Commander SUP? Why not?

I saw a couple people on SUPs fishing for pinks. One dude in particular, by the good ol' concrete plants, was really struggling to get in position and be able to make the cast to pods. He also had no PFD.
I've fished off an SUP for sunfish and bass in a large pond/small lake type setting. It was fun and comes with its own challenges and advantages. But lots of challenges for sure. Adapting to those challenges and making it all come together can be part of the fun, I suppose.
 
Having watched SUP flyfishers on one of our small flyfishing-only lakes for several seasons I'd say it presents some serious challenges even during light winds, which necessitates spending far more time with a paddle than flyrod in hand....and there are very few windless days on most lakes. Somewhat the same issues flyfishing from a paddle kayak but even more severe because of minimal hull displacement and the occupant functioning as a 'human sail'.

As mentioned, the solution is to work windrift whenever possible, perhaps slowing it down with a sock or anchoring up...but there's no disputing that flyfishing from a SUP certainly isn't optimal.
 
Snopro said:
There are many ways of dealing with wind on a SUP depending on variables. Things like...wind strength, species you're after, body of water, type of gear, etc. Generally I only use the SUP in lighter winds. When it picks up I switch to the Hobie.

In no particular order...

Anchor
Stake out pole
Vegetation clip
Wind drift
Troll
Ground the Nose
Drift sock
Flippers
Click to expand...
Do you regularly take both the SUP and Hobie to fishing destinations?

Another alternative (albeit an expensive one) is the Hobie Lynx!

Mirage Lynx | Kayaks | Hobie

Discover our line of Hobie MirageDrive kayaks including sit-on-top, paddle, pedal, tandem and inflatable fishing and recreational kayaks.
www.hobie.com www.hobie.com
 
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Matt B said:
I saw a couple people on SUPs fishing for pinks. One dude in particular, by the good ol' concrete plants, was really struggling to get in position and be able to make the cast to pods. He also had no PFD.
I've fished off an SUP for sunfish and bass in a large pond/small lake type setting. It was fun and comes with its own challenges and advantages. But lots of challenges for sure. Adapting to those challenges and making it all come together can be part of the fun, I suppose.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a nightmare. My quick run on a small lake told me I will never fish off a SUP unless I can stake it. And that is my goal. I'll be using it in a couple carp spots that are only 1-5' deep so my 8' tomato stake can hold me. Yes, it's literally a tomato stake. 😁

Hitting the Duw in one with the current and tides...and TUGS doesn't sound fun. And with no PFD is just plain stupid. Darwin in action.
 
Matt B said:
I saw a couple people on SUPs fishing for pinks. One dude in particular, by the good ol' concrete plants, was really struggling to get in position and be able to make the cast to pods. He also had no PFD.
I've fished off an SUP for sunfish and bass in a large pond/small lake type setting. It was fun and comes with its own challenges and advantages. But lots of challenges for sure. Adapting to those challenges and making it all come together can be part of the fun, I suppose.
Click to expand...
yeah two kids were near the container ship part of elliot bay on SUPS last month, they were having a hard time navigating and targeting. they did get into the thunderdome and hooked up with a few pinks and looked like they were sort of having fun, but they weren't round for long. I don't think those guys had PFD either!

It helps to have something that tracks well, a place to put your crap, paddle with leash, rod, gear net etc. it helps to be really coordinated too.

A good day it would make for a good story for those kids.

But a good day on the Duwamish could easily turn bad in a seconds. Say you hook a big fish and a boat's coming your way. That water's cold, tugs and barges can't turn and stop on a pin, boat wakes screw you over, and it's a lot to handle to take a hook out of a legit strong fish while watching your paddle, your rod, that drunk in the Trophy who appears to have not seen you at all because he's sorta watching his troll lines etc etc. At the very least, PFD-it, and be willing to watch your gear sink into the inky depths.

Plus seals and sealions, f-me what a nightmare landing a fish on SUP with them around.....
 
krusty said:
Do you regularly take both the SUP and Hobie to fishing destinations?
Click to expand...
If I'm local, never. I haven't when traveling but considered it. The SUP can travel in anything. Bringing it requires less gas on a long road trip than the rig needed to haul a PA14 or Rev16. Most of the time the wind forecast makes the decision for me.

The SUP and associated gear also takes up less room on mixed itinerary type trips with my wife. Sometimes I just want to fish and paddle for an hour or two while being minimalistic.
 
There really aren’t a lot of advantages the SUP offers versus a kayak of other than I already have a paddleboard and am not getting anything else yet.

For pink salmon fishing at Lincoln Park you could stay inside the cove where the currents and boat traffic wasn’t bad, but still be far enough out to cast at schools of pinks. I was sitting down and would either troll a fly or cast if I was close to jumpers. If I hooked a fish I would put my legs in the water and tread to keep centered like fishing from a tube.

No chance I would’ve taken something inflatable into the concrete plants without more spikes lol.
 
BassBarbell said:
There really aren’t a lot of advantages the SUP offers versus a kayak of other than I already have a paddleboard and am not getting anything else yet.
Click to expand...
True. Not many. But one big one. Especially for fly flingers: Standing up.
 
