Words By: Carl de Villiers

What better way to include a bit of exercise with some sightseeing and some fishing? Endless long distance paddling can be dull so why not just pull a lure behind you to pick up some dinner on the way?

While the kayak has always been the traditional personal watercraft for fishing, the Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) also makes an excellent platform for this too. You can enjoy a better workout with a SUP as you stand and paddle rather than sit and paddling or use your legs to propel the kayak. As you stand, you also get better visibility and this makes for a great and stealthy platform for sight casting and fly fishing too.

There are a also lot of great and easily accessible places to fish in the UAE as there are mangroves, lagoons, long stretches of flat sea areas and great flat water areas that are full of fish and protected from the wind such as the Palm Jumeirah. Besides bottom fishing, the UAE has a great range of gamefish such as kingfish, trevallies, queenfish, barracuda and cobia which frequent areas very close to shore. An easy catch for the SUP fisherman with lures, live bait or sight casting.

There are also some great SUP fishing paddleboards available locally which are specifically geared up for SUP fishing and offer all the necessary attachments to keep your gear on board too. We use the BOTE boards range to fish (www.boteboard.com ) which have models specifically made for fishing and they pretty much lead the market in this. They have attachments to strap gear down and have a “tacklerack” which is a metal piece fitted into the board that has rod holders and can hang your bag or lean on for extra stability. The boards are also wide, stable and fast on flat water. These are also available from Surf Shop Arabia.

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When SUP fishing or looking at a board to do SUP fishing, you need to consider the following:

  • For trolling, get a board with a “pointy V-nose” – the race style boards that cut through chop and will troll easier with less work are the ones to use. Wider rounded nose boards tend to make a lot of work to troll and can be a real workout in the wind. You will want to cut through the water and glide your way to success.
  • Look for a board that is wide and stable as nobody wants to fall off all the time and your equipment needs to stay dry too. The wider, the more stable and the better for sight casting and fly fishing. Boards over 30 – 32 inches wide are best.
  • Get a board with some weight on it – carbon race boards are fast but are generally not suitable as they cannot make the forward momentum to pull a lure due to their lightness. The lure has resistance when it’s pulled (especially if you pull two or more) so it makes for more work on a lighter board with no weight in its forward momentum.
  • Tie down points are a great help so look for boards that have webbing on the nose or have tie down points to stash your gear.

We have been through a lot of trial and error to find the best set-up and how best to do this so here are some of our tips and tricks:

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  • Take water and snacks while you travel out on the water. Dehydration and getting out of energy is not great so plan to stay energised and full of water!
  • Watch the weather – check weather and wind reports when going out on the open sea. Mist, wind and bad seas can create emergency situations, so stay safe.
  • Safety – lifejackets and telephone are a must when going off-shore so make sure to take these with and make sure you phone is in a waterproof container as it won’t work when it’s wet! We also recommend taking a leash with you and when conditions are bumpy, wear it!
  • Follow the birds – the absolute best way to catch fish from trolling and bait casting is to fish where the birds are diving. The gamefish push small baitfish up to the surface and the birds eat them. Where the birds are diving, the fish are feeding.
  • Be ready – have all your gear such as flies and bait casters ready to go – you may arrive at a spot where birds are diving and by the time you have gotten everything ready, the fish have moved on. Be ready so as you arrive you can get a fly or lure in front of the fish.
  • Use wind and tide conditions to move into position – when the wind is blowing or tide are moving around, the board will move around and move away from your spot so drift in on the wind or make adjustments when you get to your spot.
  • Live bait is best – the best way to catch big game fish is with live bait. Put out some live bait while you bottom fish.
  • Don’t troll in busy boating areas unless you want issues. A lot of boaters and jetskiers don’t have a high regard or respect for fisherman and paddle boarders and will wakeboard right past you or over your lines hence areas like the inside of The Palm being a good place to fish.
  • Go early – fish are active early morning till about 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. so be on the spots at this time. Later afternoon can be good to but bumpy.
  • Strap on a cooler – we strap on a cooler box and have attached some extra rod folders to it. It makes for a great place to stash fish and to hold your lunch. It also makes for a great seat. If you don’t have any cleats or attachments on the board, just use a strap and run it smoothly around the board to firmly fix it in place.

Try to take a camera, GoPro or waterproof container will be best. OutdoorUAE loves good pictures and fishermen can share their pics on Emirates fishing Facebook group!

Lastly, just get out there and enjoy yourself. Getting outdoors, enjoying nature and doing some recreational fishing is good for the soul.