Surfing Waves

Hello guys I just started surfing maybe three months ago. I just changed from my foamy to fiberglass 9 foot longboard. I need some advice sometimes I have the Feeling that I fall down the wave, when I thought I caught it right.
It’s like an impact and then usually a wipeout follows. Are the waves to high? Is my board too long? Do I not paddle enough?

How are the waves where you surf? Are they hollow? Or are they chubbier?

Sounds like you're entering the wave a bit late, possibly because you're not paddling hard enough. With a longboard you should try to enter the wave before it's breaking, when it's still building up.

Hello,
I have also experienced this and for me it always boiled down to a couple things: 1) I was not paddling enough to fully catch the wave (as the above reply also stated) or 2) I was catching the wave too late/popping up too late so the wave would break as soon as I caught it and throw me forward. This has a lot to do with being in the right spot on the wave and not too far forward on the board. 3) if the waves you surf break quickly like at a beach break, you need to get turned down the line quickly because a 9' board doesn't fit too well pointed perpendicular to a 2-4 ft. wave as it rises up and gets steeper (personal experience here). Hope this helps.

Are you looking down at the nose of the board or your feet? Look down, go down

Thank you so much. Not paddling hard enough might be it.
And I still can’t really go down the line.
That’s probably the second reason. I surf 3ft max. Thanks guys, that helps!

I might be also looking down at the nose. Wow! Never thought about that!