Too Fish by Rob Machado
Firewire Too Fish Surfboard by Rob Machado
An evolution of Rob’s popular “Go Fish” model from 2017, updated with lessons he learned from the Seaside, this all new Too Fish model is built in Firewire Surfboards Helium Technology for light and lively response underfoot with significant durability improvements above other surfboard building methods given the use of aerospace deck skins on the top and bottom of the board, as well as a rail comprised of paulownia and balsa wood for controlled flex and rebound in turns. Rob says that the Too Fish is ” My favorite in small and weak waves because of how thick and floaty it is in the forward two thirds of the board, but this shape is also thinned out aggressively in the tail to enable hold in powerful waves. I’ve ridden the Too Fish in everything from overhead waves on the North Shore to perfect days on the reef at home, and also the weakest most disorganized junk surf at the beach break in front of my house. This is my favorite board for all conditions.”
The resurrection of the original GO FISH but with a new bottom designed for speed and function. I have removed the channel from the bottom and created a smoother flow of water throughout the tail while still encompassing the original design with some vee off the tips of the tail.
Performance advantages
- It is extremely fast and is very trustworthy in steep surf. It likes the pocket a lot more and has much more bite in it than a Seaside. Works great at your true shortboard liters, largely due the wider tail. It also paddles a little better than the Seaside.
- In sizing up (2-4L above your normal), it may be the best board in our offering. The sweet spot is bigger and less critical, you can surf forward on it easily, it generates great speed down the line, but with great control and the rail still engages well. It was found to be more trustworthy in steeper sections that the Seaside and is an ideal board (rivaling/ even beating out the Sweet Potato, SUN and SAB) for a board with glide that has more performance.
In comparison to
- Go Fish – It’s a lot quicker in the pocket compared to the Go Fish. Doesn’t hold a rail quite as well as the Go Fish, but definitely much more maneuverable in the pocket.
- Seaside- Rides VERY different to the Seaside. The rails bury into the water further and allow a tighter turn. Its also easier to change direction back to the open face after a little down carve or cut back. The Too Fish pivots more like a shortboard. The seaside pivots more like an 80’s shortboard. A little more above the water and you need to wash the speed a bit for it to roll to the rail. Especially in the pocket.
Tips
- The sweet spot is very small (more so on smaller sizes) and you need to be as far back as possible over the fins or else it won’t perform to its maximum abilities. If you’re too far forward it will still be fast and skatey, but it’ll just wash out or not come around when trying to put it on rail. That being said, if you’re in the sweet spot, it holds unreal.
- A beginner to intermediate surfer could probably buy it a bit bigger to make the sweet spot a little bigger.
Accessorizing
- The RM Keels are ideal for the board and work well in all sizes. In the Too Fish, they have a ton of drive, but you can still get it to go straight up and down really easily.
- The Kelly Twin+2 also works well and didn’t slide out at all on the smaller sized boards. A 5’0-5’4 Too Fish surfer might want an upright fin. This board will crack the lip and they may like that set up.
- Make sure to get the pad back far enough to accommodate that sweet spot of having your feet far back over the fins. Go Pad is perfect with some small adjustments.
