Gamefishing - Game Chairs

 “Great place to get a tan,” cooed the long-legged, expensive-looking blonde as she boarded my boat just in front of her husband, my client for the day.

Can’t say I disagreed with her, nor did I mind the scenery on the run to the grounds, while my crewman delivered the champagne bottle to our fighting chair, where by now my client’s wife was stretched out, working on that tan. (Normally I ask customers to stay out of the chair on the run out while the crew prepare the tackle, but some days it pays to make an exception.)

Fighting chairs are damned near as important to a game-fishing boat chasing big fish as rods and reels are. Sure, plenty of anglers are proficient enough to tackle most fish on a stand-up outfit, but even the best will be dying to sit down after two or three hours with the drag pushed to sunset on a 37kg or 60kg outfit. Believe me, I rate myself as a pretty competent boat driver, but I have been in the position of having anglers crying for mercy numerous times while fighting XOS blue marlin, swordfish and bluefin tuna. A couple of fights have been in excess of eight hours, and without a chair we would never have caught them.

Fighting chair selection

 Fighting chairs are available in New Zealand from numerous manufacturers. A quick Google search will put four of the best on the first page: Chatfield Engineering, Elite, Unique and Cyril’s Game Chairs.

It goes without saying that there are many more quality manufacturers overseas, particularly in the USA, with chairs available through outlets like Murray Bros and Melton Tackle. Probably the most famous fighting chair manufacturer is a company called Pompanette, based in California, but their products are readily accessible through the web.

There are many factors to consider when purchasing a game chair (price is just one of them). To keep it simple, the first two considerations should be the chair rating and the amount of maintenance the chair requires.

The chair’s rating indicates the amount of drag that can be applied to the rod and reel, which translates to twisting force exerted on the chair. Most chairs are rated for tackle up to 37kg, but it is becoming increasingly common to find chairs rated for 60kg tackle. If price is not a consideration, then purchasing the heaviest rated chair available is a no-brainer, as you can be sure that if you do enough fishing, one day you’ll require that extra drag to subdue, or at least get close to, the behemoth that ate your bait.

 The level of maintenance required to keep the chair in top condition is always a consideration of mine. Many quality chairs are finished in timber and varnish. They look great and really set off the cockpit of any game-fishing boat beautifully. However, the varnish work will scratch and quickly deteriorate, courtesy of the sun and general wear and tear. A boat that does a lot of fishing will quickly ruin a varnished chair.

Stainless chairs, such as those from Cyril Jordan that have become iconic in New Zealand, look almost as good and will stand up to a real beating, as can be attested to by Bruce Smith of Striker fame.

Less important considerations would be the number of different adjustments the chair has, the number of rod holders available in the chair’s arms, and the number of additional rod holders available in the chair’s backrest. (See the Pompanette chair pictured for a good example.)

The number of adjustments determines the chair’s set-up versatility and capabilities. Anglers come in different shapes and sizes, and have preferences for different angling styles. A versatile chair should have enough adjustments to meet the needs of all the anglers that use it. In particular, the length of the footrest should be easily adjustable, as should the angle of the footrest. I consider it preferable to have two or three gimbal heights so various rod configurations can be accommodated.

I don’t believe that any fishing cockpit can have too many rod holders. Tease and switch, which I love, requires extra rod holders, particularly if the angler is attempting to select a particular line weight to present to a specific fish. This requires the crew to have multiple outfits prepared and within easy reach. Most chairs have at least two holders located in the arms, but additional rod holders across the chair back, as pictured, are becoming increasingly popular.

Fighting chair installation

So, you have found the perfect chair, at the right price, and it meets all the requirements required. Time to bolt it in the middle of the cockpit and let’s go fishing, right? Not right! Correct chair location is almost a science, requiring plenty of practical experience to get right. Even then, the location is almost certain to be a compromise. Ideally the chair should be located as centrally as possible, enabling good rod clearance over both corners of the vessel, as well as allowing adequate clearance for a crewman to easily pass between the front of the footrest and covering boards without tripping over. In reality, the increasing size of cockpits is making it more difficult to achieve good functionality with your fighting chair, so, as I said, you will almost certainly have to make a compromise. Which areas you compromise on is a matter of personal preference.

I believe it is essential to meet the following factors as closely as possible:

Adequate clearance of the vessel’s corners. Any skipper who has spent enough time catching really big fish will be aware how easy it is to catch the line on the corners of the vessel when that fish is trying to sit right under the transom following the boat. Good skippers generally try to keep some angle on the line, but this is easier said than done when playing a fast-moving bluefin tuna or blue marlin. At some stage you will be caught out, risking line damage on the corner of the boat as the fish shoots under the vessel. Adequate clearance allows the skipper time to manoeuvre the vessel out of harm’s way.

