Fishies, Twinnies, Mini Sims, and Grovelers

Minus and fishes are the way to go for the mostly small waves we get on the east. In my opinion they're damn near a two board quiver. Mystic surfboards in Jacksonville makes great ones.

 

These kind of shapes are really fun and when ridden correctly the style they force you to have is really nice to watch and even better to do. That said to ride them right you need to let the volume do the work for you and resist trying to over surf them (which is my problem). If you can control yourself and resist hacking at the wave they can't be beat. I'm still trying, after years of riding them, to dial it down and smooth out my style like I see on youtube, lol.

 

The reason for pumping and "spastic jumpy approach" is a complete lack of surfing skills, style, or intelligence. No idea how to go with the flow, which is, surfings essence and soul. You make good points.

 

Another vote for Mytsic surfboards. Hes made a lot of mini's and won the 2014 Florida shape off at surf expo.

http://mysticsurfboards.net/

 

man i want a fish now... thanks!

 

I love these boards and have had several of them, but have decided to move to a more performance oriented design. went to quad design fish with much narrower nose, similar to a fishcuit. The groverlers (old school twinnies and simmons) i have used were very wide everywhere and they really seem to be more for glide then trying to rip a wave apart. Still fun but just made for a different style surfing. At least for me, I am amazed how much of a hinderance it is for performance surfing with that very wide nose. Even with the smaller nose, I still get the ability to surf knee high surf with some authority...and if you want something to perform even in with the mini style...go as short as possible...the longer length equal more glide and less reponsiveness. The above video, those guys are ripping but those boards look super short.

 

Great topic. There is a lot of difference in the ride between an twin keel fish, a Mini Sims, and a groveler squash tail. After surfing Mini Sims type boards for most of the last four summers a lot, I agree with Mr. Coop that the extreme wide nose and flat rocker of the Mini Sims eventually get frustrating on waves where you really want to carve some turns, and gouge some hacks. The speed and glide you can get on a two foot mushy wave is a rush, but at least for me if the waves get a little better they feel limiting.

I put the twin keel fish in another category completely....I had one for several years and found it way more suited to walled up 3-4 foot speed lines, than the mushy waves in that video.

This is currently my groveler - 5'7" x 22' x 2 3/8". I like the quad setup and wide squash tail. I really wish it were EPS/epoxy - keeping the weight down really seem to help in small mushy surf.

 

I can't remember how many fish I've had over he years...keels, quads...still riding a version of the "fish" today (regardless of how you qualify it). I agree with Mitchell though...walked up lines...running and gunning is the best way to go with a keel fish. Love them when it's head high and above. When I had a Simmons...it was a groveler for knee high and below.

As for style...Sprout showcased some Great fish oreiented surfing...smooth...flowing...rasta, machado, Tudor...love that movie...

[video=youtube_share;UduzEpqNwBM]http://youtu.be/UduzEpqNwBM[/video]

 

Snagging every single wave under everyone? And you didn't throw his stuff in the water?

 

LOL

I like this thread.

 

idk, those things look pretty extreme. I haven't ridden a true old school mini-simmons (twin keels w/ mega wide square tail), but they look like I'd need to develop another skill to ride it well...like having to be much more conscious of where my weight is on the board at all times, etc. One thing's for sure, transitioning back to riding a hpsb properly is going to take some time. Seems like kind of a waste of time to me, but if you have time to burn, suit yourself.

I did have a couch potato w/ controller keel quads...kinda simmons-ish. It was kinda fun when the waves were small and weak, but I basically had to dodge any jacked up sections or it would pearl. There were other issues, but weight was the main reason I sold mine (for some reason, Biolos puts a ton of extra glass on the PU versions). If I were to go that route again, I'd try the Vernor simmons in EPS...and go small as possible.

 

Small waves, more tail volume. Bigger waves , less tail volume. Build the quiver that's right for the waves you ride. There's a board for any and every wave. So many choices these days. 3 boards that are a must for east coast surf I feel would be an under 6ft twin fish, a 6'6 Tri, and an 8'6 to 9 ft LB will cover it all. I've varied up the dimensions over the years but have found that these will handle and work well in most cases. It's not easy to tell someone what to ride or what might be good for them. Get to know this guy and maybe he'll let you take it for a spin. Sometimes it's the only way to find out if it fits your needs.

 

that video part was sick. thanks for that live4truth

 

+1 to everything he said.