Fighting Belt Recommendation ?

[bahamag8r]

I have been looking at the Braid models. In particular the Power Play Belt & Harness for stand up battles with Swords. Please share any advice or recommendations. Thanks & Happy Holidays!

[Mike]

Get a seated harness if you care to spend the cash.. I like em for long fights..

Go get em

Mike

[SM]

Baha, I have a Braid Stealth Harness and pad (won it). It's ok, but when I was pulling 31 lbs of drag on a large thresher shark this past spring, the pad was really digging in because it only goes over the inside half of your thighs. The harness portion was fine. The best pad out there is a Smitty which has curves that wrap around your thighs. The pad alone retails for about $220, but if you try it, you will know what I'm talking about as it offers the greatest dispersion of the forces involved. I'm told that Taniguchi also makes a similar pad with curves over the thighs out of aluminum and it's quite good.

[Shortfin]

The best one that i have ever used is the OTR From Meltons with the smitty plate

The best one i could afford was the Black Magic from Capt. Harry's
have owned it for two seasons and have had no problems

I recently got a chance to put the play action offshore standup thru it's paces and for the $$$ it looks like a great value and it is quick on and off

[Threesenough]

I got the full Braid Power Play set up as an early Christmas present. It has the seated harness and the larger thigh pad. Now having used it a couple times I would not leave the dock with out it. I can not believe I waited this long to get a proper stand up harness.

prior to this we had been just using small belts or the rod holder. Now we are actually able to take the fight to the fish. The fight duration has been significantly decreased. The instructions state that if the fish is not taking line then you should be.

As to which one is best. I guess it is the one that fits you. I looked at a bunch of different models and finally decided on the Braid set up. A friend I fish with who has two Blue Fin Tuna world records and has about every stand up harness made told me he prefers the Braid system. Only one persons opinion but it has worked for me.

[bullfighter]

Once again this Web Site pays off. We definitely need to up-grade our harness set-up. (That 215 lb'er put a wooping on us after 5 hours 45 minutes) These responses will get us going in the right direction. There's always something (usually expensive) in that "got to have" catagory.
Drop Um Deep
Lotabull

[Shortfin]

Bull Congrat's on your 200+'R

i guess what i should of said is whatever harness you purchase make sure you put a rod & reel in it and make sure you get the proper fit ,some of these manufacturers make different sizes

we don't like any side to side movement when locked into a good fish

Chris

Still to catch a sword but coming down soon to fix that !!!!

[Mike]

Leave it in the rodholder , 30lbs drag hb

[bahamag8r]

Great advice from all. Much Thanks!

[bullfighter]

As I examine my 6 day old, fighting belt shaped, bruise Im starting to agree with you Mike.

[RiskTaker]

That sounds like a lotta bull; however, it is likely true.

I am still trying to figure out where I got some bruises from too. irat: RT

[Anonymous]

Originally Posted by RiskTaker

That sounds like a lotta bull; however, it is likely true.

I am still trying to figure out where I got some bruises from too. irat: RT

I didn't check out any of Bullfighters bruises, but I watched John tough it out on the rod for 5 hr and 45 mins. We changed the belt once due to the dig in factor. All he kept saying was we need some bent butts and we can fight them out of the rod holders.

[fastgas]

Murray Bros with the drop down plate. Key is to get it adjusted so that
you don't strain your back. Don't try to adjust it after you are hooked
up.

[Mike]

If I am going to take it out of the rod holder, I like the seated harnesses like this one:



I'll be honest.. the last few fish or so, were all fought straight out of the rod holder.. no bent butts either.. Just stay tight and keep the boat angled so the fish is straight off the tip...

Of course some fish leave you know choice but to take the rod out of the holder...HOLD ON

Also good advice to adjust the belt before you get tight...

Mike

[bahamag8r]

Will the seated harness work the same on a rod w/out the bent butt.?

I have straight Star 50-100# rods w/ out bent butts w/ 50 2 speed reels. I have heard you have to be a little more careful not to join the fish in the sea when you have the seated harness (you become like a crane and can tip over? :shock: ). I am primarily looking for back support when fighting the fish out of the rod holder. Good stuff! Thanks

[Shortfin]

Bahama

i have used both bent and straight with the OTR system and it works just fine
a properly fitted seat harness will allow you to take the pressure off you back completely

Here is pic of a grander being fought for two hours on a straight butt 50

I could literally take my hands off the rod and reel and it all stayed balanced.

The way they are designed the pressure goes to your hips and legs

To lift the rod you just bend your knees

I wish that fish hit one of the Ian millers with the 80 duels, but you know how that goes she took the lightest rod in the spread

[Wet Ones]

I've used the old Braid system and was happy with it until I go this new setup.
http://www.blackmagictackle.com/

It would be the best sytem i have used, after spending nearly 2 hours fighting a 250lb+ mako on 30lb I was still cruising along with out a drama in the world. No bruising or pain in the legs the next day.

I've seen a magazine review that compared the smitty, otr, braid and black magic and it was the black magic that in general came out on top. Either the smitty or otr had better reel clips, according to the article.

In australia, the black magic would be the most popular belt-harness combination.

Josh

[SM]

Here's a photo of myself pulling 30 lbs of drag on an estimated 350to 400 lb thresher we released earlier this year. If you look closely, you can see ropes going over the transom. We had a 262 lb thresher tied off on the swim step, it was my buddy's first and he put the screws to it in 20 minutes on the same rod pulling 30 lbs of drag with the lever at sunset:



I bent the gimbal pin on the rod pad during this effort and that was the first time I had used it on a fish. The harness (Braid Stealth) is fine, but as I posted above, I'd opt for the more Smitty Pad to go with it as it offers way more coverage: