# question on fishing harness or belts



## john p (Jun 28, 2004)

i have been shark fishing from the beach for about six months or so now adn i have gotten some bigger reels that require a lot of work to reel in just the wieghts. i am wondering what belts or harness you all use to reel in sharks from the surf. is it possible to get a good belt for under a hundred dollars. i am wondering if this type of harness would be good http://http://www.teamnumark.com/product.asp?ProductID=4602&DepartmentID=319.also i am wondering if this one would work it is a little expensive but i have no clue what is a good belt http://http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jhtml?id=0023835016906a&navAction=jump&navCount=1&indexId=cat20425&podId=0023835&catalogCode=IE&parentId=cat20425&parentType=index&rid=&cmCat=MainCatcat390001&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fcatalog%2Fitem-link.jhtml.2_A&_DAV=http%3A%2F%2Fa1460.g.akamai.net%2Ff%2F1460%2F1339%2F6h%2Fwww.cabelas.com%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcontent%2FPod%2F02%2F38%2F35%2Fp023835ii01.jpg&hasJS=true


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## Captain Spike (May 31, 2004)

I don't know anything about the quality of the Numark harnesses as I've never seen one but don't buy a shoulder harness, go for the kidney belt style.

Spike


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## john p (Jun 28, 2004)

is this the type you are talking aboiut








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## john p (Jun 28, 2004)

or would one like this be ok to get away with


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## Captain Spike (May 31, 2004)

The braid harness and belt(pad) is a good set up and reasonably priced. You can use the belt on its own when retrieving weights or fighting smaller fish and clip on the kidney harness if you want to apply more pressure to a bigger fish than you can with your arms. The other two belts look ok as a starting point so that you can refine your technique.

The reason that I suggest that you don't buy a shoulder harness is that when fighting a big fish with one the pressure tends to pull your shoulders forward and bend you at the waist which is pretty painful on your back and doesn't let you apply real pressure to the fish. With a good belt and kidney harness you can clip in and lean back using your bodyweight to fight the fish.

You have to bear in mind that these harnesses are intended to be used on trolling or boat rods which have short butts and longish fore grips. They'd be awkward to use with a beach casting rod which has a much longer butt to make casting easier.


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## SkipJack (May 24, 2004)

The Team NuMark belts have cheap clips and rings and they tend to rust out over a period of a couple of trips. But, they are easily replaced from the boaters section in Academy or at Boaters World. The Team NuMark belts are good but not as good as braid. The clip on the front of the Team NuMark belt will eventually break on you because of usage or becuase you set the ice chest down on top of it. The braid harnesses have velcro which doesn't break.


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## john p (Jun 28, 2004)

hey skipjack on this site the are a number of different styles of belts which one would you reccomend also i am looking to spend under a 100 dollars if that is possible
http://www.alltackle.com/braid_fighting_belts.htm


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## Captain Spike (May 31, 2004)

In your position John I'd buy the best rod belt that I could afford right now and add a good kidney harness later. I'd buy the Brute Buster or the Power Play belt.

It will give you good service and won't let you down and it can be used for tuna and marlin if you go offshore.

Spike


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## Bigwater (May 21, 2004)

I'm new to this shark fishing from the surf even though mom and dad took me when i was young they didn't know how to rig like these guys here. 
I've been rounding up all my gear recently so I do not speak from rock solid experience but I'm learning. 
When I bought my belt and harness I bought Braid. The hard part was to figure out that they are rated by weight. So the weight of line and rod and reel is what basis the harness and belt you buy. If you are going to fish using a 12/0 with 80 lb. Mono then the 80 - 130 lb. class belt is what you need. If you will only use 50 lb. gear then you can settle for the cheaper 50 lb. rated stuff etc.
If you are going to use a 9/0 or 12/0 then you will want the shoulder harness I believe. It holds the rig up well while your reeling it in and hand level windiong it on.

Bigwater


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## SkipJack (May 24, 2004)

Go with the tuna belt. Its velcro and will last forever bud.


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## JS (May 27, 2004)

http://www.charkbait.com/cs/fighting.htm

Scroll down to the Smitty Spyder Harness. It is a bucket harness with a strap that goes underneath your butt. When combined with an extra wide plate you can strap on the rod and "sit" against the fish, taking all the pressure off your back and transferring it to your legs. The fulcrum point will be a bit different as opposed to stand-up tuna fishing, but if you "sit" at the right angle it really allows you to pressure the fish without killing your back. I believe Melton www.meltontackle.com makes a similar version for a little less money. The Braid harness is nice as well, but for a little extra money the Smitty is more lightweight. Cut Rate has Smitty and Braid in stock, but they charge more. However, if you are in the area just stop by and strap one on. They usually have a 50 class tuna stick lying around that is spooled up. Strap the belt and plate on with the rod and get a friend or one of the emplyees to pull against you. Then, strap a regular belt and harness on and compare the leverage. There is no comparison. In fact, I guess you could demo the belt with a long rod as well. At any rate, once you experience the senation of a bucket harness and extra wide plate you will save your money and make the investment.

JS


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