Any SUP boarders in here that fish?

[Greg Armstrong]

I mount a small 20hp kicker to my SUP when I fish from it out in the Strait - while I liked the action that paddling imparted to my flashers, it was limiting to lose propulsion anytime I needed to crank up one of my downrigger balls and re-rig my cut plug herring.

With the kicker, I’m able to tow my small zodiac out behind, which provides a double function as an improvised drag anchor and as additional stowage capacity for ice chests, gear boxes, rods, and grundens.

The paddle is still useful for tight maneuvers, but now I think of it more as my SUP’s bow thruster, and I use it primarily when coming back into port.

Unlike most people, given the wave environments I’m usually dealing with on the bigger water, I run a three-section articulated SUP, with double sponsons attached to the middle section. I run my downriggers off of the sponsons, but being a purist in most other ways I hold the rods themselves in my left and right hands. I like the feeling of a tight line downrigger grab, and you don’t get that with your rod sitting in a mount.

I’d like to build out a better system for steering, but haven’t had the time. For now, I’ve appended an attachment to the tiller of my kicker, just long enough to fit into the groove of my buttcheeks. To turn left, I move my hips to the right, and vice versa, sort of like backing a trailer.

Yeah I do the same.

SUP’s are a lot of fun… this is pretty much the way I roll on my overnight blue water albacore trips out of Lapush.

 

[NRC]

Yeah I do the same.

SUP’s are a lot of fun… this is pretty much the way I roll on my overnight blue water albacore trips out of Lapush.

I think I’ve seen you out there. You’re the guy running the 30 footer, right?

 

[mcswny]

I think a lot of it depends on where/when you are using a SUP.

Placid ponds in July? Poking around the shore of boat-free lakes? Would we ask someone swimming in the same spot why they don't have a life vest?

Cold weather, wind, long solo paddles, boat traffic, waves, saltwater, current? You'd be a moron to not have a pfd on.

But if you’re wearing a life jacket and trying to nude sup, is it really nude sup-ing?

 

[SurfnFish]

two surfing buddies (both RIP dammit) used to fish Haytack Rock outside Pacific City on their longboard surfboards..bungied a milk crate to the front of them, paddle the mile out out, fish for blues/blacks with short spinning rod set-ups and shrimp flies jigs, score the occasional hitchhiking ling. They tried SUP's, found them too wide to comfortably sit straddle while fishing for a couple of hours at a time.

 

[Tallguy]

I have done some SUP fishing elsewhere, though not in the sound. Not liking fly fishing from my kayak, I came very close to getting a SUP option for SRC and coho fishing. Mostly didn't because I am trying to spend more time with my kids and do fewer hours of dad-only things.

I was getting pretty serious about the Kaku Voodoo designs for fly fishing from. They are big, stable, super clean deck area, easy to stand on, have a gear system and have the seat that would help paddling against the wind if you need to. Plus strong enough to stand on the seat. You need something to strap down/hold your fly rod; various options exist. Not light, but seem stable and durable. Would definitely need some small anchor and maybe a wind sock type setup to slow your drift in the sound.

 

[Snopro]

They tried SUP's, found them too wide to comfortably sit straddle while fishing for a couple of hours at a time.

Ergo the standing up.

 

[SurfnFish]

Ergo the standing up.

standing up in ocean swells and chop on a SUP with fishing rod in hand likely not something everyone wants to do...or is able to do

 

[flybill]

I got one last year to fish with but haven't really done it yet. Went out once and the weather wasn't great and I got blown all over the place. I do hope to dial it in at some point. The disappointing thing for me is that the weight of the board itself is quite high, even though it is an inflatable. So it isn't quite as convenient as I imagined. I did go with a pretty big one though so I can take my dog with me.

You could probably sit on that cooler if you wanted too and fish!

 

[Snopro]

standing up in ocean swells and chop on a SUP with fishing rod in hand likely not something everyone wants to do...or is able to do

You pick your days for sure. Pacific city is a great spot. Go out in the morning, get your ling/rockfish limit, then surf in the afternoon when the wind comes up. Love it there. Sorry about your friends.

