Shooting Fish In A Barrel ft Colapintos, Crane, Brother, Mason + More - Stab Mag
438 Views

Shooting Fish In A Barrel ft Colapintos, Crane, Brother, Mason + More

The best and last serving of 5’5″  X  19 1/4…Century.

cinema // Sep 3, 2023
Words by Ethan Davis
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Can’t be running Dolphins by Fred Neil over a OTW/Rocky Point section three years after ‘Rock’.

You overlooking my boy Wade Carroll? (Sorry Matt)…  

Other than that, this is excellence and features a rudely talented cast: the Cola Bros, Crano, Mason (pre-injury) and Kolohe on fishes in hollow, overhead waves – a compelling advert for the RNF… sans any marketing buzzword soup. 

Glad Biolos revived this iconic, minimal fat property. On that, this is the final serving of 5’5″  X  19 1/4…Century… the six part series from the House of Mayhem so eat up.

‘No Oliver Twist, you may not have some more’. 

Some of this slow motion allows those subtle adjustments that separate 2% from the rest to be appreciated.

Big ups to Brother’s roundie at 9:45.

Words from Matt below:

“There was very little talk of fish, in the surfing world. It was the fall of 1994 and there was this little blip of Tom Curren, surfing in New York, on a knee board. Oh! Tom Curren riding a fish! It was a little spark. No one (on the surface…at least) was really making them (fish) at the time.

Chris (Ward) was…I don’t know, 14 or 15? He was a little Curren disciple. Chris calls and says: “Make me a fish! Like Tom Curren!” And I didn’t really know…what the fuck, what’s a fish supposed to look like? So I went to BC (Surfshop, in San Clemente) and just stood there, looking at the old board collection, up on the ceiling.

You got to remember, I was young, like 24…25 years old. Ok, there’s an outline. That’s a fish. A swallow tail, twin fin. I just stared up at the walls and then came in here (shaping room) and cranked out a fish. A little twin Fin about 5’5″ x 19 1/4. I randomly made the nose and the tail the same width. Both nose and tail about 14″ wide. I just didn’t have much to go off of and just went for it.

Chris flew to Hawaii, and started ripping on it. This little board with glassed on twin fins. We started making more. Cory Lopez, more for Chris, then Andy Irons. We were all riding them. But they rode them a lot and they rode them well. Cameras are rolling. A second season in Hawaii, a couple trips.

Before long we ended up with all this footage. Drew Todd said, “Let’s make a movie about them. Just fish boards”. So we did. 5’5″ X 19 1/4″ It caught like wild fire. Within a couple of years, If you were building boards, you had to have some sort of a fish in your line. Just this one humble board, made by a shitty shaper, and two stoney kids. I think they work in damn near anything.

More than 25 years later, an entirely new crew, along with a couple of OG’s, have combined to make a solid case of just that….except maybe not Sunset Beach. 5’5″ X 19 1/4”… Century an all new, sprawling, 6 episode series, chronicling the past couple years of modern day, free surfing, on primarily that same humble fish. …by that same shitty shaper.”             

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

The Top 5 Aerialists Of All Time, According To Chippa Wilson | StabMic Episode 07

"The sections he hits are beyond gnarly."

Mar 27, 2026

“People Were Fucking Swimming Out Of Their Homes In The Middle Of The Night”

A North Shore flood report from Nathan Fletcher and lifeguard Kyle Foyle.

Mar 26, 2026

Stab’s 2026 Rookie Class Review Featuring Owen Wright, Doug Silva, And CJ Hobgood

Crisp insights from a 4x CT winner, a supercoach, and a World Champ.

Mar 25, 2026

Could Paul Naudé Buy Rip Curl At A $200 Million Discount?

Corporate lobotomy at Kathmandu.

Mar 25, 2026

Watch: The Kelly Files Vol. 1

Unredacted interviews from Stab in the Dark X + Kelly's boards up for grabs.

Mar 25, 2026

Breaking: Gabriel Medina Has A New Coach For 2026

He's a fellow Brazilian world champ, heat tactician, and dare we say the perfect man…

Mar 25, 2026

Teaching People How To Surf Is Now A Legitimate Career Path

Enter the land of private jets and A-list cliques.

Mar 24, 2026

Robbo’s Back On Track(tors), Medina’s Ménage À Trois, Rip Curl Drops Wright, Tenōre In Turmoil 

Some days you’re the dog, some days you’re the hydrant.

Mar 22, 2026

A 15-Year-Old Snowboard Phenom + A 3-Minute Tube Hunter Walk Into StabMic

“If I didn’t have a GoPro, no one would believe me,” says Koa Smith.

Mar 21, 2026

Stab Interview: Israel’s First CT Surfer

Anat Lelior on military service, online hate, and her unique path to professional surfing.

Mar 19, 2026

Watch: Episode Two Of ‘VELA’ Featuring John John Florence

This time with Nate, Ivan, and another untouched reef pass.

Mar 19, 2026

So, What Do CT Surfers Think About Manu Bay?

A scene report from the Tasman Sea with Jack Robinson, Connor O’Leary, Luke Cederman, and…

Mar 18, 2026

What’s It Actually Like Surfing Mundaka?

A day in the life of a non-local goofy.

Mar 17, 2026

How To: Quit Professional Surfing

At what point do you walk away from the endless QS > CS > CT…

Mar 17, 2026

Why Did 50 Men Just March Into The Sahara With Surfboards And Moroccan Flags?

The story of a decades-old feud and the desert wave it exposed.

Mar 15, 2026

Meet The 2026 Qualifying Class

The CS is done; the CT begins in two weeks.

Mar 15, 2026

SEOTY: Imaikalani deVault Stars In ‘Little Bits’

"He pretty much got to the CT on talent alone.”

Mar 13, 2026

JJF + Dane Reynolds Recall The Best Session Of Their Lives

"It felt like you could do anything you wanted.”

Mar 13, 2026
Advertisement