3 Advantages to Fishing From a Paddleboard
america’s number 1 fishfinder
www.lowrance.com
written by Evan Anderson
Conditions out on the ocean are fickle. One week can be perfect weather, clear water, blue skies, and the next could bring choppy waves, rain, and high winds. As anglers, it’s important to be able to adapt to these different situations if we want to have a successful day of fishing. Captains Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor of Saltwater Experience expected calm seas for their outing, but were met instead with a cold front. “There are some days where the conditions are just very difficult and I think that we kind of found one of the most difficult situations,” says Rowland, “and that is when a cold front comes through. The temperature drops considerably, the wind cranks 25 to 30 [mph] from the North, the fish are grumpy and uncomfortable and don’t really want to play the game.”
Instead of stubbornly heading out to sea despite the conditions, Rowland and Tudor decided in this episode to try a more uncommon strategy: Paddleboards in the Everglades. It’s a unique and unconventional tactic, but highly effective for the conditions of the day. “It’s just different,” remarks Rowland, “Just the act of taking a second craft. And we’re in this area where you could just keep going for your lifetime.” Here are 3 advantages to fishing from a paddleboard.
@ SE Multimedia 2019
MANEUVERABILITY
The Everglades are a great spot to fish on a rough day at sea because their inland canals are shielded from much of the wind, resulting in much calmer water. The hard part is navigating the shallow water. Boats are restricted in many parts of the Everglades and in many other places the water is simply too shallow for a boat to get anywhere near. Paddleboards give Rowland and Tudor an advantage because of their shallow draft that allows them to navigate these waters as well as access parts of the canals that are off-limits to boat traffic. Rowland takes pride in fishing “in a place where, not only is a boat not allowed, even if it was allowed you’re not getting your boat back there,” he remarks, “It’s virtually inaccessible without some kind of specialized craft.”
Tudor would drive his boat into an area close to the shallows and use his Lowrance fish-finder to survey the bottom and see what kind of structure and depths they were working with before anchoring the boat and launching their paddleboards. It’s helpful to have something like the Lowrance fish-finder for these types of excursions to better plan your route before leaving the boat.
“It’s virtually inaccessible without some kind of specialized craft.”
NOISE REDUCTION
Another advantage to paddleboards is that they are silent, allowing you to get right on top of the fish and make more accurate casts rather than simply tossing a lure into what appears to be a great spot. “They were sitting very very still,” says Rowland, “So still, in fact, that a lot of times they were virtually invisible. You would almost run over them and then they would take off. And that’s when I started thinking, ‘Man if we weren’t on this paddleboard that is literally not making a sound I don’t know how we’d catch these things.’”
@ SE Multimedia 2019
“Man if we weren’t on this paddleboard that is literally not making a sound I don’t know how we’d catch these things.”
FISH STANDING UP
“We had the advantage over being in a canoe or kayak [because] we’re standing,” says Rowland, “We can cast better, we’re in a more athletic stance, but we can also actually see much much better.” Oftentimes anglers fishing from canoes (especially fly fishermen) will stand as they cast to get a clearer picture of the water and see where the fish are rising. This is a helpful tactic in the murky water of the Everglades as it gives you that better vantage point. “Even though we were fishing in [4-6” of] water,” says Rowland, “those snook were very very hard to see.”
Many an unfortunate fisherman has gotten a little too cocky standing in that canoe and ended up with a flipped boat and soggy tackle. Paddleboards are much more stable, allowing you to stand and fish without working too hard to stay balanced.
Anxious to break out that paddleboard and get into some new territory? Check out the full episode below and see Rowland and Tudor slay some snooks on S14:E11 of Saltwater Experience.
