All Aboard

The fastest-growing aquatic craze around the world is Stand-Up Paddle Boarding, or SUP for short.

The original idea was basically an overgrown surfboard powered by a paddle. The board is ridden in the usual way, but the surfer stands up to paddle, which provides more power. Before long, SUPs were being ridden competitively. There is even a bid for inclusion in the Olympics. But for me, the best use for a SUP is just cruising around my local protected waters casting flies at unsuspecting fish.

The main advantage is the amazing range of vision from the standing position, combined with the stealth of a kayaker or canoeist. It is like fishing from a skiff being poled over a flat, though you would have to work pretty hard to get a SUP to do 40 knots on the way home.

SUPs range from super-stable to mega-tippy. As a rule of thumb, if the board is longer than 10 feet, wider than 32 inches and shaped like a Paddle Pop stick, it will be really user-friendly and very stable. On the other hand, a 12½ foot race board only 25 inches wide is hard enough just to stand on, let alone fish from. The board that I use is 10½ foot long by 30 inches wide. Not only is it a stable platform to fish on, its shape makes it a great board to surf when the various breaks in my area allow.

The variety of boards available is huge and growing. The Internet is always a useful source of background information when comparing different brands and models, but a trip to a reputable SUP dealer is the best place to start. When you discuss deals with your local shop, don’t forget to get a paddle included in the price if you can. A good paddle is not cheap, and any discount off the price is always welcome.

If you can get an adjustable paddle to start with, go for it. I can almost guarantee that when everyone finds out that you have bought a SUP, they will all want to have a go. An adjustable paddle allows for its shaft length to be adjusted to the correct height of the paddler.

The SUP is also a great family holiday compromise. Put it on the roof rack and you have a viable means of going fishing in the morning, and then entertaining the rest of the family later. My 8 year-old daughter has no problem in stealing my SUP from under my nose and paddling around the lake for an hour or so. My son, however, keeps trying to steal it and convince me that he has the skill and power to take it out into the surf. And if your partner can go for a leisurely paddle while you look after the kids, all the better when you need to sneak away to fish the incoming tide.

I have made a few additions to my board to make fishing a little easier. My fly line normally sits quite happily on the deck of the board, and I have had no real problems with line management. However, I have installed a stripping basket/line tamer, otherwise known as a milk crate. My board has a threaded insert in the deck that allows a sailboard rig to be attached for windsurfing. This insert has allowed me to bolt the crate to the board, so it won’t slip around or end in the water. The crate has a plastic plate that the attaching bolt passes through.

The crate also doubles as a storage area whilst underway. I place all my gear in a watertight container and drop it in for safekeeping. When I stop to fish and there is a bit of wind around, I place the container in front of the crate, out of the way, and I can strip line into the crate in readiness for casting.

I can slide any fish up onto the deck of the board when I catch them, so I carry only a set of lip grips and not a landing net. As there is no gunwale to lift fish over, there is little chance of line breakage. I carry the grips on the back waistband of my shorts, where they are easy to reach.

I found that by putting a rod holder on the front of the crate, I could keep my rod up off the deck and out of the water while paddling. I prefer storing my rod horizontally while paddling around, as there are a couple of low traffic bridges in one of the local lakes I fish. Whilst I was in a forgetful moment, one of them turned my two-piece 5-weight into a three-piece. I have attached a Starport mount by Railblaza to the crate. This allows me to not only have a rod holder in just the right spot, but also to mount cameras and videos for footage.

The last thing I carry is a small anchor on 10 metres of line, stored in a nylon bag on the front of the crate. As the SUP has very little hull in the water, and the paddler stands up on it like a sail, you can be blown around a bit in a breeze. The ability to drop anchor and hold in position makes life so much easier. I use a simple, four-pronged, collapsible model, dropping it on whichever side of the crate gives me the best position to cast.

I learnt that the trick to casting is to stand with your feet facing forward, as they do when you are paddling. This allows a lot of board fore and aft, to negate any rocking of the board when false-casting. If you stand side-on, there is a greater chance of losing your balance and going for a dip. You also have to remember to bend your knees. This will allow you to get away with a few balance errors.

Absolute beginners are best to kneel on the board and cast from that position. This allows a reasonable casting length without the potential of falling in. I purposely do not use a leash on my rod when casting, as it only gets in the way. If you fall off, you need to make a conscious effort to hold onto your rod and just go with it. After you get over the shock of falling in, place your rod back on the SUP and slide yourself back on board. The first such experience is the hardest and will definitely be a deterrent to any more losses of concentration.

Your gear container should be watertight and should therefore float. Test this before you head out for the first time. If it fails to float, get a larger version or get rid of some of the gear inside. The paddle will float and the anchor bag is attached to the front of the crate, so the rod is the only thing you need to worry about when it all goes wrong.

Is it worth the time and effort? I won’t lie. I did have a couple of swims when I first started, and I did lose some gear to the bottom of the lake, never to be seen again. Thankfully, it was nothing expensive.

The fishing is definitely worth the effort. If you can cast a reasonable length of line, you will be able to sight-cast to a lot of fish. I have lost count of the number of stingrays and flathead that I have startled as I floated over them. You will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to sight bream and trevally feeding up on the flats as you approach.

If you use the wind to your advantage, you can float downwind over your chosen flat and hardly have to paddle at all, except for maybe a few small course alterations. This leaves a lot of time to search for fish and to cast to unsuspecting prey. When you get to the end of the drift, just stow your rod, paddle away from the flat, return to the top and start again.

Kayaks can be a great fishing craft, as I have written about previously in Short Casts, but they are cramped for space to strip line. The abnormally shortened area between the stripping guide on the rod and the angler’s body can be quite off-putting when trying to focus on the task at hand. The SUP has none of these problems. It is quite like standing on a sandbank and casting flies to the surrounding areas, making long strips and letting the fly settle to the bottom — the sort of retrieve that drives bream crazy.

My SUP has definitely reinvigorat-ed my fly fishing, and I now spend more time on it than in the kayak or on foot. Even surfing has become a secondary use for it, as the fishing takes preference most mornings if the conditions allow.