FISHING ROD HOLDER APPARATUS AND METHOD
A method of retaining a fishing rod in retention to have a J-hook member rotate about a slotted region so when the fishing rod is in a stored location it is substantially retained therein and the fisherman with ease can remove the rod from a stored location to a removed position.
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/989,189 filed Nov. 15, 2004, and claims priority benefit of U.S. Ser. No. 60/568,953 filed May 7, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONFishing rod holders are adapted in general to be mounted to water vessels or stationary platforms such as docks or the like. A fishing rod holder should have the function of positioning a fishing rod in a substantially secure orientation that is adapted to handle the loads of a fish that hooks to the bait of the fishing line attached to the rod in a well-known and conventional manner. Further, the fishing rod should be reasonably accessible, in that if the bait of the fishing pole is taken by fish, oftentimes the fisherman will want to grab the rod and remove it from its stored location to a removed position of the fishing pole where the fisherman is actively and dynamically reeling in his catch.
It is generally desirable to rest a fishing pole in a stored location that is reasonably secure, where the fisherman has confidence that a bite on the line from a fish will not pull their whole fishing rod assembly overboard; this can account for a costly loss of equipment as well as a ruined outing. Further, the fish must endure its final days of living with a hook at its mouth that is attached to a relatively large mass that partially mobilizes and perhaps causes a painful death to the fish. It is generally desirable to have a fishing rod in a stored location when the fisherman is tired and fatigued of holding the rod or while he or she is trolling. Further, while fishing with more than one rod, the fisherman must store the nonactive rod in a fishing rod retention type device.
Prior art fishing rod holders have generally failed to meet the criteria of positioning a fishing rod in a stored location that is substantially secure from removal upon the load exerted thereon by a fish at the forward end portion of a pole and having easy and convenient access to the fishing rod for removal from the stored location by the fisherman on quick demand when a bite is on the line of the fishing rod line. There are numerous advantages to quickly removing a fishing rod such as when fishing from a drift boat where tree limbs and other objects threaten to break the fishing rod while in the stored position; it is desirable for the fisherman to quickly and effectively remove the fishing rod when it is in such a perilous position. Therefore, quick and easy removal of a fishing rod in a timely fashion is desired, so as to make it possible for the rod holder to fight a fish quickly and effectively with minimal struggle and resistance. In one form, a fishing rod holder with one moving piece with an offset rotation axis allows for significant advantages.
In one form, the fishing rod retention assembly allows for placing of the rod further out over the gunnel of a boat. Further, the removal of the rod can be accomplished to the fisherman's desired angle of pull whether it be from leftward, rightward or upward directions. This variety of movement for releasing the fishing rod from the stored location allows for minimal training and adapting to the fishing rod retention assembly by the user, which eases the frustration that is present with prior art devices. Further, in one form the fisherman can immediately pull the rod from the holder with either one hand or two hands without any significant amount of force applied thereto. However, the rod remains intact securely in a stored location when the force of a fish on the line at the forward end portion of the fishing rod is applied to the fishing rod.
In the particular application of fishing known as down rigging, oftentimes careful attention must be applied when removing a fishing rod from its holder so as to not trip the downrigging ball which would require resetting the release and fishing rod. The fishing rod retention assembly as described below is particularly conducive for this application. Generally, setting up a downrigger is often problematic because the rod must be maintained in a position to keep various lines from entangling each other. When a downrigger line is tripped, the downrigger may be released. The fishing rod retention assembly described below allows for easy placement of the fishing rod therein to prevent tangling of such lines.
When a fisherman uses barbless hooks, hooking and landing a fish is far more difficult. In this application, once the fisherman hooks a fish, he or she must maintain constant tension upon the fishing line after setting the hook or the fish can potentially get away. The quick release design of the fishing rod retention assembly described below is conducive for maintaining constant tension upon the fishing line.
