Almost every time I paddle out there is at least one guy out on a retro fish, catching tons of waves and having a blast. I've never tried a fish but am really starting to become interested in them, especially with mushy summer waves right around the corner. I would like to hear any feedback about your fish experiences from all the lovers and the haters, what you like or dislike about them. Also I'm not sure how I would size a fish, I'm 5'8" 140lbs (without a wetsuit) and currently ride a 5'10" beefed up shortboard as my everyday board. I was thinking in the 5'4" to 5'6" range but I'm not sure. I found a good deal on a 5'6" that's a true retro fish shape but instead of having the classic twin keels it's a futures quad. I imagine that would add some more hold and add a little more performance over the twin so maybe that would be a better option. Anyway tell me all about what you love or hate about your fishes!
I love my 5'10 retro twin it is super fast with the right fins. I like that it padded easy cause the volume of foam has been bought out almost to the rail making it nice and full. I can hop in that after riding one of my logs and i have no adjustment time at all
Fish will definately beef up your wave count, but going from shortboard to fish, you will notice a world of difference in turning. Without a middle pivot fin (retro twin), you will have to adjust the way you balance and turn... But in most conditions, fishes are pretty damn fun. I was never a fan, but got one about 6 months ago, and at the right spot on the right swell, the thing is sick!!! Even when I plan on riding the fish, I always bring my standard shortboard, because if there is some decent size and speed on the waves, you will usually regret taking the fish out... But on most occasions, they are sick!
In The Eye Surfboards in Hatteras,the best twin fin fish. i have problems with the wide tails like at low tide if it's sucking out,which it does a lot here,but they are awesome,picking up a new one in two weeks
Brought my shortboard down today rode it for 20 minutes then ran and got my fish. Glad I did because where I was it was fish wave for sure. I have a trailer in mine which stabilizes it a lot. My favorite fish is one of my own boards with the outline drawn by Mitchell on this forum. The original had the swallow drawn in like a standard fish but I decided to leave the foam in there and diamond point it. Rides freakin great on a wave like today, Super fast down the line, easy to catch waves and pretty manueverable over all. In most cases I wouldn't be riding it on a wave that would allow for a lot of verticle or sudden turns anyway, it's just a fast flowiing design that works. Here are a few pictures of the board after I first finished it last summer.
Dude, that looks sick. I love the rounded off tails or diamond tips. That added foam helps acceleration and i think it helps smooth the transition through turns... I bet a HUGE reason why that design works so well for you though with that setup, is the thurster fins placement... That whole twin/fin quad setup is where the riding changes for me... I still throw around fishy thursters kinda the same way I do my shortboards, but when you lack a pivot fin it encourages much wider, exagherated turns where it is promoting down the line surfing rather than the rail to rail... That board looks like it would go rail to rail all day with a little speed behind it. Nice board!
im the same size i ride a 5'4 lost rnfq.. although i like the older rnf's better.. had a retro fish lots of fun but the rnf is just so much more versatile
Thanks for all the feedback guys. Im gonna see what kind of deals I can find and try to pick one up before summer. I was originally going to get a biscuit type board but Im really starting to like the idea of a fish. I have a modern RNF thruster type shape with a swallow tail, but its not really a full on fish with the down the line speed they seem to have. Hopefully I can get my hands on that 5'6" quad and try it out.
Zach, The fin set up is an exact copy of the tri-fin layout on my Timmy Patterson shortboard. I measured everything from the distance from the tail, the rails and each other. It has the exact same fin cant and toe-in so it really is a fish outline with the fin setup of a thruster, although the fins are Mcnabb twins with a mini trailer. I also thinned out the tail a bunch and the rails as well. I hate thick fat tails and overly bulbous rails. There is a scoop out of the deck near the nose to lesson swing weight, like on my homespun mini sim. Glad you like it, I am going to shape a new model this spring fine tuning this one a bit.
Beacbreak- I would love to see some pics of that fish when you pick it up from Scott. Zippy -nice looking board, what blank did you use? How many boards have you shaped? To the OP that 5'6" quad sounds like a good pick up - go for it. Fish work great in east coast waves JN
I'm not sure what blank that is, I guess I shaped it out of a 6'2" fish blank, I think it was one of the blank producers that went belly up. I have shaped 8 boards so far with the ninth coming this spring if I can find the time. this board is the most versatile of all my shapes. Every board I have made work to some degree but this one is the best all around board I have made. I have surfed it in knee high on up to fat over head waves and it excels in both wave sizes. The next best was a 5'5" Mini Simmons that I love, but that one started taking on water from day one and now is a yellow hulk sitting in my rafters .
