Surfing Waves

Hello folks!

I've just bought my very first board, a 5'8" fish. What I wanted to know is:

a) Is it worthing getting a tail pad?

b) How would I go about applying one? How would I know exactly where to place the pad?

Hey John, you are very amitious getting a 5'8 fish for your first board i definately could'nt have ridden one as my first board, how tall are you?? Anyway, traction pads, I had the exact same problem with my first board (6'8 escape fatboy flyer) but i just guessed from pictures on the internet and from other people's boards, but because you are a beginner you won't really need one in my opinion. I certainly did'nt t need mine at first.

I left the tail pad off my six foot fish just beause i thought it was kinda unneccesary and it would cramp the retro style But whatever works best for you! You won't gain a taste for traction pads untill you gain some experience.

If you were to put a tail pad on you'd probably need to put it on about 15-20cm up from the base of the board (not 100% sure though)

Good luck anyway!!

you put the tail pad wherever your back foot lands if this is your first board; you might wanna practise a bit BEFORE u stick the pad on

weel said

Hello.

After I posted this thread I realized that it would sound like I was jumping straight to a fish from limited/no experience. I actually have quite a lot of experience riding a mini-mal, regardless, I still think the switch to a fish was ambitious. I’ve been borrowing a friend’s board for ages now and was getting hacked off so I had to buy a board. As for my choice of board, well, perhaps I was ill informed but I heard they were easier to ride than most shortboards. And plus, this board was bargain!

As for the tail pad I heard that it is best to place the back of it between the front and back fins, but I’m not sure. Your advice sounds good to me, I’ll wait and ride the board for a while before putting a pad on.

Oh, my height, by the way, 5’8”, the same as the board. Why?

Thanks …John…

Well, I think the general rule is, the shorter the board you go, and especially now that you're on a fish (which is a similar in performance to a thruster) the more difficult it will be to surf on it. So..it says a lot that you're going to ride a board that is your height (I think most people go just a few inches taller than their own height, especially when starting on a beginner's thruster). Good luck!

well, what kind of fish is it? Is it a true classic Lis Fish style board, or is it a new school fish, which is more like a thruster with a swallow tail?

Dimension of the board, and you would be helpful.

Classic fishes are generally ridden more forward, so you've gotta see where you back foot will go, probably further up than usual. Possibly too far up for you to need a pad, or it will look funky. But looks don't really matter.

Escape 5'8" fish , 20.5" wide , 2.5" thick, with a 16" nose and a 15" tail.

loving the paintjob.
im sory i dont know how to apply one. i dont use one, wax will do

honestly on a fish like that, I wouldnt put a deckgrip on (it would probably cramp the board, and make it look a bit silly tbh). But if you wer to apply one, put it directly over the fins (at least thats where you put it on a thruster) .

Yeh I agree leave it of it would cramp the style of that paint job and as i said above you don't need it. I asked your height cos if you were like 6foot it would be impossible to start/ride on.

yeah thATS I WOULD NOT PUT ONE ON A BOARD LIKE THAT IF U DO I WILL HAVE TOO DO THIS

I agree you dont need a foot pad on a fish expecialy a hybrid would just look tacky. I think foot pads are more use ful on boards where you are really trying to throw the tail, fish are more of a loose ride and its probley not as important and nessasary