Adequate clearance between the footrest and the covering boards. Hot fish on the leader are a handful at times. Giving the crewmen plenty of room to move on the leader without tripping over the footrest is both practical and safe. Seems obvious, but it is a surprisingly common oversight when locating a chair. Often it’s impossible to provide optimum clearance, but make sure it is at least a consideration.
As I said, a large cockpit means compromises are usually necessary. Some skippers, like Bruce Smith, have put their chairs in the cockpit offset to one side. This gives Bruce at least one highly functional side of the vessel to concentrate on. Personally I would struggle, but it obviously works for Bruce, so who am I to argue?

Many chairs are now available with an angled pedestal (again, see the picture of the Pompanette chair). I have never used one, but it looks like a good option to get around some compromises you may have to make.

So the chair is located – now get an engineer over to the boat before bolting it down. An engineer is qualified to give careful consideration to the amount of punishment a heavy-tackle chair will inflict on your cockpit floor when a large angler is locked into a heavy fish using maximum drag! The last thing you want to see is the chair ripping out of the floor because you were in a hurry to go fishing. I have seen this happen, and it’s messy.

Chair set-up, harness types and angling techniques

On my boat I have a preferred technique that I like to guide anglers towards. However, I will normally accept one of two techniques if the angler really struggles with the first. The first step in establishing which technique we can use is to measure the angler up in the chair and get some idea of where our starting point is.

Because my preferred technique uses straight legs and a bucket harness, I like to have the footrest set to a lower angle than is traditional. With the angler in the chair, the first thing to do is set the footrest length to a point that allows the inside of the angler’s knees to be around 15cm clear of the chair seat.

With the footstool correctly positioned, adjust the harness lines to a point where the rod is sitting at about 90°, with the angler’s backside flat on the chair. This is the initial position, regardless of the harness type or angling technique used.

My two preferred angling techniques could be described as follows:

1. The straight-legged technique

The angler, as per the technique’s name, keeps his or her legs more or less straight at all times, and uses the weight of the fish against the drag to pull them up out of the chair.

To assist this movement, the angler leans forward slightly to initiate the upward stroke. (In theory, the angler should be able to hold this position for hours if necessary.) The angler then leans back to put pressure on the rod and slowly returns to the sitting position. This excellent heavy-tackle technique allows any angler, regardless of their physical size, to put relentless pressure on fish for very long periods.

It can be difficult to get a long-time angler to adjust to this technique, as it is a little counterintuitive, but they will find it worth learning when the giant of their dreams jumps on.

2. The bent-leg technique

The obvious difference is that the angler bends his legs in order to initiate the forward motion. This technique is much like a sliding rowing seat and is extremely easy to learn and quite effective. The downside is that during a prolonged fight, many anglers cramp up, finding it difficult to continue. It also seems to create more areas of chafing than the straight-leg technique.

In the modern age, only two types of harnesses are commonly used with a chair. The most common harness is the waist or kidney harness, which goes around the back of the angler and is clipped to the reel in the usual manner.

The second type of harness, which I prefer for heavy tackle, is the ‘bucket seat’. The angler’s backside sits firmly in this harness, which is attached to the reel as a normal. The bucket-seat harness is very well suited to the straight-legged technique.

Both techniques and harness types require the angler to rest the free hand on top of the spool at all times. This prevents damage to the angler’s face should the line break, helps them to guide the line on the spool correctly, and, most importantly, prevents the angler from trying to use their arms to lift the rod. Lifting the rod with your arm is a horrible practice that inevitably results in serious cramping on good fish.

To my mind, landing fish of any real consequence is a team sport between the angler, the boat driver and the crew. The primary role the angler plays is to put constant, unrelenting pressure on the fish’s head. The primary role of the driver is to change the angle of the line to put upward pressure on the fish. Once the fish is at the surface, the boat should be manoeuvred quickly to intersect the fish while the angler maintains good pressure and evenly spools line onto the reel. The crewmen get involved at this point, which will make an excellent topic for an article in the future.

In summary, I believe the correct rod angle for heavy tackle fishing is between a near-horizontal position and no higher than 90°. This should allow maximum sustained pressure on the fish’s head, which is what we’re trying to achieve when trying to boat or release a healthy fish in the shortest time appropriate.

As always, good luck out there and keep your eyes open.

	This article is reproduced with permission of New Zealand Fishing News 2011 - by Jeff Strang Photos by - Sam Mossman & Jeff Strang Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited