Downwind Technique?

[greatdane]

So, most my down wind runs consist of wind driven waves, not more than 4' high, with a tail wind of anywhere from 10-25mph.
When I 'catch' one of the bigger rollers, I tend to accelerate down the face and ride up the back side of one of the smaller waves in front of me.  If I really stroke hard, I can bust through that wave and maybe catch up to a few more.  At some point though, there is the inevitable deceleration that almost sends me over the nose of my board.  My question to any of you experienced down wind guys, is "am I doing this right?"  Or should I try to stay with the initial bigger wave longer and not accelerate down it's face.  Keep in mind, these waves are basically really big chop, and don't hold their form for very long.  Are you guys moving up and down the board much in stuff this size?
Any advice is appreciated.

[Big Island Mike]

Here in hawaii we actually surf in the trough, between the waves, with the nose in the back of the wave in front. This gives a more sustained ride. You can still railroad waves going up and over, but mainly staying pitted. Yes, we hop back to a surfing stance.