SUP Fishing - Poor Man's Style

[Night Wing]

@Beasho

Thanks for taking the time to post the two sup fishing videos. I enjoyed watching them. Enjoyed seeing the photo of your dog and striper too.

[yugi]

I thought you said you didn’t have wind for downwinding. One can have fun downwinding in a wee breeze, Captain.

We don't have enough wind or water conditions for down winding.

...

understood

Just saying that as long as there's wind fun can be had too. If you have just 10-15 kn even with little fetch you can begin to pick up some glides. More even merrier.

It's all good as long as you're having fun on water. Any way you like.

apologies for the thread drift

[clinto]

Nightwing. A small cooler will not be an issue with wind at all. The great part about the small engle is the rod holder setup. It is very nice when you are paddling to your spot, or to bring a couple rods set up for different situations. I will say from experience that you need as wide of a board as possible for fishing. When you need to turn around to get a rod or get in your cooler, width is your friend. Put a small tackle box or Tupperware with your tackle in the cooler so its all secure in case you fall in. I also bring a small mushroom anchor that i put just in front of the cooler until i need it to keep in one place when wind is a factor. There are also softside coolers that have much less surface area if you do find that a hard cooler is too much. You definitely will want a cooler if you are on the water for any length of time. We all know what happens to fish that aren't on ice when its hot out. The NSI stick on tie downs are awesome and will make any board a fishing board. Good luck with it, because you will get hooked.

[stoneaxe]

I designed a board for fishing a long time ago with dual ama's in the year for stability, That's something you could add to a narrower board relatively easily to increase stability. I haven't done as much fishing as I thought I would but now that I'm nearer the water that will change. My 12-6 starboard needs some major repairs so I'm going to do more mods to make it a better fishing platform. I added 4 front tie downs a few years ago up front and I think I'll add some in the rear for cooler/gear tie down and maybe even some foot strap inserts so I can screw on some ama's. I've only caught a few fish off my board near shore and nothing really big but even a small schoolie striper is fun. Can't wait to hook a big one. I've been thinking of joining some friends for some offshore fishing. Long time CCBC family member Danni is a true waterwoman...lifeguard, sponsored racer, good surfer, and her husband is a commercial fisherman...she has caught some absolute cows on her board.
I also have the Nocqua 2000 lights for my board...night fishing should be fun.

Here's a few old threads on fishing SUPs with ama's. I never did build mine but now that I'll have a decent shop maybe some day....definitely modifying the 12-6 though.
http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,725.msg5008.html#msg5008

http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,320.msg2055.html#msg2055

Something else to consider with your concerns for the wind. A bigger fin in the rear and an addition of a ventral fin and you'll track far straighter even in significant wind.

[krash]

Just my style, SUP fishing - minimalist

I've been a paddle fishing old fool for many many years, had several canoes, kayaks, and now in the SUP world. That first video is about as simple as it gets.

One of the best is the DragonFly 13'6", made by boat builders who are also fishermen using a similar process to boats, a 2 part mold, gelcoat and vacuum infused vinal-esther resin. Tuff as nails, compared to an EPS/Foam board but heavy when compared to most SUP's.

I currently went the DIY-elCheapo way, picked up a touring/dw style 12'6" x 32" sup, have the same Engle 30 cooler with rod holders. To solve the cooler tie-down concern I added 2 glue on ez-plug tie-down plugs and a short bungie to hold it in place.  The board had several leash plugs but they were not centered under where I wanted the cooler. The cooler is used as a dry box, rather than cooler, also serves as a seat or a standing platform.

After a couple uses I removed 2 rod holders, and moved the other 2 to the rear side of teh cooler, MPO.

Works like a dream except the hull makes a lot of noise, not only do you feel every wave but withe every small choppy wave the board slaps the water creating a lot of noise in light wind and chop.

I fish very shallow water and also replaced the fin with a very small fin about 3" deep that I had made.

Love the 34 pound weight, vs the near 50 pounds of the DragonFly, and 80% of the time it serves the purpose. The DragonFly's v-hull was very quiet as it was designed to be that way, and although it did not paddle as easy as the beater I have it did paddle better overall in all angles of wind.

I also use a push pole more often than the paddle in the shallows searching for Bonefish, so that is one more thing I carry. That same rope trick around teh waist works just as well ad the 1st video shows for both paddle and push-pole but I just let them hang from the loop and float behind me when casting.

I never find the cooler/dry-box as a negative, the wind catches your body more than a small cooler.

There are very few "fishing" specific SUP's made,(DragonFly, Cayo, Bote to name most), that actually are good fishing machines.
BUT, any board will do the job.