The fishing rod retention assembly allows for a very quick method to secure a rod in a stored location, and also a very quick method of retrieving the rod to a removed active location of the fishing rod. The minimal amount of movement and resistance allows for very easy retrieval, and even when employing the lock assembly described below, the removal process is extremely fast and does not require “getting used to” the device. Because such a minimal amount of movement is required to position the rod from the stored location within the fishing rod assembly to a removed position, there is minimal force and displacement upon the line which is particularly advantageous when downrigging. To remove the rod from the fishing rod retention assembly the fishing rod is repositioned in a manner substantially orthogonal to the central axis of the fishing rod. Further, to position the fishing rod within the J-hook assembly, the fisherman needs only to position the fishing rod substantially downwardly with slight lateral movement where the fishing rod is repositioned in a manner that is orthogonal to the central axis. This can be accomplished with one hand, keeping one hand free to either hold the line away from rod guides when using a downrigger, or to rest on the tiller handle or the steering wheel of the boat.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREIn general the apparatus is a fishing rod retention assembly having a longitudinal axis that substantially extends along the length of a fishing rod and a lateral axis. The assembly is adapted to be attached to a stationary platform or a boat, with a reel seat area of a fishing rod mounted therein. The fishing rod has a forward region that occasionally has a load exerted thereon, such as the load exerted from a fish on the line of the fishing rod. The fishing rod retention member has a retention member adapted to be adjustably attached to the stationary platform or boat, and comprising a longitudinally forward and a rearward surface that partially defines a receiving slot. The assembly further has a J-member that comprises a retention bracket comprising a lower retention member and an upper retention member and has a central elongated chamber region adapted to mount the reel seat area of a fishing rod therein. The J-member further has a curve attachment fixedly attached to the retention bracket, the curved attachment having a longitudinally rearward surface and a longitudinally forward surface. In the lateral direction the J-member has first and second surfaces that are curved about a longitudinal axis. The center of curvature of the first and second surfaces is arranged to have center of curvatures in a first lateral area of the curve attachment.
The J-member is adapted to be positioned in the receiving slot of the retention member and have an open position whereby the elongated chamber region provides for access therein. The J-member is adapted to be repositioned downwardly and laterally with the curve attachment extending through the receiving slot in a closed position to retain a fishing rod therein. The frictional force between either the longitudinally rearward surface or the longitudinally forward surface of the curve attachment with the longitudinally forward and rearward surfaces of the retention member locks the fishing rod therein when a load is placed on the forward portion of the fishing rod.
There will first be a description of the general environment for the area of use of the fishing rod retention assembly 20, followed by a specific discussion of the components and attributes of an embodiment of the fishing rod retention assembly. Thereafter a method of use of the fishing rod retention assembly will be discussed.
Initially referring to
As shown in
The retention bracket 28 further comprises in one form surfaces 40 and 42 that are adapted to define openings 44 and 46 as shown in
Also shown in
Now referring back to
A rod retention conduit 152 is a longitudinally extending conduit defined by the retention member 25 and the retention bracket 28. More specifically, the rod retention conduit 152 is further defined by the retention surface 90 of the retention member 25 and the rotating retention surface 36 of the lower and upper retention extensions 34 and 32 respectively (which are a portion of the retention bracket 28).
Now referring to
As shown in
Also shown in
The rod locking mechanism is comprised of previous aforementioned components and regions of the fishing rod retention assembly 20 in one form. As shown in
In one form, the contracting mechanism 116 is a bolt and nut arrangement whereby a bolt 120 is provided having a threaded portion 122 that is adapted to engage a threaded recess region 124 of a nut 126. A first lateral recess surface (not shown) can define an opening to engage the outer hexagonal surface of the nut 126 (or other engagement surface of the nut or like object), and by rotating the handle region 130 a forward surface 132 can directly engage the retainer 180. Of course a variety of arrangements for this rod locking mechanism 114 can occur near the J-member receiving portion 86; for example, a portion of the J-member receiving portion can be threaded correctly and the nut 126 would not be needed. The operating elements of the rod locking mechanism provide free or resistant engagement between the J-member 26 and the retention member 25, and in one form provide for fixedly positioning the J-member 26 with respect to the retention member 25 in situations where it is desired to rigidly lock the fishing pole therein. In this example, a quick release therefrom is not desired, and a lack of such is accepted to ensure that the pole will remain in a closed position.
The retainer 180 as shown in
As shown in
As indicated in
As indicated in
Referring to
The adjustable attachment device 146 is a part of a pitch adjustment system whereas shown in
There will now be a discussion of one form of operating the fishing rod retention assembly 20 with initial reference to
As shown in
When the fisherman has a take on the line and a fish is taking the bait, the pull upon the rod creates a movement about a lateral axis that is transferred to the J-member 26. This movement is counteracted in part by the interaction between the engaging surfaces 74 and 106 as well as 76 and 104 (see
There will now be a brief discussion of the frictional engagement points with reference to
Of course various modifications and alterations can be performed upon the fishing rod retention assembly without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter.
