Paddleboard angling has the potential to take the UK by storm, with millions of could-be anglers waiting in the wings
Over recent years, angling participation in the UK has dwindled, but one sport that’s thriving and has the potential to bring a new wave of people into our ranks is paddleboarding. The highly accessible hobby has exploded in popularity since lockdown. In fact, more people in the UK now own a paddleboard than a rod licence, with figures from 2023 stating that over 1.6 million people in the UK have one – not far off double the 900,000 that bought a rod licence in 2022.
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Additionally, over three million adults took part in the activity in 2022 – a figure that vastly outnumbers those that gave fishing a go. Crucially, a large number of those adults getting into paddleboarding are young, which is a demographic that angling is missing out on. These ‘Millennials’ and members of ‘Generation Z’ are responsible for a boom in activities such as hiking and climbing. Living a healthy and
active lifestyle is a high priority for them, and by combining the typically sedentary hobby of fishing
with the active nature of paddleboarding , our sport suddenly becomes a whole lot more appealing to these healthy-minded individuals.
Andy Loble is a qualified coach in both angling and paddleboarding, and he’s launching a new branch of his outdoor sports business offering tuition that combine the two. When asked if he thought it’d be popular with non-anglers, he was adamant in his reply.
“Absolutely! I’ve already had interest in paddleboard fishing from non-anglers I coach,” he revealed.
“People like the idea of trying something new, and fishing from a board adds a new dimension to their hobby.”
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Andy is based in North Yorkshire and coaches paddleboarding at Pool Bridge Farm, near York. It was once a popular fishery, but after removing the fish from one of their lakes and opening it to wild swimmers and paddleboarders, their owner found business so good that all their lakes have now followed
suit and closed to anglers.
“They’re doing incredibly well – much better than when they were just a fishery – but I believe there’s scope to combine the two hobbies, with interest not just from paddleboarders, but also from existing anglers,” Andy said.
As something of an ‘extreme angler’, Andy has fished from a paddleboard for years, across a wide range of venues.
“I’ve had big fish from a board both from the seaand freshwater,” he explained.
“To anglers, the boards offer multiple advantages. They have no engines, so are super stealthy and the fish aren’t really bothered by them. That makes them immense fish spotting tools! I’ve used them in France on rivers and have drifted over big carp and huge shoals of barbel, neither of which bolted off as they would if I’d motored over them in a boat.”
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Fishing from a paddleboard also allows virtually unrivalled angling flexibility.
“If you’re trotting, for example, and want a certain angle to run a float down, you can easily adjust the board to suit – something you can’t do with a riverbank!” he said.
“In addition, theyallow you to access bits of water that are rarely fished, perhaps where the banks are wild and overgrown. They open-up a whole world of opportunity.”
While fishing from a paddleboard is admittedly more physically demanding than sitting on the bank, it’s perhaps not as tough as many might imagine.
“Once I’ve located some fish, I’ll drop mud weights and anchor-up,” Andy explained.
“From there, I can sit down and relax. In fact, you don’t have to stand up to paddle at all – it can be done from a kneeling position. Some boards even have seats you can attach, which makes everything more leisurely.”
While you may be limited in the amount of tackle you can take along, if you think of it as roving, but from the water, you soon realise how little is required anyway.
“I think it’s great fun and an area that has really big potential for growth in the UK,” Andy added.
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Stay safe when paddle boarding!
**ALWAYS WEAR A BUOYANCY AID
**These are life-savers. No matter how strong a swimmer you are, wear one!
**BOOK A LESSON
**This will improve your confidence and teach you the correct safety procedures.
**TELL SOMEONE WHERE YOU’RE GOING
**Also, let them know what time you’ll be back. Take a mobile phone too.
**CHECK THE WEATHER
**If you’re on a river, make sure to check the local river levels as well.
**KNOW YOUR LIMITS
**Start off somewhere you don’t have strong currents or tides to deal with.
To paddleboard on many of the UK’s rivers, a licence is required. To find out the rules on your local waterway and to purchase a permit, visit www.paddleuk.org.uk
In addition, it’s vital that you have permission to fish from whoever controls the fishing rights, just as you would do if fishing from the bank. A rod licence is also still required.