With more and more anglers turning to light tackle or even fly gear to pursue billfish, a unique set of problems arises. One of the biggest issues involves anglers who hook up to a much larger fish than they were planning to catch on the light gear. Long stand-up battles, although only using a small amount of drag, can still wear out the arms on even the toughest anglers after several hours. And with a lot of anglers using spinning rods or the new micro conventional reels that don't come with harness lugs, you can't strap on a harness to relieve the strain … or can you?
 
I came up with a way to solve both of these predicaments. All of my spinning rods, especially the ones I use to deep-jig for grouper, now sport a harness ring. I use a Reel Colors hook ring (designed to add a place to attach a safety line to conventional reels that don't come with a ring on the backing plate) to make the harness attachment. First, take the spinning reel off the rod and slide the ring up over the butt until it comes to rest on the front foregrip. If it fits snugly, you're all done. If it doesn't, take a look at the gap you are working with and glue a couple of sections of foam into the ring to make it tighter. 
 
For conventional reels without harness lugs, I use a small backing plate to make the harness attachment. Thread a large zip tie through the predrilled holes in the backing plate, passing it underneath the plate. Now attach two stainless-steel shackles fitted with stainless-steel rings to the same holes in the backing plate. You can now attach the entire unit to your rod's foregrip using the zip tie. When you want to harness up, simply attach your harness clips to the stainless-steel rings on the backing plate and you're in business.

Walker Holcomb
Maitland, Florida