Specialized fishing accessory
A specialized, generally oblong towel-like fishing accessory. At a first end of the towel-like fishing accessory will be means for attaching the fishing accessory to an item of clothing of a fisherman. At an opposite end will be a pocket. The pocket may be used in conjunction with a tacky material on a surface of the fishing accessory for gripping by a fisherman whose hand will be inside the pocket. The pocket may have smaller pockets disposed on its outside and inside surface for receipt of small items or tools. The fishing accessory may be designed with a mitten for use by the fisherman for gripping and may have a measuring rule along its longer dimension for use by the fisherman to measure catches or for other purposes.
This device relates generally to accessories used by fishermen specifically to grip or to remove or wipe unwanted material from an object. Broadly speaking, it is a towel-like device to be used by fishermen for purposes related to their sport of fishing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA variety of sports use a device for wiping or removing superficial dirt, oils or other materials from an object. For example, in bowling a bowler needs to keep his hands clean and dry to be able to grip the ball. Consequently, bowling lanes are frequently equipped with blower devices which allow a bowler to dry his hands. However, sometimes a bowler's hands may get oil-like conditioning material from handling the ball which has picked up the conditioning material from the lanes on which the ball is rolling. It can be difficult to dry or remove this kind of material from the hand of a bowler simply by placing it in a stream of air. Consequently, many bowlers will have towels that they use either to wipe the balls before gripping the ball or to wipe their hands before gripping the ball.
In a similar fashion, many golfers carry a towel which attaches or clips to their bags. This is primarily used to clean the surface of their clubs. Most golfers who play golf wear a glove on at least one of their hands which provides both cushioning and gripping advantages to a golfer who wears such a glove. Golfers will also carry a towel with them to the green where they can readily wipe their ball or remove debris from their putter. For this reason towels are sometimes removably attached to the bag or to a golf cart in which a golfer is riding. This removal attachment can consist of a metal clip, sometimes spring loaded, or other means of attachment which could include matching strips of hook and eye material known by the trade name of Velcro with one portion of the hook and eye material permanently attached to the golf bag and another portion permanently attached to the towel. This way the towel can be quickly attached and detached from the bag by mating the two pieces of hook and eye material.
Fishermen also face the need for an accessory to be used for cleaning or wiping one's hands. Unlike golf or bowling where clean hands are essential for performing the movements required in the sport, a fisherman may well be able to cast or manipulate his fishing equipment including rods and reels whether his hands are clean or not. However, oftentimes some aspects of fishing are unpleasant or messy. Using live bait may require the fisherman to handle the bait before it is placed on a hook. Removing fish from a hook can also be messy. For these reasons, many fishermen prefer to keep their hands clean by using a towel to grip the fish. Additionally, other tasks that a fisherman may perform can require a variety of other accessories. For these reasons, specialized equipment has evolved including gloves that are specially equipped with gripping material embedded in the fabric of the gloves to facilitate holding either bait fish or target fish which have been caught by the fisherman. Sometimes fish that are caught by the fisherman present other problems in that these fish may have fins or spikes which require careful handling. If a fisherman is to avoid injury for these reasons, gloves are sometimes employed by fishermen in handling these kinds of fish. Some fishermen employ special garments such as fishing vests, waders and the like which are equipped special pockets with storage to facilitate the performances of the tasks that are demanded by the sport of fishing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONDespite the special garments, gloves, and the like there is an unmet need for a simple, inexpensive towel-like device which can be readily carried by a fisherman as an accessory attached to another garment that the fisherman may be wearing. This towel-like device can be designed to perform a variety of tasks that are peculiar to the sport of fishermen. At least a portion of the towel-like device will be designed for traditional uses of a towel including wiping or cleaning of the person of the fisherman or objects used by the fisherman such as fishing equipment. A portion of the towel-like device can be designed to facilitate specialized gripping functions that may be performed by the fisherman such as gripping bait or gripping target fish that have been caught by the fisherman. The gripping of the bait will facilitate placing the bait on the hook. The gripping of the target fish will facilitate removing the fish from the hook and avoiding injury from the target fish either by the fish's spines, fins, claws in the case of crabs, or on occasion even the fish's teeth. A portion of the towel-like device could also be designed to provide ready storage or carrying capabilities for small tools. This could consist of pouches or pockets within or on the surface of the device so the fisherman could carry a tool or fishing tackle. In addition, the towel itself could be marked with a rule or ruler that would allow the fisherman to use it for measuring purposes. This can be useful in terms of measuring the size of fish caught to be sure they come within legal limits, or, to measure specific line which may be used for leaders or other specialized purposes which may require an approximate readily available measuring rule.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Also seen disposed on one side of the fishing accessory (10) is a rule (300) marked with incremental measurements. The rule (300) is divided into premeasured increments. This will allow a fisherman to use the fishing accessory (10) to make quick measurements of fish that are caught by the rule (300). This is sometimes necessary since there are size requirements for keeper fish in many jurisdictions. For example, commonly flounders have to be within 12 or 13 inches long before they are “keepers”. Fishes smaller than the required length must be returned to the water for further growth. The use of the rule (300) on the fishing accessory (10) will quickly facilitate this process for a fisherman. For example, a surf fisherman could simply measure a fish against the rule (300) on the fishing accessory (10) hanging at the fisherman's side to determine if the catch is legal without ever having to return to shore and without having to unfold or use any sort of tape measure device.