Well, as with most things, it's both situational and personal preference....simple as that.

@skyriver, can't wait to hear how this is really working for you once you get it rigged up further to your liking.
 
You’ve all heard it before: There is no ONE perfect boat.

(Still looking)
 
Buzzy said:
You’ve all heard it before: There is no ONE perfect boat.

(Still looking)
Click to expand...
You're still looking? I wanna say November was peak month last year as far as inventory. Granted, that inventory included boats 500 miles away. There are a lot of good lake and big river boats in the Spokane and CDA area. Tri-Cities too. And many of them haven't touched salt, if that's a big deal for you.

I'll send you one I saw by chance a few weeks ago and the price has dropped.
 
The skeg/fin definitely helps the Carp Commander track straighter when paddling and coasting. A bigger fin would be better, but I want minimal draft. It's still slow and bulky, but that will be ok for the spots I have in mind. It's not winning any races that's for sure.
It's the removable type so I had to slide it in lakeside and then also remove it before taking it out. Pretty easy by flipping the Commander on it's side.

A 11" bass was able to turn me around last night so I can't wait to see what a carp will do. :ROFLMAO: Hope to have that test & report in a couple weeks!
 
Ok, I got some serious time on the Commander SUP this weekend. Unfortunately, I went 0-1 on carp, but the good news is I learned a fair amount about this contraption.

The best discovery is that my 10# anchor is superior to the flimsy stake-out pole I made.
The pole was fine for the most part, but the paddle and anchor method worked better for me. And I think it would be better than even a proper stake-out pole.

Here's why-
I could paddle one handed (other hand on the rod) while standing on the anchor line. Or just drift with the wind. That was super stealthy.
If I wanted to stop I simply lifted my foot and set the anchor. The flats were only 2-3' deep so not much line involved. And the anchor drop was silent since it was already mostly in the water.

The anchor also acted as a better slow speed skeg than the actual skeg. Speed is not necessary if you want to slowly approach a carp or a spot. And when the wind kicked up and it was time to get back to the put-in the anchor "skeg" didn't prevent me from making way.

So here's the quick & dirty field-rigged anchor setup-
Anchor line down thru the back opening between the seat section and the 2 tubes. Does the new design have this hole? It has come in handy a few times now. Be sort of a shame if they took that away.
20251005_132747.jpg

And since the flat is a fairly consistent depth you know where to knot the line in order to set the anchor as well as to hold the anchor.
This resulted in being able to lift and set the anchor with one hand. The other hand had the rod and or the paddle.

20251005_132743.jpg

I found this much more enjoyable than sticking the pole in the mud and also more effective.
Now, obviously, if I depended on a proper pole to push then I could have one hand on the rod and the other on the pole and then just stake-out to stop. No fiddling with the anchor line, but I find staking is not always easy and is nearly impossible if rocky bottom. I think fiddling with the anchor line more dependable and more stealthy.

Anyone use this anchor concept on their SUPs or SUKs?

Now I can't wait to invade a couple hard or impossible to wade flats! Next year! Then maybe I'll finally be able to call it the Carp Commander.
 
skyriver said:
Ok, I got some serious time on the Commander SUP this weekend. Unfortunately, I went 0-1 on carp, but the good news is I learned a fair amount about this contraption.

The best discovery is that my 10# anchor is superior to the flimsy stake-out pole I made.
The pole was fine for the most part, but the paddle and anchor method worked better for me. And I think it would be better than even a proper stake-out pole.

Here's why-
I could paddle one handed (other hand on the rod) while standing on the anchor line. Or just drift with the wind. That was super stealthy.
If I wanted to stop I simply lifted my foot and set the anchor. The flats were only 2-3' deep so not much line involved. And the anchor drop was silent since it was already mostly in the water.

The anchor also acted as a better slow speed skeg than the actual skeg. Speed is not necessary if you want to slowly approach a carp or a spot. And when the wind kicked up and it was time to get back to the put-in the anchor "skeg" didn't prevent me from making way.

So here's the quick & dirty field-rigged anchor setup-
Anchor line down thru the back opening between the seat section and the 2 tubes. Does the new design have this hole? It has come in handy a few times now. Be sort of a shame if they took that away.
View attachment 169524

And since the flat is a fairly consistent depth you know where to knot the line in order to set the anchor as well as to hold the anchor.
This resulted in being able to lift and set the anchor with one hand. The other hand had the rod and or the paddle.

View attachment 169525

I found this much more enjoyable than sticking the pole in the mud and also more effective.
Now, obviously, if I depended on a proper pole to push then I could have one hand on the rod and the other on the pole and then just stake-out to stop. No fiddling with the anchor line, but I find staking is not always easy and is nearly impossible if rocky bottom. I think fiddling with the anchor line more dependable and more stealthy.

Anyone use this anchor concept on their SUPs or SUKs?

Now I can't wait to invade a couple hard or impossible to wade flats! Next year! Then maybe I'll finally be able to call it the Carp Commander.
Click to expand...
Or…. Capr Commander!
 
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