Sit and Fight your MONSTER SHARKS from the beach

william · 2011-07-19T11:54:18Z

This subject has been debated many times and there are many different opinions and I respect them all but my take based on fighting massive hammerhead sharks is a little different from most.From my personal expierience fighting the really big sharks sitting on the sand is the easiest way to subdue a shark while using the least amount of energy. For catching most medium to large sharks the stand-up style will work just fine since the fight is usually over within 45 minutes and the equipment will not have to be pushed to the extreme however the giant hammers and such require that the angler save himself as much as possible.At almost 50 years old for me the bottom line is conserving my energy throughout the fight with a big shark that can take hours to subdue. If you study the evolution of sport fishing the way I have you can see how the equipment we use today came to be.Better equipment and techniques have made things easier for anglers over the last 80 years.Reels have greatly improved ,lines to fish have improved,rods and there guides have improved.The tuna tower was invented by fisherman targeting giant bluefin tuna as they swam over the flats of Bimini and Cat cay(Bahamas) .The first tuna towers were ladders tied off the roof of boats to get a high vantage point from which to spot the giant tuna as they swam across the flats usually in May of every year. The point is this the why try and improve on what has already been developed and proven.Case in point 'the fighting chair'.If i could lug a fighting chair with wheels to the beach every time I fish for sharks i would because there is no easier way to fight a large fish exerting lots of pressure on me.The longest fights ever recorded in fishing history(up to 36 hours) were made made possible by fighting chair---NO ONE ALIVE COULD DO THAT WHILE STANDING UP-even with the best bucket,kidney ,or shoulder harness. The human legs have the largest muscles on the body and they take lots of oxygen to operate so why get them involved when fighting a VERY LARGE shark and wear yourself out ? You can fight a good sized shark while standing using a gimbal belt and harness combination -just about anyone can catch a big shark using that technique if the fight is fairly short- it's a piece of cake; however if it's a long battle you are asking to get beat up,,,,,if it's a monster hammer YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER FROM BEING DRAGGED IN AND DROWNED.The amount pressure exerted on the body and the pulling power of a giant hammer has to be felt to be understood-THESE FISH HAVE TEN TIMES THE STRENGTH OF THE STRONGEST MAN ALIVE,so don't think you can dance standing up while fighting one.Using 200 lb test or more very few teams have actually caught monster hammers while standing up,many more have had close calls with anglers knocked down and dragged towards to beach.In either case catching these PRIZED MONSTER HAMMERS is never an easy task --if it was everyone would be doing it and only two anglers have done it this year 12 foot 10 inches (Boca Grande during the BHC)and 12 foot 6 inches (Venice Pier.) NO ONE HAS HIT 13 FEET OR BEYOND (as of yet)IN 2011.Some will say you can hold on to your buddy's handles at the back of the harness but why should it require two people to fight one shark?Your buddy can better assist you by shining a spotlight,getting the tail rope,putting on gloves,bringing you water etc,etc,etc.I believe the in order to conserve much needed energy a very large shark can better be subdued while sitting in the sand.When you stick that rod butt in the sand and use a shoulder harness you are using the best of what has already been invented "THE FIGHTING CHAIR". At this point in the evolution of our sport (in my opinion) the best way to fight very large sharks from a beach is to use the sitting down method using a rod (6 to 8 ft tops) with some backbone but not stiff with a longer then normal rod butt.Remember the job of the rod is to act like a spring to exert pressure and help get the shark in a very stiff rod that does not bend will hurt the angler.The long rods on the beach can work against the angler also .When a monster hammer is hooked a heavy 10 foot rod exerts too much pressure on the angler at a higher point whereas a shorter rod with a good solid bend exerts the pressure at a lower more manageable point.When you lock down the drag on a Giant Hammer and a 10 foot rod you cannot lift that rod to bend it unless you are extremely strong.The pressure exerted as the Giant Hammer runs and at the speed they achieve makes it virtually impossible to LOCK DOWN and BEND and HOLD ON to a rod for a long time unless the rod is SHORTER and the gear is LIGHTER. SUPERMAN is for the movies he's not on the beach. The only drawback is that after a short while the reel is almost on your lap and you have to reinsert the butt in a new hole.in either case you have to move the butt into a new hole after every 10 minutes or so because you dig a deep hole with the back and forth m...

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rippinlipsoff

(@rippinlipsoff)

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That fighting chair thing is A great "IDEA"!!!!!!!!!!!!!

c'mon you should make one bob the builder!!

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Posted : 10/11/2011 9:31 am

John Hebisen

(@john-hebisen)

New Member Registered

I must say that was a good read thanks will.

And one day I hope to have to sit down and feel the power.

I agree 100% sitting down saves so much needed energy, especially when using a big senator reel, 80w, or whatever you use. And as mentioned above, after a while your rod butt is dug so deep into the sand, you can take your hands off your rig as the fish pulls heavy drag and give your left arm a rest.

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Posted : 10/12/2011 7:57 pm

stevensj407

(@stevensj407)

New Member Registered

me and my old shark fishing buddies used to dig out a fighting chair in the sand lol dig out places for your feet and ass then strap on the harness and belt sit down and rock back and forth shit worked great till my boy locked down on his 16/0 and got pulled out it and almost faceplanted lol besides that best idea ever

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Posted : 10/20/2011 10:52 pm

islandboyalec

(@islandboyalec)

New Member Registered

Back in day I used clench the rod between my cheeks when my arms started to tire.. Works like a charm

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Posted : 12/16/2011 6:08 pm

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