Claims
1. A method of providing a fishing rod retention assembly having a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis and adapted to be attached to a stationary platform or a boat and mount a reel seat area of a fishing rod therein, the fishing rod having a forward region that occasionally has a load exerted thereon such as the load exerted from a fish on the line of the fishing rod, the fishing rod retention member comprising:
- a. providing a retention member and adjustably attaching retention member to the stationary platform or boat and comprising a longitudinally forward and a rearward surface that partially defines a receiving slot,
- b. providing a J-member having a curve attachment fixedly attached to the retention bracket, the curved attachment having a longitudinally rearward surface and a longitudinally forward surface, and further having first and second surfaces that are curved about a longitudinal axis, the center of curvature of the first and second surfaces arranged to have center of curvatures in a first lateral area of the curve attachment,
- c. attaching the J-member in the receiving slot of the retention member and have an open position whereby the elongated chamber region provides for access therein, and the J-member is operatively configured to be repositioned downwardly and laterally with the curve attachment extending through the receiving slot in a closed position to retain a fishing rod therein, whereby a frictional force between either the longitudinally rearward surface or the longitudinally forward surface of the curve attachment with the longitudinally forward and rearward surfaces of the retention member sufficiently locks the fishing rod therein when a load is placed on the forward portion of the fishing rod comprising a retention bracket comprising a lower retention member and an upper retention member and having a central elongated chamber region adapted to mount the reel seat area of a fishing rod therein,
- d. providing a locking mechanism operatively configured to restrict movement of the J-member with respect to the retention member,
- e. utilizing the J-member having an adjustment slot and repositioning the locking member that is slidably attached to the retention member and adapted to extend through the adjustment slot so as to adjust the position of the J-member with respect to the retention member.
2. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the retention member is connected to a base mount by a slot and key means and the base mount is fixedly attached to the stationary platform or boat.
3. The method as recited in claim 1 where the locking mechanism comprises an annular groove member configured to be grasped by two fingers of a person.
4. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the retention member is connected to a base mount by a slot and key system and the base mount is fixedly attached to the stationary platform or boat.
5. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the J-member has a surface comprising a pocket that is adapted to have an extension in the reel seat area of the fishing rod extend therein.
6. The method as recited in claim 2 whereby the contracting mechanism is slidably attached to the retention member and is configured to remain in engagement with the curve attachment.
7. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby an upper portion of the surface defining the adjustment slot defines an open region that has sufficient longitudinal width to allow the contracting mechanism to freely pass therethrough.
8. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the adjustment slot has a longitudinal width that is smaller than the diameter of the contracting mechanism.
9. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the retention member comprises a mount extension that is rotatably and fixedly attached to a mount extension that is fixedly attached to a boat or stationary object.
10. The method as recited in claim 9 whereby the mount extension comprises a plurality of slots aligned about a centerpoint and the mount extension comprises a plurality of extensions that are adapted to engage the slots of the mount extension, and a laterally extending tension member maintains the extensions fixedly attached to the slots.
11. The method as described in claim 10 whereby the laterally extending tension member is repositioned to allow rotation thereabout between the mount extension and the base mount, whereby the pitch of the retention member is adjusted with respect to the boat or stationary location.
12. The method as described in claim 1 whereby the J-member is rotated about a pivot location that is not a structural portion of the fishing rod retention assembly.
13. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the curve attachment is rotated about a virtual point positioned away from the fishing rod retention assembly.
14. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the first and second surfaces of the J-member have a radius of curvature that is greater than 1.5 inches.
15. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the retention member and J-member are manufactured by an injection molding process.
16. The method as recited in claim 1 whereby the contracting mechanism has a laterally inward surface to allow extraction thereof in a laterally outward direction.
17. A method of retaining a fishing rod having a reel seat area and a forward region to a stationary platform or boat comprising the steps of:
- a. fixedly attaching a retention member to a stationary platform or boat where the retention member comprises a longitudinally forward surface and a longitudinally rearward surface which partially defines a receiving slot, the retention member positioned in an orientation having a desirable angle of pitch of the fishing rod,
- b. positioning a J-member having a curve attachment that has first and second surfaces having a radius of curvature with a centerpoint and a first lateral region with respect to the curve attachment, and positioning the curve attachment within the receiving slot of the retention member,
- c. positioning the reel seat area of the fishing rod within a retention bracket of the J-member and utilizing the confined movement between the curve attachment of the J-member and the receiving slot to reposition the reel seat area downwardly and laterally so the reel seat area is securely locked therein, whereby frictional engagement between the longitudinally forward and rearward surfaces and the curve attachment retain the J-member in a secure position when a downward force is exerted upon the forward region of the fishing rod,
- d. retrieving the fishing rod from the locked position whereby providing an upward force forward of the reel seat area allows for a vertical and lateral repositioning of the J-member so the J-member is positioned in an open orientation with respect to the retention member and the fishing rod is extracted therefrom.
18. The method as recited in claim 17 whereby the J-member comprises a surface defining an adjustment slot and a contracting mechanism that is slidably attached to the retention member extending therethrough and when the J-member is in a closed position with respect to the retention member, the contracting mechanism extends through an upper open portion of the adjustment slot, therefore locking the J-member in a closed position with respect to the retention member.
19. The method as recited in claim 18 whereby the retention slot has a lowermost surface that is adapted to engage a laterally extending member attached to the retention member to prevent the J-member from being fully extracted from the receiving slot.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 1, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 23, 2008
Inventor: William L. Follmar (Seattle, WA)
Application Number: 12/165,958
International Classification: A01K 97/10 (20060101);