Is it ok to ride a bigger fish then recommended for my size?

[Minhota]

Hi,
I am a beginner/intermediate and just swapped to a fish. I am 162cm tall and 55kg and tried a 6'6 fish. I managed to catch and ride the wave and it was fun to ride, but the board did feel wobbly which.was delaying my pop up at times. I feel that a 6'10 would be ideal for me at this stage but could it be too big?

Thanks everyone

[waikikikichan]

What board was your "go-to" board before getting the 6'6" fish ? What length, type and fin setup ?

[jessemanshon]

I'd give it a few more sessions. When you go to a smaller board, you'll adapt in 2-5 sessions. If you feel like you're still not comfortable after that, go bigger.

[jaffa1949]

There are no hard and fast rules about what board size you should ride in learning longer is often better, however at some stage what you want to ride is the choice you make and it takes a little time to adjust , just like any new board

[IB_Surfer]

Have to chime in on one of my favorite topics:

For a surfer my size, 4" shorter than my shortboard I should be riding a 5'7" fish. It should have about the same float and glide but it should help with smaller waves as it planes easier, and you retain almost as much performance as your shortboard.

For a beginner, and I might get some pushback, I think a big fish is really cool to learn on, but I am in the minority on this since most people say it is not the intended purpose.

So, you want to try a 6"10 fish? Go for it, just remember that as you get better it will become obsolete, you will want one a smaller size.

Lastly (and people don't like this advice): If you want to go down from a longboard to a shortboard you have to have transitions in between. Try a California gun, or just a big step up, before you try the small potato chip. That way when you get the shortie you can keep the gun or step up for them big swell days.

Food for thought