[Night Wing]

@clinto

If I decide to try my hand at sup fishing, I think I would rather use a wading belt as per the link I posted earlier. As for the cooler, wade fisherman who live in my area take along with them a device called a "Do-Net" which you can see in the link below.

http://www.fishingtackleunlimited.com/p/fishing/c-fishing-nets/FTU-501-10600.html

This is just a 18' styrofoam donut covered with a nylon mesh. Any caught fish will be kept alive since it will be placed in the water along side the sup. Where it is possible to wade fish, this can be attached to a wading belt's "D" rings. My wading belt has two "D" rings on it. With a 25' cord, I just dragged it behind me in the water when I wade fished.

Most of my fishing spots for flounder are in Rollover Bay. There is a webcam at Rollover Pass but it doesn't show Rollover Bay. The bay is to the left in the link.

https://www.bolivarpeninsulatexas.com/Webcams/Rollover-Pass

As for an anchor for the board, instead of a mushroom anchor, I think a 2.2 pound Bruce Claw will work better than a mushroom anchor. It is what I used with my 14'9" SPTW kayak. This anchor held my kayak in place and my yak weighed 65 pounds with all the equipment I took with me. Most of the time I anchored the yak in knee deep water and then got out of my yak and wade fished up to waist deep water. The link to the Bruce anchor is below so you can see it.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lewmar--high-tensile-steel-claw-anchors--P005_153_002_004

But I think I will do more blue crabbing than fishing from a sup. Crabbing takes less equipment to take along (short handled dip net, burlap sack, anchor, two throw/hand lines and some bait).

[Night Wing]

@stoneaxe

Thanks for the links. That drawing of the short pointed board with the twin outriggers is a nice concept for fishing from. That is the cat's meow for me.

The other photos with the man and child on it, that is a nice board, but I want to keep it simple with not too long of a sup. Sup fishing, for me, is not the driving force.

[Night Wing]

@krash

That is a very nice fishing sup you have. I like the idea of a push pole rather than a paddle. With your fishing sup, I know you've had many great fishing trips with your Riveria board.

The push pole would work for me as long as I stay in shallow water. But one of my favorite fishing places on the Bolivar Peninsula, I have to cross the Intracoastal Waterway to get to it. The ICW is 40' deep so the push pole wouldn't work for that spot. I'd need a paddle to cross the ICW.

There is a streaming webcam of this area and the link to it is below. Click on it, scroll on down the page and then click the cam to start it. If you're lucky, you just might see some barge traffic on the ICW.

https://www.bolivarpeninsulatexas.com/Webcams/Stingaree-Bay

[PonoBill]

You can actually paddle with a pole.

[ninja tuna]

The boards Krash mentioned in terms of cayo and dragonfly are probably the best. I am not a fan of the bote boards.  I wrecked my cayo, don't ask,  and immediately found a deal  on a jimmy lewis searcher which is what I am fishing off of now til I order another cayo. I am a minimalist in terms of what I bring on my board just like krash.

In terms of fishing, you can fish off of just about any board. But.  The type of fishing you will be doing will dictate the better board you should have.  I do a lot of sight fishing and want a wider board with a V shaped nose that is quiet.  If you are just chunking bait where the fish are not spooky or casting in deep water or using your board to get to a spot to wade then just about any board will do.  I use my paddle to pole me around too with out having to carry anything additional.

In terms of organization on the board, I use a 5 gallon bucket cut down a few inches with a bucket gripper thing on the bottom.  I just zip tied a few pvc pipes to it for rod holders. I also use a tackle organizer for storage of fishing gear which usually is not too much.

http://www.basspro.com/Bucket-Grip/product/1410180742185/?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions

You could also get something like this. 

http://boardworkssurf.com/s/boardfisher-safari-pak/

In terms of keeping fish, just get a fish bag. It can double as a cooler too. look up boone fish bags.

[Night Wing]

You can actually paddle with a pole.

The only push poles I've seen are the ones used on the flats when guides are taking clients out for a day of bone fishing in their flats skiffs down at the Florida Keys. The guide stands on a tower at the stern of the boat and uses the push pole to move his skiff stealthy along while he scans the water to see fish in the distance in the shallow water. The end of the push pole (ones I've seen) looks like a duck's open beak.

I'll surf the internet and see if I can find a photo of the one you're mentioning so I can take a look at it.

[Night Wing]

@ninja tuna

Thanks for the tips and the links. I've filed the fish bag in my mind for future reference.

I know I won't be doing too much sup fishing, but if the situation presents itself, I'll take the leap just to try it out.

