It’s true. I wrote an article on the subject, but had not actually participated in said activity. Before you shake your head, wait! Paddle board fishing is exactly what I did over the weekend, and I am a convert. It. Is. Awesome. Wobbly, but awesome.

We headed to the beach with some pals for the weekend with the anticipation of fishing from the dock and in the creeks behind the house, paddle boarding, and just your general fun in the sun activities. Why not combine them all? Bam. Instant way to entertain me for hours on end.

While I didn’t have all of the gear, I made-do with what was around the house. No anchor? No problem. A spare brick and some dock line, and I was in business. I tried the first time to fish from the board without an anchor (or anything else), and let’s just say it didn’t go well. I didn’t fall in, but I came extra close at least 10 times. Me trying to paddle/keep the board in place while also holding a fishing rod must have been a hilarious sight. Lesson learned, I set out on my next fishing trip equipped with my homemade anchor, a small cooler filled with bait, a net, my Bubba Blade (more on that in a minute), and a dry box for my phone / to use as a cutting board. Yes, all of that, plus myself and a paddle on a 9’8″ board.

I used a combination of cut mullet and mud minnows, and (like I mentioned) used my handy new Bubba Blade fillet knife [c/o – doing a review of it for Wide Open Spaces. I will ink to here when it is published!]. It was great for cutting bait, and accident-prone me didn’t feel like I was about to lose a finger. Whew. So, a-fishing I went.

I had plenty of nibbles in the first hour or so, but no big bites. Crabs stole my bait a time or two, but it was pretty uneventful otherwise. I moved to a new spot, a my second cast produced a red fish. Woohoo! He fought hard for a minute or two, and I almost had him to the paddle board, when he spit the hook abut 10 feet away from me. Probably angler-error, since I was trying to fight/not lose the fish, sit down so I didn’t fall in, and get my net ready for when the fish was close enough. So close! A few more casts, and I had another fish on the line. This one definitely felt bigger and fought than the first one, but never broke the surface so I could see it. Unfortunately, after a good few minutes of fighting, the fish made a run over one of the many oyster beds around me (see why I didn’t want to fall in?) and the line was cut. Aaggghhhh. I know. I wanted to stay longer, but I only had the one rig with me. Rookie mistake to not bring at least an extra hook, but at least I went out on a great note, right?

Needless to say, I have ordered some gear to make fishing from my paddle board a little easier / be more prepared, and I can’t wait to get back on the water to do it again!