{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Inflatable Paddle Board or Inflatable Kayak?

Hey Dalton,

Thanks for bumping this as I had forgotten to report back.

I have been very happy with my SUP (link to specific model in my post above).  My only complaint is the pump that came with it is cheap and started having problems after only being used about a dozen times.  But the SUP itself is rock solid - no leaks, minimal scratches, no parts coming loose. 

I will say that I did not use it as often as intended, mainly because of the weather.  I did a few lake trips for pickerel and it was quite easy to move up and down the lakes (half mile to a mile long). I took it to the beach and my sister and I used it to paddle around a back bay.  This brings up the topic of stability. I have yet to fall off while standing on the board and feel pretty comfortable up there.  However, my sister, who is the athlete in the family and was a great soccer player in college, struggled to stay upright at first, but it was her first time trying one.  I insist that it's pretty stable but YMMV.

Fishing from it is a blast, but it does have its limits.  For example, once you are standing, you aren't easily able to turn your feet.  So you end up only being able to cast around the front half of the board.  You can end up at the mercy of the wind direction as far as where you can cast.  Speaking of wind, an anchor is an absolute must. The anchor rope can be clipped to the rings at the front or back.  You will have to anticipate which direction the wind will orient you based on which end of the board your anchor is attached to.  But if you guess wrong and end up backwards to where you want to cast, you can easily just unclip the rope and switch it to the other end of the board.

My longest SUP trip was a 5 mile float down Deer Creek for smallmouth and trout.  I rarely stood on the board during that trip, and preferred to just sit on the cooler and paddle it like a canoe. When I saw a shallow riffle approaching, I paddled harder to gain speed and just bounced over the bottom and kept going.  The material is more than tough enough to withstand that.  My friend bottomed out his kayak in the same water I was able to get through.  I got dunked a few times losing my balance around sharp bends. Because it rides so high, any differential currents can quickly spin it out of control.  With that said it was very effective in general at getting me through shallow areas and on to the next big pool.

TL:DR...

Pros: 

Stable

Awesome point of view when standing

Comfortable (not sure I can go back to a cramped kayak cockpit now...)

Clean casting platform

Easy and quick setup/breakdown

Can hike it in to less accessible places

Can deflate and roll up into trunk of my car

Lightweight (29 lbs!)

Durable

Can paddle from a seated position if wind kicks up (wind was not as limiting as I thought it would be)

Cons:

Cannot handle strong/differing currents in a stream setting

Wind/anchor setup dictates where you can cast

Would probably avoid very large water bodies

Came with a cheap pump.

Definitely would recommend trying SUP fly fishing, but with an understanding of its limitations.  Also, if I were to get another one, I would buy an 11' or 12' model to have more room to lay the rod down when paddling. With the 10' I have to be careful my rod isn't about to take a swim.

On Monday, October 22, 2018 at 1:36:12 PM UTC-4, Dalton Terrell wrote:

Hi Andrew,

Based on this morning's temps, Winter seems to have started, so I guess you have a season under your belt on the paddleboard. I'm not really in the market yet... but will probably get another paddlecraft within the next couple years. Ideally, I think I'd have a canoe but based on storage and ability to travel, an inflatable paddle board seems pretty compelling.

How's it holding up (any leaks)? How is stability for fishing--and are you enjoying fishing from it? What kind of distance can you cover to get to a fishing spot?

Dalton

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