddle in your hands in these conditions.
Board I used was a Starboard Fisherman. Has rod holders, tie-downs, some other nice features.
http://blog.surfingsports.com/tag/starboard-fisherman-sup
Nate Matthews, Digital Director
I don't think either of these gals looked particularly comfortable. The flyfisher did seem to know what she was doing but wasn't getting a full cast that I could tell. Maybe some of you fly fisher people can let us know what you think.
Sorry, Tim, you're right. Kayaks, SUPs, I'm horrible with semantics, especially when I'm distracted...
I could see you leaning back against a 10 pound wiper at Aurora Res. Tim. And when he blitzes your drag and snaps your leader, you'd go backwards into the drink......would be fun though...
Kneel down.....and lose cool points?
I saw a lot of paddle boarders while I was kayaking La Jolla a couple years ago. Had a young couple offer to let me try it out but I declined. Wish now I had tried it out.
I see a hybrid paddle board/kayak coming soon. Sort of like the pontoon yaks but a shallower body.
Sayfu, Just wait - SUP boarders will be all over your rivers in no time.
Buckhunter - There already is one. Check it. http://diablopaddlesports.com/
Koldkut - Yeah, you're right. Total lack of style points...
#2 seemed to know a little more on casting, but i cant get over #1's ........ uh...sunglasses.
I'm just sayin go to about the 2:49 mark.
There was a kayak in that video?
Chad - huh?
I'm just sayin' I watched both videos and for some reason I never really noticed the kayaks...
Oh got it... I lost you as there are no Kayaks in the vids. They're Paddle boards. Had me confused there.
I think you could simply kneel down and be fine...
Sure would hope this fantasy world stuff would reduce the anglers on my trout rivers, but I doubt it.
Sayfu, I bet I could throw a double haul off that board farther than you can on solid ground. The only thing I don't like about that board is that you have to paddle with your hands, which takes away from your fishing in order to move....the folks at Hobie have that covered in their kayaks....which I would love to own one.
nice
Looks like fun.... I wonder if she could teach how to do it.
See, if your gonna market something, this is how you do it!
These are great videos. Not sure what they are about, but, kudos OL.
The woman is video #1 is actually Magda Cooper - co-founder of BOTE. Hopefully she knows a thing or two about fishing, although maybe she just handles the marketing side of the business!
Iv seen a few people paddling these things around the slow part of the Animas here in Durango. of course if you know anything about Durango chicks you know your more likely to find a hippie chick with arm pit hair then a girl like the video
Interesting. I think after one hour of standing, balancing and casting, one would find themselves exhausted. The one thing that kept popping into my head was Skin Cancer. Terminal-No Cure. Sorry, but that's what I kept thinking. Kirk that might be an interesting topic.
does she come with the board? just askin...
Seems a lot cheaper than sinking 35k into a flats boat. I can imagine landing fish might be different story. If she really wanted to impress me she would've cracked a cool one and set it on the deck. I've been looking to try out kayaks down here in SW Florida so we'll see. Thanks for lookin out for me Tim.
I'm definately fishing the wrong locales.
My buddy and I were doing this this with pieces of styrofoam that floated down the Ecourse Creek from the FORD plant in Detroit. We would spear pike & carp, shoot our wristrockets at Norway Rats and look for places to build forts & other exploring of the youthful offenders
What's next....solar powered?
That Tim sure knows how to sell an idea! I'm ready to go fishing!
If you get tired of standing up on the BOTE board, you can always add a YETI cooler to the paddleboard package to sit on and up against the fishing stand. Check out www.boteboard.com for more info on the worlds first SUP paddleboard actually designed for fishing too!
The BOTE clip was the BEST.....FISHING.....VIDEO.....EVER!!!
It seems ludicrous to fish off of a platform like that without a PFD. I think the odds of falling off are astronomical if you are on water with powered boats throwing wakes around. Does this type of thing meet some sort of exemption for PFDs? I don't remember the regulations around that stuff.
I also don't see where I would be able to keep any fish, so it looks like a 100% C&R craft.
I wouldn't mind seeing one with a simple catamaran-type side balancing arm that could double as a small storage area and reduce the likelihood of tumping me and my stuff out from a boat wake.
Ask yourself, would Chief Brody and Captain Quint have used one?
http://youtu.be/72LAVhx6Eog
Didn't think so.
Great eye candy. No sure how practical fishing from one of those is. Pretty sure I could wade out farther than she paddled too. I'd love to see someone hooked up with a fish on one of those.
Koldcut has trouble casting with two solid feet on the ground let alone one of those topsie turvies. Can you imagine koldkut trying to double haul while chewing gum on one of those things?! The worst I've ever had it is the jetskies far up in a headwater of a pristine river.
I owned 3 hobie cat pontoon boats. I was kiddin about your double haul abilities. I'm off to the SF of the Snake tomorrow. Hope to see a couple of those babes on their paddle boards.
No skin cancer!...that is when Sayfu comes along to rub sun screen on those chicks.
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