New Article: Stand Up, Guys
- This topic has 25 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated Sep 1, 2013 at 5:59 pm by
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This article is kind of funny, because it started out as a board post here. I wanted to distill some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned in 5 years of fishing in our somewhat unique way here on the Chattahoochee. As that post developed, however, I kind of said ‘Wait a minute, this is really a magazine article.’ American Angler agreed, and this originally ran in the May/June 2013 issue.
Zach
Great article… but I’m perplexed by the lack of love for SUPs. There’s several on the market now that cannot by characterized by the phrase “lack of maneuverability and surprisingly heavy weight”…
Dave –
Which ones are you speaking of? My experience with them has been in moving water on the Chattahoochee, both my own and watching others. It hasn’t been a pretty picture from a maneuverability standpoint and I’ve watched several people get themselves in trouble through inability to avoid obstacles. These were SUPs like the Versaboard, just as an example.
Zach
I’ve watched two people in a canoe fight over which direction to go to avoid a bridge piling, nail it dead center (still arguing), and wrap it. They swam (and were still arguing). People can get themselves into trouble in lots of different ways — it may not be the board’s fault. If you’re a competent boater to begin with, then some SUPs offer a fantastic flyfishing platform.
The Versa boards are only ~33″ wide, and can be a bit squirrely. I have two Imagine Rapidfires (as well as two fiberglass racing/sport SUPs) and have run them on everything from the Nantahela to surfing waves on the Atlantic coast and a lot of water in between. They have become my go-to boat when I fish for most of the year. I have a couple of friends that fish off Jackson’s SUPerfishal — it seems to be a similarly maneuverable and stable little craft.
I like them because they’re stable (MUCH more stable than any canoe I’ve ever been in, which is a sizeable list) and simple. No silly attachments or clutter, just a nice, clean, flat deck without things to catch fly line or trip you.
If you want to give one a try, you’re more than welcome to tag along sometime.
Nice article Zach.
When it comes to personal watercraft, having owned and tried a variation of basically them all, there is no one craft, that is ‘great” in every application, instead they all have trade offs, that can be debated or looked upon, as “Pros/Cons”. With respect to SUPs, (something I haven’t bought/owned) I personally see two very large downsides to them as fishing platforms.
The first is storage and cargo capacity, there is none. The second is more subjective and dependant on devil details. “Ideally” they are designed to be stood on, paddled while standing and that may be fine 98% of the time. Its the 2%, incase of emergency that “concerns” me. Whether its due to an injury that occurs on the water, and the shore is a long, long way off, or becoming tired from standing paddling/fishing and then having to race for shore.
Guess what I’m driving at, is that I think as pleasure craft, they are great and can be used as fishing platforms with some added stability for standing, it’s not a “strength” nor a “design” intention.
I bought a Hobie Pro Angler this year, as a personal watercraft fishing platform, it surpasses anything I’ve ever owned. Redicously stable, Id have to try to turtle it, before I’ll go swimming. Its stable enough I have no qualms standing and casting, sight fishing, all while I leave small fortunes in camera gear open and exposed on the deck.
It to, has it cons.
Hey John,
I have to respectfully disagree with you on almost everything except all boats having pros and cons. I probably wouldn’t take mine out to fish rigs a couple miles offshore, but then I probably wouldn’t want to be out there in a Hobie, either.
I’d argue that simplicity is a design philosophy and a strength. I think of my roto-molded SUPs as being scaled-down microskiffs, with a clean, flat deck but with rocker like a whitewater kayak. They actually pole surprisingly well! Not a lot of storage, true, but then if I wanted to bring a bunch of stuff I would hop in the big boat and fire up the outboard (and you may have overlooked the deck storage hatch on my SUP?).
As far as safety, there’s nothing saying you can’t take a knee or sit on the deck of a SUP and paddle for speed. I’ve resorted to this several times to get to the takeout before a lightning storm hit, and I often keep a normal kayak paddle onboard for just such instances. Speed is probably their biggest drawback, but they’re not as slow as you might think.
That said, I’m not going to change your mind on here, so I’ll make the same offer I made Zach. You’re welcome to fish off one of mine anytime.
Not sure if I worded it poorly, or it kind of got lost in the translation.