I didnt realize at first that you shaped that board yourself, it looks super nice, you definitely have some skill. How did you get into shaping? I would like to try it out someday, I was thinking about picking up one of those Greenlight kits for my first try. It would be nice to really be able to tweak every little aspect of the boards and Im sure you learn a ton about different characteristics that change the boards performance. If you have some pictures of other boards youve shaped post em up!
i have taken out fish in hurricane surf and have ridden waves well over head with very good success. Its a modern thruster fish setup but recently I popped the middle one out and have been riding it. Super loose as a twin, but you have to watch turning like zach mentioned. Getting it on rail can be dicey. I like taking really hard bottom turns and it sometimes will slide the tail out from under me and eat sh!t. Approach your surfing smoother like gravy with a twin.
Just when I talked myself out of getting a fish this thread pops up...... now I'm awaiting dimensions from the shaper!!! Yes my local shaper, have seen a couple of good deals but there nothing like having a locally made board. Heard quad fish handle a little better, anyone ride a quad fish?
I started riding a retro fish about 4-5 years ago and loved it. prior to that my daily driver was a flyer, which I liked alot actually, but the fish just suited me. It felt like riding an old school skateboard to me. Super fast, easy to pump and fly down the line. Turns are drawn out though. I rode it almost exclusively for a few years so had it through some big swells. Once up and riding on a big wave I had no problems. However I ate $hit on takeoff a lot more due to the lack of rocker and wide tail, and I ocaisional layed into a bottom turn too hard and sjidded out, but I got used to the limits. Once riding, the board handled bigger surf fine. Very hard to stall and get in a barrel though, they just want to fly. And I could nevr get my cutbacks all the way around, the turn was too drawn and slow. After a while I missed the turning ability of a shortboard, and I've since moved to a custom that's a blend of fish and shortboard, maybe 70% fish 30% shortboard. I would say give it a try. I think you'll know after a few sessions if it's for you or not. I have friends that flat out don't like them. It's very subjective. I think they are a ton of fun. Although I rode mine in pretty much anything, they really make those gutless waist to stomach summer swells sooo much more fun. Since I got into the retro fish, I don't ever pull out a longboard.
Here are a few pictures of four of my shapes. Pretty sure I posted these hear at some point. As you can see I like fishy, funky boards. The yellowed one was a great board, the swallow tailed round nosed board rode fine but I think my hand made bamboo fins weren't foiled right so it was sluggish. The modern fish was super fast but also hard to control (rails were too hard over all so it lacked hold and slipped side to side) my son likes to ride that one. The little mini sim I shaped for my son but he refuses to wax it and ride it, it's hanging on his wall .
IMO although a quad fish is fun (all my shortboards are quads) I feel that to get the best feeling out of a fish in the conditions that they excel in keels are the only way to go. it all depends on whether you want to make the fish an all-rounder or only certain days
I will search for a thread I did about 6-7 months ago... I borrowed a friends Quad Fin Al Merrick Fish thing and rode it for about 10 straight days. different spots, different conditions, and each day I reported back with specific details of my findings... The whole thread was based on a life-long thurster shortboard rider (Me) with a quiver of like 10 shortboards all with similar dimensions, designed for different sizes of surf, trying the quad fin fish setup for the first long period of time, and reporting the major pros and cons with regards to shortboarding vs. the quad fish.... I did not use any of my shortboard through this period of time. I forced myself to ride the board everyday. I had surf frmo 3ft to about 7ft that week to report back on. Beach breaks... Reefs... Everything I could think of... I found many positives, as well as some negatives... But over all, the thread could be useful to you... I spoke of the rails, the fins, the turning, the drives, off the lip, airs...everything I was able to try on it was documented.... Search for Al Merrick Quad..... that should bring up the thread. P.S. 2 months after I evaluated that board, and made the thread, I went out and purchased a custom Quad Fish from my shaper.... I dont take it out in much more than chest to head high surf... But ive gotten to really enjoy the thing.. Especially on a head high reefs break... The thing will really dice up a big mush ball, but still stand its ground in mediocre beach break....
quad fish are great fun,better hold and drive and i ride one a lot, but the full on retro twin fin fish short thick wide swallow is the best.this'll be my fourth In The Eye fish,all different,and they all work great.Scott rides 'em himself,and I like a shaper who rips on the same kind of waves and the same kind of boards that i order from him,just makes sense.and as the original post,agreed,sometimes the only guy on the fish is going faster and getting more waves than others,but it does depend on the waves,the same can be said for other kinds of boards on other kinds of waves
