BLACK MAGIC equaliZer®
THE HISTORY AND STORY OF OUR WORLD RENOWNED EQUALIZER®
Birth of a Legend
The Black Magic rod bucket came first, thanks to super-keen fisho and sometimes inventor Lewy McConnell, who had a small shop in Tokoroa called Lewy’s Fishing & Hunting. In between selling items of tackle, Lewy came up with some ideas for a radical stand-up rod bucket. So, also being a capable potter, he made up a miniature version – about the size of his hand – out of clay.
Next, he approached Rick Wakelin, head honcho of Black Magic Tackle, a business very much in its infancy back then, with just the range of Black Magic hooks being distributed from Rick’s home. Fortunately, Rick was quick to see the potential on offer and encouraged Lewy to produce a prototype in Auckland.
Challenge accepted, Lewy worked in collaboration with North Shore’s Butch Bizley to create the first rod bucket from a mix of foam, bog and fibreglass. According to Lewy it was very heavy – a far cry from the product as we know it now.
Initial testing of the bucket took place in the Manukau Harbour, with large bronze whaler sharks proving worthwhile adversaries and Rick discovering the vertical rod slot needed to be narrower in the process.
Bulk production came next, achieved through rotational PVC moulding. It was at this point, as the manager of a popular Auckland fishing shop back then and having followed the bucket’s creation over time with interest, that I got to try one. Although this early version was white and without padding, I could see it was already superior to anything else available at the time.
What I especially liked was the hump on the bucket’s back, which slotted between my legs when I hunkered down, legs apart, in a fish-fighting stance. This clever design prevented the bucket from sliding across my thighs and jamming askew – something that often happened with the other rod gimbals when fighting fish in rough conditions. Better still, the same hump housed the gimbal’s butt pin, enabling it to be set further back than those in competing buckets, providing valuable extra rod leverage.
The vertical rod slot and the webbed belt’s looped drop straps provided other significant points of difference over existing rod buckets. The first helped to position anglers correctly in line with their bent rod, while the second not only kept the bucket nicely placed, they also enabled it to be quickly slipped on and off, as needed, without any fiddly clips involved.
However, this was far from the end. Rick then put the pressure back on Lewy’s creative capabilities by insisting such a ground-breaking rod bucket needed to be accompanied by an equally radical harness. Some intensive brainstorming and discussion amongst themselves and with other keen fishos followed, before they came up with a design where the belt split in two, spreading pressure over the angler’s waist and lower buttocks. Splitting the weight meant the angler could both absorb and exert more pressure than was possible with a conventional harness. The Equalizer® harness system was born!
Early DAys of Fishing
The lack of padding on the first generation gimbal bucket had me wondering just how comfortable it would be during a long, hard fight, but thanks to its contours and smooth plastic surface, comfort was never a problem for me personally. However, I wasn’t catching anything bigger than yellowfin tuna and striped marlin, so was never really tested. Richard Knight was not so lucky.
At the time we were on trolling around Waihau Bay on board the Whakatane-based charter boat Pursuit with well-known skipper Rick Pollock at the wheel. Forewarned that some big blue marlin were being hooked (and mostly lost) in the area, we were all trolling 37kg outfits. This was fortunate, because Dave Milne found himself hanging onto a monster blue that took him to the absolute limit – thanks to the punishing drag pressure set – and then past it, forcing him to hand the outfit over to Richard Knight.
Richard was a big, strapping firefighter, so after battling the huge fish for an hour or so and increasing the drag to sunset, he suggested the drag pressure be increased even further. To do this without damaging the drag system meant two of the crew having to take the line’s strain with gloved hands while the drag was altered. Next, we let the line go as carefully as possible. But no sooner did the strain come on, than there were snapping sounds and ricochets as the harness clips flew to pieces. Fortunately, the outfit remained on board, held by many desperate hands, and luckier still, we had a brand new Black Magic harness on board with ‘upgraded clips’ (so our experience was likely not the first!).
All secured, the line was released again, and this time Richard was nearly somersaulted over the rail by the massive pressure! Saved once more by nearby hands, the drag was eased off slightly and the battle commenced in earnest. I have never seen a 37kg rod bent over like this one, and the compression of Richard’s thighs was so amazing that I took a few photos showing how deeply the bucket was embedded in his flesh.
The fish was finally broken off after several hours. It appeared to have reached the seafloor, died there and then been too heavy to lift, despite everyone’s best efforts. While the outcome was a sad one for all concerned, not least for the marlin, the unique advantages offered by the harness system were being recognised by savvy anglers overseas.
Perhaps the most noteworthy was the introduction of Black Magic harnesses to the giant bluefin fishery in North America, formerly the exclusive preserve of chair outfits and harnesses. The late Dr David Gong was a prime example. Although relatively slightly built, David possessed extraordinary stand-up skills, and upon arming himself with the Equalizer® was able to rack up large numbers of bluefin with apparent ease. These efforts also saw him feature in an unforgettable cover on the now defunct NZ Fisherman magazine.
No doubt it was feats like these that saw the harness system evolve to reach its full potential soon after, the bucket becoming padded and dyed black in keeping with the brand’s name, while the harness material was upgraded to a tougher, tighter weave.
The Equalizer’s® effect on the fishing community’s over the ensuing years has been significant, to put it mildly, with stand-up anglers now able to tackle almost any size fish, even those traditionally thought only catchable from chairs with 60kg tackle.
Just two examples over the years include Alain Jorion’s phenomenal 473.6kg National Record black marlin, taken after 7.5 gruelling hours in Gisborne waters, and an even bigger blue marlin of 561.5kg caught by Stephen Kruepl in just 40 minutes from around Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean.
.jpg)