Dave I’ve been out on the water with and around SuPs, I could and can “swim” circles around them all day long.. All Im going to say is that if/when push ever comes to shove, I can go further/faster in my hobie, pretty much any yak, possibly/probably true with canoes as well (not really sure here though).If push really comes to shove and I break a leg and you break an arm, or we both seize up, pull a muscle, suffer heat exhaustion, dehydration whatever….I like my chances better. If the opposite were true, bicylces would be powered by hand. The only craft a SuPer can go further/faster is if/when I was in a pontoon. While we dont have the deep blue, or surf fishing many places do, going out into the Great Lakes (Lake O) for Salmon is very popular. Willing to bet if we both had to cover say 5-10 miles “round” trip and assuming we both departed/arrived same time. And assuming equal fitness levels. you will be more tired than I..especially if we’ve been tossing 10 weights for the past 4-6 hours.I wouldnt want to left behind with a bad storm blowing in…<<<None of that says, or suggest they arent good options for fishing platforms, they to, like most others have “Cons”.
My PA.
Easily holds 6 rods in their built in holders horizontal storage tubes and thats before mods for rocket tubes behind me (2 factory installed). On top of that I can add coolers, live wells, more gear than I can shake a stick at. Nor do I have to worry about the deck getting washed or wet. Again, not neccessarily is that “better”, its a “pro”, especially if we simply speaking situations that arent specific (devil details).So my “point” was if you will, that SuPs are good options. If I only wanted something to fish say the Bay of Quinte ( thinks flats fishing) for Gar Pike, Bass, etc. And I really wasnt concerned about point A to point B travel, nor how fast I might need to get to shore if a storm blew in, nor did I ever want to troll for Salmon, or Tuna or other, nor would I like the luxory of carrying 4 rods, and tackle, plus camera equipment, or camping equip. As an all “purpose” fishing platform….
Hence, while they are good options for stand up/sight fishing and I feel Zach was right to include them, they arent “really” arent designed as fishing platforms, they are made or used as such by “some” hence they may never get the “love”/respect”.
I have owned at one time just about every boat Jackson Kayak has for fishing and three other brand yaks so far. I have paddled beside an SUP (Dave) in those boats. The SUP can keep up and with the right paddler leave behind all but the Kilroy. The only kayak that has made the cut from all the ones I’ve owned so far is the SUPerfishal SUP (sold the Kilroy yesterday). I’ll never be without an SUP.
As far as storage, the whole boat is storage, just add dry bags, pelican case, or Yeti cooler. I’m not claiming to be a kayak expert, I’ve only been at it three years so I’m a newb thorough and through. That said IMO the SUP is the ideal rig for fly fishing judging from the several Kayaks I’ve owned so far. Dave converted me and I’ve converted three of my buddies from Kayak to SUP. Here’s what I like about them.Pros
Your gonna be standing if you’re really fishing anyway so why not get a board that’s made for standing. I had the best smallmouth year ever thanks to the ability to always stand up and see into the water in small creeks. This is something that is new to most creeks around here and it’s a HUGE advantage, HUGE.Add a carbon SUP paddle and you want to talk about maneuverability. You can spin this thing on a dime.
I can fish facing any direction on the board, forward, aft, port, starboard or anywhere in between. The stability is soo great I just turn to where I see fish and start casting. That = less paddling strokes to get to a casting position.
You can move your weight forward or aft to change the way the boat rides or sits in the water.
You can sit down anytime you want (on a cooler). You can also sit on your knees which gives you a third position to paddle from when you get tired of other paddling positions.
Nothing on the deck to hang fly line on.
Stable as hell. My SUP is the most stable plastic I’ve owned yet.
Up to class III Been there done that.
You can surf on them if you’re so inclined.
Excellent workout.
Bring along a Kayak paddle and you can paddle it just as easy and fast as most any fishing kayak.
Against a big tree they make a great lean to when all hell breaks loose sending you to hide out and beg lord Jesus for your life. (yea been there a few times too)
The ladies dig em.
Cons.
They don’t have a plush seat
They don’t paddle upstream worth a crap.
The ladies dig em.
This is very interesting and I like seeing how everyone has rigged out their boats. I know it’s old fashioned but have any of you guys tried a plain canoe? I have converted Scott Kitchens to the stand up canoe.
