Body harness for supporting a fishing rod

An improved body harness for firmly supporting the butt end of fishing rod while big game fishing in a standing position. The harness comprises a rigid, unitary body member having a central portion adapted to engage the front of the fisherman's thighs and a pair of curved side portions that project from the opposite sides of the central portion so as to extend around the sides of the fisherman's thighs. The harness includes straps for holding it in position on the fisherman and is formed with a centrally located socket for receiving and holding the butt end of a fishing rod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to fishing equipment, and has particular 
reference to a novel body harness for supporting the butt end of a fishing 
rod. 
In big game fishing in either salt or fresh water, the fisherman 
traditionally fights the fish from a "fighting" chair that is rigidly 
secured to the deck of the fishing boat and which is provided with a 
socket or other means for receiving and holding the butt end of the 
fishing rod. However, not all boats used for fishing are equipped with 
fighting chairs which means that the fisherman will usually fight his fish 
in a standing position, and some fishermen prefer stand-up fishing even 
when fighting chairs are available. 
The problem with stand-up fishing for big game fish is that it is very 
difficult to hold the rod with one hand and work the reel with the other 
without the help of the butt end socket that comes with a fighting chair. 
In an attempt to solve this problem, a rod support has been developed by 
Braid Products, Ltd. of Woodland Hills, Calif. which is a rigid, molded 
member having a socket for the butt end of a rod, the member being adapted 
to engage the fisherman in the thigh area and being held in position by a 
strap or belt that passes around the fisherman's waist. The Braid rod 
support is flat and relatively small and has the disadvantage of being 
able to slip laterally from side to side as the fisherman is fighting his 
fish. The Braid rod support is the closest prior art known to the 
applicant; however, a search in the Patent and Trademark Office did not 
turn up a patent covering same. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides an improved body harness for firmly 
supporting the butt end of a fishing rod while big game fishing in a 
standing position. This body harness comprises a rigid, unitary body 
engaging member having a substantially flat central portion adapted to 
engage the front of the fisherman's thighs and a pair of curved side 
portions that respectively project from the opposite sides of the central 
portion so as to extend around the sides of the fisherman's thighs. The 
curved side portions merge smoothly with the opposite sides of the central 
portion and operate to prevent lateral movement of the body harness when 
in use. The harness includes straps for holding it in position on the 
fisherman and is formed with a centrally located socket for receiving and 
holding the butt end of a fishing rod. The body harness is constructed in 
such a manner that when the fisherman bends at the knees in fighting a 
fish most of the strain is transmitted to powerful leg muscles rather than 
the back.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Reference is now made to the drawings wherein FIG. 1 shows the body 
harness, indicated generally at 10, in use by a fisherman fighting a big 
game fish in a standing position. As shown, the harness has a 
"wrap-around" configuration so that it engages the sides as well as the 
front of the fisherman's thighs. To this end, the harness 10 has a 
substantially flat central portion 12 that overlies the front of the 
fisherman's thighs and a pair of curved side portions 14 that project from 
the opposite sides of the central portion so as to extend around the sides 
of the fisherman's thighs. The harness has a rigid, unitary construction, 
preferably of plastic, and the side portions 14 merge smoothly with the 
central portion 12 as shown in the drawings. 
Formed integrally with the central portion of the body harness is a socket 
16 for receiving and holding the butt end 18 of a rod 20 as shown in FIG. 
1. The socket is provided with a gimbal cross-pin 22 which swivelly 
engages the rod butt end. This pin can be mounted in the socket either 
horizontally as shown in FIG. 2 or vertically as indicated in FIGS. 4-6, 
the pin having a removable wing nut 24 at one end to enable the pin to be 
easily shifted from one position to the other according to the fisherman's 
preference. 
The body harness is held in position on the fisherman by a pair of straps 
26 each of which extends between a slot 28 in the harness and a ring 30 
that forms a part of a flexible kidney harness 32, FIG. 2. The kidney 
harness is a well-known, commercially available item and is not per se a 
part of the present invention. Alternatively, the body harness 10 can be 
held in position by a single belt or strap 34, FIG. 1, which passes 
through the slot 28 on one side of the harness, around the fisherman's 
waist and then to the slot 28 at the other side of the harness. 
The body harness of the invention is provided with an optional resilient 
pad 36, FIG. 3, which conforms to the harness in size and shape as shown. 
This pad is not fixed to the harness but is meant to be used with the 
harness and can be glued to the harness for extra comfort if needed. 
From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the invention 
provides an improved body harness for stand-up big game fishing wherein 
most of the strain is taken by the fisherman's leg muscles rather than his 
back and wherein the harness is held firmly and comfortably in position 
with virtually no lateral movement. As will be understood by those 
familiar with the art, the invention may be embodied in other specific 
forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics 
thereof. 
Although the harness is ideally suited as a stand-up device it can be used 
equally as well when the wearer is seated in a chair without departing 
from the teachings of the present invention.