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Looking for the Best Fish style surfboards?
Fish surfboards have been part of surfing culture for around fifty years, but their popularity has recently surged, attracting both newcomers and experienced surfers.
If you’re just getting started with fish surfboards, you may be wondering how to select the right board to match your skill level, riding style, and the type of waves you want to surf.
There are many shapes to choose from, such as the retro fish and the hybrid fish. Then you've got to decide between quad or the more classical style of twin fin set-up.
Oh, and do you want a soft or hard top? The decision is yours.
Here are some of our favorite fish style boards.
What Makes This Board Stand Out:
“Hands down the best soft surfboards ever!” – Jamie O’Brien
The Skipper Quad X Jamie O’Brien Pro is a soft-top surfboard built to make catching waves easier and paddling out less tiring. Its buoyant, user-friendly design adapts well to a variety of wave conditions, making it ideal for surfers of all levels.
The latest Skipper Quad Fin model features Catch Surf’s innovative fin system, providing extra drive and speed right when you need it, so every turn and carve feels effortless.
Durable, forgiving, and endlessly fun, this board lets anyone shred waves confidently, even without professional skills. With the Skipper Quad X, every surf session is a chance to ride with excitement and style!
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What Makes This Board Stand Out:
Paragon offers retro-inspired fish surfboards in three sizes, from 5′10″ to 6′5″, making them suitable for both adult and teen surfers.
These boards feature a shallow swallowtail and a subtly rounded outline, giving them a hybrid feel rather than a traditional fish shape. The design leans toward shortboard-like performance, combining maneuverability with speed for a versatile ride.
Built with either a PU or epoxy core and fully glassed, the boards come standard with twin Futures fins. Unlike soft-top boards, these are designed for experienced surfers willing to handle the occasional wipeout.
The slightly pulled-in tail paired with the hybrid outline offers a perfect balance of shortboard control and classic fish glide, making these boards ideal for surfers looking to elevate their fish-style rides with improved performance.
For seasoned paddlers seeking a reliable, high-performance day-to-day board that delivers both speed and precision, a Paragon retro fish is an excellent choice.
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What Makes This Board Stand Out:
This Catch Surf board is a versatile choice for surfers of all ages and skill levels. Its slightly chunky build makes it one of the standout boards in the quad-fin soft-top category, delivering stability and adaptability across a variety of wave conditions.
The board’s retro-inspired design, featuring a wide tail, full nose, and low rocker, is paired with quad fins, offering enhanced control and responsiveness despite the unconventional fin setup.
Constructed with a dual composite core including an HDPE base and twin stringers, the board is both durable and rigid, giving it a satisfying feel on the water. Unlike some softer boards that flex excessively, this one maintains excellent stiffness, which is especially beneficial for heavier riders.
Its thoughtful tail and rail design allows it to excel even in smaller surf, outperforming slimmer hybrid boards that may struggle in similar conditions. Overall, this Catch Surf board is a fun, dependable option for surfers seeking stability, control, and classic style in a soft-top package.
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#4. Formula Fun Fish
What Makes This Board Stand Out:
This USA-made fish board is crafted entirely from 100% recycled materials, making it an eco-conscious choice without sacrificing performance. Built as a single copolymer unit, it features a textured EVA deck and molded stringers for extra strength and rigidity. While it lacks a fiberglass bottom, it still glides smoothly, picks up speed easily, and handles a variety of wave conditions.
The Formula Fun comes with Futures twin fins, offering reliable control and responsiveness. Although the twin setup limits fin experimentation compared to a quad, the board’s quality construction and durable materials more than compensate.
Even with minor dings or scratches, this board remains sturdy and rideable, allowing you to keep enjoying surf sessions without worry. Compact yet robust, it can comfortably support riders up to around 200 lbs. Taller surfers, particularly those over 6 feet, may want to explore a longer board for added stability.
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What Makes This Board Stand Out:
The South Bay Board Company calls this their favorite hybrid surfboard design, and it’s easy to see why. Opting for one of the larger sizes adds extra volume, which slightly reduces responsiveness compared to lighter fish boards, but this makes it perfect for beginners. The board strikes a balance between stability and maneuverability, giving new surfers the confidence to progress while remaining easy to handle.
Build quality is exceptional. Its EPS core, reinforced I-Beam stringer, and heat-release valve make the board durable and low-maintenance, even if left in a hot car. The textured deck eliminates the need for waxing, while the glassed bottom is enhanced with stylish wood veneer options for a polished, high-end look.
The board comes with a quad-fin setup, which provides excellent control and performance. Riders can easily swap to a twin-fin configuration if desired, though the board is clearly optimized to shine with all four fins installed.
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What Makes This Board Stand Out:
This board offers a volume comparable to the Wave Bandit Retro Fish, but much of it is distributed through the rails. This design provides extra stability, though it can make fully engaging the rails a bit trickier. For most riders, this isn’t a major issue, fish boards are rarely pushed hard on the rails.
Built with an EPS core and three marine-ply stringers, the board isn’t the lightest at 9.2 lbs, but it’s exceptionally strong and durable. The soft-top construction is enhanced with a 5mm barrier layer, providing extra protection against dings and impacts. Even if the surface gets dented or scratched, the core remains secure. The HDPE-coated base further improves durability while offering a smooth, reliable glide through the water.
Equipped with bolt-through fin boxes and a complete set of fins, this board can be rigged in either a twin or quad-fin setup. While both work well, the quad configuration typically delivers better stability and performance, especially for taller or heavier riders.
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Should You Choose a Fish Surfboard?
Fish surfboards make it easy to catch waves and are great for generating speed even when the waves are small. They're loose into turns, and allow surfers to slide out the fins, drawing a very different line to what you would achieve if you were using a bigger surfboard with a more normal shape.
However, the fish shape doesn't typically work so well if the waves are bigger. The shape that is an asset in weaker surf becomes the enemy when the waves are bigger and mean the board tends to skip or slide as the surf becomes steep. Many avid surfers carry multiple boards.
A narrow, more performance-focused board, and tri or quad fin set for days when a bigger board is needed, and a fish for the flatter days.
If you're a beginner or someone who tends to see only smaller waves, a hybrid or a fish design could help you get out there on those days when people with big boards wouldn't even waste the energy to paddle out. In the right conditions, fish can be a lot of fun.
If you're a newer surfer, look for something like the SBBC Mahi 6 footer if you're an adult or a taller than average teen, or something smaller like the Wave Bandit for a teen or a child.
If you're an experienced surfer, Paragon has a lot to offer in terms of performance and flexibility, making it a strong pick in this category, although it's a little bit less beginner-friendly.
Bruce Paulson is the owner of PaddleboardSurf and an avid water sports enthusiast with a lifelong passion for all things aquatic. From stand-up paddleboarding and surfing to boating, kayaking, and canoeing, he thrives on the joy of being on the water. As an advocate for water conservation and environmental stewardship, Bruce shares his adventures and insights through his writing, inspiring others to embrace the beauty and excitement of life on the water.