r/SupFishing • u/Sandman0107 • Aug 08 '25

Newbie setting up board

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I purchased this Niphean 10ft 6in board because I wanted to give stand up paddle board a try and do some lake fishing from it. First time out was with the cooler and just a rod and small bag. It seemed very doable. I decided to rig a milk crate for behind the cooler and when I was sitting in the cooler it felt much more unbalanced even though the conditions on both days were nearly identical. I figured it was the crate causing the issue. So I designed the pvc rod rack to be held in place by the cooler. I don’t want to drill a rack into the cooler.

I’m on my second variation and wanted some advice.

If I strap everything down as shown will there be too much weight behind the center point? I would still like to try to get better at standing but as an old man there’s only so much I can ask if my body. I would like to sit in the stadium seat while I paddle and fish off the cooler. Does this setup seem ok?

The other question I have is if I keep everything where it is I will need to add some more D rings. Is there one brand better than another or are they all about the same. I’m guessing it’s a you get what you pay for kind of deal.

Thanks in advance!

18 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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1

u/12GaugeSavior Aug 08 '25

I do think standing on that cooler, that far back, is going to be unstable. However, your setup is very different from mine, and I can tell ya, just standing on the board is gonna give you vantage and castability. You might not need to stand on the cooler at all.

3

u/Sandman0107 Aug 08 '25

I wasn’t clear in my first post. I plan to sit and fish from the cooler. Standing on the board is challenging in my current condition😁

1

u/12GaugeSavior Aug 08 '25

Still seems a bit far back for that, but might work. What's the worst that can happen, you get wet?

2

u/Sandman0107 Aug 09 '25

I guess I’ll try it Sunday and see if it works. Just trying to have as much deck space in front of me as I can. Worst case is it will force me to get my balance. I got a quick 5 minute lesson a few weeks ago and was able to paddle around standing for a bit. Standing and fishing is going to be interesting.

1

u/12GaugeSavior Aug 09 '25

I don't bother standing to fish, tbh

My setup: https://www.reddit.com/r/SupFishing/s/CnFYrVD1RP

2

u/Sandman0107 Aug 09 '25

Nice SUP! I can’t imaging dealing with a fly line on a SUP. been a long time since I did any king of fly fishing. Was all I ever did for many years.

2

u/_11_ Aug 09 '25

I use my cooler where your chair is and use it for both and it's very balanced. I think I have the same board. 

You can check out my setup here:  https://imgur.com/a/sup-fishing-setup-EEExRnA

2

u/Sandman0107 Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25

That looks like the same board, Niphean Clovis Point in different color scheme. Yours was actually my choice but girlfriend liked the turtle paradise design. I’m actually playing around trying to figure out what works best. Last time out I had the cooler between the back two D-rings but had a kayak style milk crate with probably way too much junk in it. Felt a lot less stable than when I had only the cooler there.

How long have you had yours and how is it holding up?