Surfing Waves

I recently got a fish 5"9 board but I have only started surfing since summer, the issue is that we do not have surf hire except from july onwards where I live so I had to get a board as I enjoyed it a lot. We have fairly consistent surf from 2ft+ (occasional flat days but nonetheless pretty good) so I thought having a fish would work best for me as I have little storage space as well and they work well for small days. I took it out for the first time last week and I found my pop-up technique was hopeless. I was wondering if there was any way I could make such a drastic switch from longboard to shortboard or am I being too optimistic? I am 5"4 and 132pounds and fairly muscular, I do have a lot of upper body strength and do a lot of running, lifting, swimming.

Ah, it's a classic!

You know the answer already.... that board is going to be very very hard to learn on. A 5'9 fish is for a skilled surfer, not for a newbie. Yes, you've made a mistake.
So either stick it out and get through the frustration (eventually), or put it away for now and go back to a longboard or a mini-mal for a while.

Yes you made a mistake with the board, but you help lots of other posters.
ADVICE! Read through these pages and learn what you need before you lay down your cash!

Next realise that all surfboards that are advertised as being good for all levels of surfer in all surfs are just hyping up their product.

Short but paddles like a longboard is an outright lie. More so in the hands of a noob.

Standing up and riding whitewater on a foamy is neither surfing nor an example of enough experience to sensibly choose a surfboard..

You can learn on short boards , hard but doable, the younger you are the better..

adolescent sales teens will always sell you a "Short board" since surfing was only invented after 1983.
Stupid names as sales gimmicks is a clear indication that the board is designed to impress adolescent sales teens and their friends on the beach. (Sorry about the tautologies , disclosure of personal bias here).
Final,statement buy what suits you in your current stage of surfing. Surfing is an individual sport, not a herd sport ( except in Taiwan and Japan with the extra rider Japan is about what you are seen to be riding , not how you ride).
thank you rant over.

curlridersurfraider wrote:and they work well for small days.

Who told you that ?

They ( fish board ) work well for small days compared to a "normal" short board. But that is considering you are a competent surfer and NOT a beginner.

You lift weights right ? Did you start your first bench press at 500 pounds. Or did you start off with something manageable as your own weight and then slowly increase ? In comparison from your first longboard to now a fish, it's like going from bench pressing 100 pounds to 400 pounds the next day. Can you do it ? Maybe. But It's better to take it in smaller manageable steps.

waikikikichan wrote:

curlridersurfraider wrote:and they work well for small days.

Who told you that ?

They ( fish board ) work well for small days compared to a "normal" short board. But that is considering you are a competent surfer and NOT a beginner.

You lift weights right ? Did you start your first bench press at 500 pounds. Or did you start off with something manageable as your own weight and then slowly increase ? In comparison from your first longboard to now a fish, it's like going from bench pressing 100 pounds to 400 pounds the next day. Can you do it ? Maybe. But It's better to take it in smaller manageable steps.

That makes a lot of sense really, I was a bit of an idiot to buy it but I really did enjoy it, I had been doing it every day for 7-8 weeks so it felt right at the time. I feel so stupid for buying one now! I really will take it out a lot and I don't think it's worth me giving it up as I already payed. Thanks for helping me get some real perspective here because I think I was dreaming a bit that I'd be able to stand up on my first session on this board.