 

[Westcoast]

I use mine exclusively to fish warm water backwaters for carp and bass. If I’m out further in cold or big water, I’d rather be in my kayak or zodiac. I think of it as using the right tool for the task at hand.

 

[DKL]

You could probably sit on that cooler if you wanted too and fish!

I sat on that cooler most of the time i was on it, both while paddling and trying to fish. It worked well as a platform to fish from. Just was no less of a hassle getting it to and from the water than a boat and the wind really made it tough.

 

[DKL]

two surfing buddies (both RIP dammit) used to fish Haytack Rock outside Pacific City on their longboard surfboards..bungied a milk crate to the front of them, paddle the mile out out, fish for blues/blacks with short spinning rod set-ups and shrimp flies jigs, score the occasional hitchhiking ling. They tried SUP's, found them too wide to comfortably sit straddle while fishing for a couple of hours at a time.

I used to drop a crab pot off outside the break and pick it back up when my session was done with my longboard. But the last time I did it out at Neah Bay the tide change was pretty big and I couldn’t find it when I paddled out to get it when I was done. So I don’t do it anymore. Some other surfers that were out there with me found it and brought it in for me the next day, so I lucked out. But it discouraged me from ever trying it again.

 

[SurfnFish]

You pick your days for sure. Pacific city is a great spot. Go out in the morning, get your ling/rockfish limit, then surf in the afternoon when the wind comes up. Love it there. Sorry about your friends.

I used to drop a crab pot off outside the break and pick it back up when my session was done with my longboard. But the last time I did it out at Neah Bay the tide change was pretty big and I couldn’t find it when I paddled out to get it when I was done. So I don’t do it anymore. Some other surfers that were out there with me found it and brought it in for me the next day, so I lucked out. But it discouraged me from ever trying it again.

early in fall run King season before they showed in tidewater, my RIP friend Gary 'Gaz' Gregg and I routinely trolled the Nestucca rivermouth, drop pots just inside the rivermouth before we got the rods out... every so often a sandbar would set-up, producing a peeler ending at the rivermouth....we'd keep it mum, bring boards in the boat, surf by ourselves as long as the sandbar lasted...hella fun times... Most surfers who know PC knew Gary...here he is on my driftboat upriver on what was supposed to be a steelhead drift..took him a while to get this one in on 10#..

 

[rotato]

So if you are not required to wear a pfd when you are surfing
how can one prove you are not on your sup looking for waves?
and aren’t you just required to have one on board?
do you have to have a sound devise or flares?

I know this is a stretch but some sup setups are more elaborate than some skiffs
where is the line crossed?

cheers!

 

[Josh]

how can one prove you are not on your sup looking for waves?

On a lake? Might be tough. Then again, could always claim you were surfing boat waves?

and aren’t you just required to have one on board?

Correct.

do you have to have a sound devise or flares?

I have heard some people say that you do, but I can't find any state law that says it (though I haven't really dug deeply). Perhaps just in "federal" classified waters?

 

[rotato]

Thanks Josh
yes I was thinking boat waves

im not anti safety for the record

 

[Jim F.]

As I believe I stated on a different SUP thread . . . If my doddering old self is involved, said craft is most accurately described as an FOP, a.k.a "Fall Off Paddleboard."

 

[Zak]

Whether fishing is involved or not, what is really surprising to me is how many people use SUPs without wearing PFDs.
@Wanative and I were fishing a lake this past weekend. A guy showed up with a SUP. He was wearing street clothes, jeans with a heavy jacket. He took off his shoes, rolled up his pants and off he went. It was really cold and windy out.
Maybe these folks are really strong swimmers, but they seem to be betting against mother nature or looking to win a Darwin award.
SF

 

[Stonedfish]

Dude has some skillz!
SF

 

[Wade Rivers]

Crazy cray cray