Many of the advantages Mike points to are present with the canoe: stability (a flat bottomed versus round bottom canoe is the key here but in the right boat they are very very stable), storage space aplenty, and the ability to rotate your position to cast one way or another.
If I were going to traverse long distances, I’d use a kayak, because they skim along so much better. For moving water, I would (and do) use a flatbottomed, relatively short canoe like my Old Towne Guide. I haven’t found a place I would fit in a SUP yet but I know those of you who like them must do so for a reason.
Zach
Mike “devil” details. 🙂 theres no way, to account for every possible situation where one craft, will outperform the other.
If you want to debate the ability to go further/faster in X, Y or Z.
If your trying to convince me a single paddle powered by the upper body without a whole lot of leverage will outperform Legs and lower back…all else equal…good luck, we are going to have to disagree. Or look at what Olympians can bench vs what they can lift with the legs/lower back.If your trying to convince me a single paddle powered by the upper body will outperform a yak that gets double the pleasure and covers the same distance for half the force…As I said earlier, 98% of the time this may be a non issue. Its the other 2% of the time (when push comes to shove). 🙂 Ive been on the water with SuPs and ive left in my dust everytime. What if were “racing” at the end of a day when we are a little fatigued, theres a nasty storm and we are going into the wind.Standing up vs low to the water and less wind resistance?
Or if point A to B is long. Theres no way “all else equal”. yeah we can both get there. I know who is going to exert more energy.
Zach, a agree. I grew up in canoes and love them to but like anything there are Pros/Cons.
I have no knocks against paddle boards, think they are very cool and viable options.Fishing platforms, heck yes they can be used for it, devil details…..Hows the trolling in a SuP?
edit add.
Its not about one being better. I was glad to see Zach included them in the article. But they may never get the wide acceptance due to their …searches for right words…and gives up
🙂John, it appears you’re really good at trolling. You got me there, it’s something SUPs absolutely suck at.
Since we’re on “devil in the details” — how well does that bicycle contraption work when you’re trying to stand up and fish? How well does the reverse work on that? You can just throw it up on top your car, yeah? How she handle whitewater?
/sigh.
Lets back up a minute, Dave. You were wondering why SUPs aren’t as popular as other PW (Personal Watercraft). I suggested that any PW there are always tradeoffs..or for other words “pros/cons”. For me the two with SUPs that would matter are a) Storage/Cargo capacity and b) that 2% of the time, aka when something goes wrong. If you want the best PW I suggest you go out buy one of everything. Not sure about you but I personally don’t want to spend that much, nor do I have room for 1 of everything. There are devil details where a person might want a toon instead of a SUP and vise versaYou fired back I was wrong on everything. No problem here, everyones entitled to an opinion. So who trolling?
Yeah they work for stand up fishing, in some situations they will “outperform”, in some they will under perform.
I can’t speak for everyone but me I love all kinds of fishing. Sight fishing for X, trolling for Y.
Sometimes I fish small lakes, sometimes my point A to point B is quite long and tiring no matter what your in..And thats only A to B, not A to B and back again.So why don’t they get the ‘respect”. Likely see above.
To answer a couple of your questions.
Can I car top it? Yes, quite easily. I have a bum shoulder from an old football injury, while that ultimately led to me getting a trailer as well. Its not hard car topping it.That said, relative to some other choices that can be a con. I do seem to recall saying that they to, have their “Cons”..Goes backs, double checks and sees that yes I did say that.Stability?
I have been canoeing since I was 4 years old. I have never, repeat never gone for a swim. ( 1 occasion when a friend spilled it). In short I am ver comfortable. It blows any canoe away for stability.
Thats a “Pro”.As stable as a SUP? hard to say, Id say yes, especially for a person who may not be comfortable in any waters, nor a person who has lots of experience.Looks around at people in general..Not everyone is comfortable or capable..
Do note theres more camera gear at risk on the back deck, and in the front storage hatch, than the combined prices of my PA, your SUP, and many more.
Not worried about it at all.Id let my 13 year old child take it out in big waters, would you let you child get out of sight on a SUP?
In fact I can sit on that raised seat and while I may not be standing Im still elevated. I can “peddle” along at a sustained rate, for ever. Ive felt worse getting out of a canoe after 4 hours sitting/paddling.Hows the small of your back after 6 hours standing/paddling in a SUP? I know guys whose backs can’t take standing for 6 hours casting in a bass boat…let alone…..