[Subber]

From the first two videos you posted NW,

Who would have thought the 10'3" 28" wide Starboard Pro would be a great fishing SUP.
Pretty narrow - you can see the guy wobbling pretty much.  Love to surf one someday.
Been watching for one (used) for a while now).

I've never surfed one but it was one of the first SUP's I ever saw and a couple of
teenagers were getting great noserides on them - actually one of the sights that made me
really want to get a SUP back in 2009.

As for fishing, picked up a couple of tips. 

I fished a few times on my 10'6" 29.75" Pearson Laird. 
I'm remembering I just stayed on my knees or sitting the entire time when fishing.
Not the most stable board for fishing.
Like to try it again this summer...actually, my B&B at 10' 31" wide has more volume
and is a bit more stable - I think I'll use that one.

If I was planning on doing a lot of fishing while standing on a SUP,
I'd probably try to get a wider board.

[krash]

I had a DragonFly for several months and it was great... but just to heavy for me. Someday if I hit the lottery I'll have them build me a carbon fiber version... although Bote just released a new material sup build called gator-shell that looks promising.

I carry both a paddle and a push pole. However you can paddle with the mud-foot of the pole or even the pointy end.. I cross a few channels that are less than 40 or 50 yards across and just plod along paddling with the pole if the pole is in my hand... the foot of my pole is like a v, but most have a Y shaped foot.
I actually do both, but when sight-fishing Bones the water is generally less than 2' deep, if I move out to Permit area's it ranges from 4' to 6' and the pole I have just does not do well..

I have a Moonlighter 2 piece fiberglass pole that was 12' (2 6' peices), but I recently had 3' added to one end so's its more comfortable in the 4' areas at 15'. Its a 50/50 toss up as far as effort poling vs paddling... Some day soon I'd love to update to a carbon fiber pole... but on the cheap side the fiberglass one works just fine even though its a pound or 2 heavier than the top of the line.
I also opt. for an adjustable length carbon paddle, give up about 3 ounces in weight, but its a simple length adjustment from sitting vs standup paddling especially when traversing the mangrove tunnels you see in that 2dn video of the original post.

When poling I just lay the paddle on the deck, when paddling I'll let the pole drag along behind.. modified one of the rod holders to allow the pole to lay in it with another small loop of line, like the one on the waist attached to the rod holder to secure it.
When I start the day the pole is in 2 pieces and lay on the rear deck area, 3 feet sticking out the tail of the SUP held in place by a simple loop between 2 of the leash tie down's. When I decide to pole I then simply snap it together.

Where I fish you would never tow along, paddling or wading, a mesh bag with fish, the big fish in the gray suits would track you down and things could get exciting very quickly.

[krash]

I had a DragonFly for several months and it was great... but just to heavy for me. Someday if I hit the lottery I'll have them build me a carbon fiber version... although Bote just released a new material sup build called gator-shell that looks promising.

I carry both a paddle and a push pole. However you can paddle with the mud-foot of the pole or even the pointy end.. I cross a few channels that are less than 40 or 50 yards across and just plod along paddling with the pole if the pole is in my hand... the foot of my pole is like a v, but most have a Y shaped foot.
I actually do both, but when sight-fishing Bones the water is generally less than 2' deep, if I move out to Permit area's it ranges from 4' to 6' and the pole I have just does not do well..

I have a Moonlighter 2 piece fiberglass pole that was 12' (2 6' peices), but I recently had 3' added to one end so's its more comfortable in the 4' areas at 15'. Its a 50/50 toss up as far as effort poling vs paddling... Some day soon I'd love to update to a carbon fiber pole... but on the cheap side the fiberglass one works just fine even though its a pound or 2 heavier than the top of the line.
I also opt. for an adjustable length carbon paddle, give up about 3 ounces in weight, but its a simple length adjustment from sitting vs standup paddling especially when traversing the mangrove tunnels you see in that 2dn video of the original post.

When poling I just lay the paddle on the deck, when paddling I'll let the pole drag along behind.. modified one of the rod holders to allow the pole to lay in it with another small loop of line, like the one on the waist attached to the rod holder to secure it.
When I start the day the pole is in 2 pieces and lay on the rear deck area, 3 feet sticking out the tail of the SUP held in place by a simple loop between 2 of the leash tie down's. When I decide to pole I then simply snap it together.

Where I fish you would never tow along, paddling or wading, a mesh bag with fish, the big fish in the gray suits would track you down and things could get exciting very quickly.

Meant to add a pic of the push pole ends, but could not find an edit button...