Surfing Waves

Hey guys, let's get this out of the way....I AM A SPONGER! I always will be. If you hate spongers im sorry, i dont snake and i dont drop if you got priority. Your surfboard hurts a lot more then my foam.

Anyway, I kinda want to start to surf mixed in with bodyboarding. Im pretty sure i want a fish thats similar to a shortboard, because my waves are pretty small a lot of the time (East Coast US) and since bb is my primary sport I dont want to spend a whole whole lot of money, but i want a pretty quality board too. Just something to have fun on, that i could carve well with. Im new to surfing, but im not new to wave mechanics so can anybody give me any help?

Im ready for you guys to start bashing me cause i sponge now

btw 5'7 155 or so so i was thinking somewhere around 6'0 6'2 in length?

Some others are probly gonna say start on a minimal but honestly if you go with a retro fish about that length youll probly do alright. Just be prepared and dont give up if youre doing horrible at first lol.

aside from wave knowledge and a few other things bodyboarding doesnt help that much this is what i found out the pro / cons were.

Pro - didnt have to learn the ocean, safety, etiquette, wave knowledge, paddling, etc etc...
Pro - duckdiving came naturally.
Pro - was already physically fit for surfing.

Con - too much bravado, was used to surfing in 10ft+ waves on a sponge but found it a whole new ball game on a surfboard.
Con - was used to taking off really late. This was actually a big problem for me on a surfboard as to begin with your pop up aint gonna be up to scratch.
Con - Dropknee. This was an issue cause you are used to going to one knee wheras in surfing you go straight to feet. So that was a trickey habbit to break.

Those are the things i can think of off the top of my head. My advice is to orientate yourself with the surfboard in the whitewater for a day or two or even a few weeks depending on your natural balance its different for everyone. When you got the pop-up more or less taped then paddle out to what you will be more used to ala green waves. Whatever board you go for you should do fine with a little bit of determination. A mal say 7ft would be a much easier transition though.

I was like you said i would never give up bodyboarding etc etc... well.... since surfing i have maybe bodyboarded a hanfull of times in the last 3/4 or so years just for nostalgia otherwise surfing is waaay more fun to me that is (then again i always viewed body boarding as a stepping stone it does provide excellent grounding for surfing)

I have plenty of respect for spongers, I started on a sponge. You're the right size for a short board but I am of the school of thought that one learning to surf should start big and work down to smaller boards. Making the drop on a short board is late like a BB, but standing is aweful hard when the wave is that steep. A longer board that floats you better will prepare you for a quick pop up and bottom turn. I am now an East Coast surfer too. I know how that shore break can be so if you are going to go with a fish, I would go with a big thick one.

P.S. After you start surfing I don't see how you can go back to sponging.