There are always tradeoffs with PW, there is no do it all do it all better than any other.
Most guys I know of anyways like more than just fishing one way, or one type of water, or one specific set ofdevil details
hence why they will never be as popular as PW designed for fishingJohn if I’m covering more then say 8 miles I just take a kayak paddle and a SUP paddle. Like I said above, there are three positions to paddle an SUP (rigged with a cooler). Sitting, standing, kneeling. I went through the same thought process you went through. Fished with Dave in his SUP almost a year before I finally took the plunge.
Like you said there isn’t a perfect boat for everything. That’s why I used to keep three of them. I’m down to just one now. If I had to think of a word to use to help them gain wide acceptance I’d say minimalist. For gear fishing there are much better options out there and the pro angler is a sweet boat. Prob the the best … For fly fishing, with empathizes on streamer fishing, the SUP is hard to beat.
Here’s a final thought on the pro angler vs SUP.
This was a trip we decided to make a few years ago to explore new water that almost never gets fished….Several miles of awesomeness.
Got a Musky in the middle of nowhere.
Only to find the river disappears into a sink that time of year.
Had to pull the boats across 4 miles of hell.
That Pro angler would likely still be there somewhere. 🙂
All kidding aside, everyone has their favorites and if you’re happy, that’s all that matters. Unless of course we’re talking cameras where everybody knows Canon is the clear winner.
Those bicycle contraptions do look ridiculous, but if I remember the ad video from when they debuted at the Show properly, they are really, really fast. This dude appears to be truckin’!
Got a Musky in the middle of nowhere.
Mike I know I have told you this before but no BS I thought for a split second that was a pic of Hugh Jackman. You look like a completely different person these days–well done.
Zach
That’s because that’s not me. That’s Dave.I’ll likely never get to that size again short of an apocalypse.
Mike I don’t and have no intentions of disputing that there won’t be situations, applications specific to a) water bodies and b) individuals ( I have a bum shoulder, no way, no how I could paddle a sup for 8 hours, others might have bums knees). Aka devil details. Up river against a current? I might very well want a SuP (less water resistance).
With respect to peddle yaks. I’ve been on the water constantly fishing covering a lot of water for unto 8 hours. No harder on my body than a nice easy leisurely stroll in the park. Ive felt worse after 8 hours in a lazy boy :). And as Zak said you can really get them moving if you want to go a long distance A) to B) or ICE (incase of emergency). A Sup “might” beat in a very short sprint. I guarantee I can keep the pace longer….a lot longer hence my “2%” of the time comment. And if we want to fish at B say some shoal waaay out there…I can troll on the way 😉
ps Pas have scupper holes, you can easily carry a wheeled cart and roll your yak over portages
😉 Again, in no way shape or form does that make them “better”. If I did a lot of surf fishing Id probably lean to say a Revo, it cuts through surf better than a PA ever will. if I did a lot of river fishing, maybe a sup or toon, etc, etc, etc. A lot of ocean guys do though “prefer” them, once through the surf, stability, blah blah.All I was trying to point out, is that for the broad market sups won’t likely get the love that some other types do. For those 2 reasons. Fishing Yaks and canoes are designed for fishing and as such will have inherent “Pros”. For me, the two big ones are cargo and that 2%…Ive been in hairy situations (things happen) and I always want to tell the tale.
I can easily go water fowling in my PA and hope to this fall when its near zero, falling in could mean not making it home to tell the tale. Not sure Id want to duck hunt off a SuP. But then again thats “me”, the next guy might have other applications where things matter more….or they matter less.Either way once the temps dip to zero, id likely be storing a SuP, a PA or SiK id probably keep fishing.
Zach re the PA. First understand there are “cons” with them.
Bow and 6 rod tubes plus front hatch..Its large, large enough for a lot of equipment. for me accessible cameras
Drive assembly is removable and I to always have my yak paddle (ice).
Smelling the roses, can keep that up all day.
give you an idea of the size. It’s a beast that can be both a Pro and Con. Stability is not something I worry about at all.
If anyone ever finds the perfect PW, please let me know
🙂That’s because that’s not me. That’s Dave.I’ll likely never get to that size again short of an apocalypse.
Hahahahahah! My bad, Mike.
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