Claims
1. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing comprising:
- (a) a generally oblong piece of woven material wherein said woven material will have a lengthwise dimension and a widthwise dimension;
- (b) disposed at a first end of said lengthwise dimension of said woven material is means for attaching said woven material to an article of clothing of a user;
- (c) distal from said means for attaching is a pocket, said pocket disposed on at least one first surface of said woven material;
2. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 1 further comprising on a second surface of said woven material opposite from said pocket, strips of tacky material attached to said second surface whereby said pocket may be utilized in conjunction with said tacky material for gripping objects by a user with a user's hand disposed in said pocket.
3. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 2 wherein disposed on said pocket is at least one storage compartment of a particular size and shape to securely hold articles placed there by a user.
4. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 3 wherein said means of attaching is a fabric loop attached to said woven material at said first end and a matching S-loop of durable non-corrosive material wherein said woven loop may be secured at a first end of said S-loop and a second end of said S-loop may be used to attach said woven material to an article of clothing of a user.
5. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 4 wherein said means for attaching further includes a spring loaded clip with an opening thereon to receive said S loop whereby said spring loaded clip may be used to grip a portion of an article of clothing of a user thereby securing said fishing accessory to an article of clothing of a user.
6. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing comprising:
- (a) a generally oblong piece of woven material wherein said woven material will have a lengthwise dimension and a widthwise dimension;
- (b) at a first end of said lengthwise dimension of said woven material is means for attaching said woven material to an article of clothing of a user;
- (c) along said lengthwise dimension of said woven material will be displayed a measuring rule;
- (d) means for attaching at an edge of said widthwise dimension of said woven material a gripping mitten, said gripping mitten having tacky material disposed on at least one surface of said gripping mitten;
- (e) distal from said means for attaching is a pocket disposed on at least one first surface of said woven material;
7. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 6 wherein disposed on said pocket is is at least one storage compartment of a particular size and shape to securely hold articles placed there by user.
8. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 7 wherein said means for attaching is a fabric loop attached to said woven material at said first end of said lengthwise dimension and a matching S-loop of durable non-corrosive material wherein said woven loop may be secured at a first end of said S-loop and a second end of said S-loop may be used to attach said woven material to an article of clothing of a user.
9. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 8 wherein said gripping mitten will have tacky material disposed on a first outside surface of said gripping mitten and tacky material disposed on a second outside surface of said gripping mitten whereby gripping mitten may be used with either a user's left hand or with a user's right hand for gripping.
10. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman of claim 1 wherein said means for attaching said gripping mitten includes means for removably attaching said mitten to said generally oblong piece of woven material.
11. A fishing accessory for use of a fisherman of claim 10 wherein on at least one surface of said mitten strips of tacky material are attached to facilitate the use of said mitten for gripping objects by a user with a user's hand disposed in said mitten.
12. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 11 where said mitten has strips of tacky material attached on opposite surfaces of said mitten whereby a user may use either a user's left hand or a user's right hand in conjunction with said tacky material for gripping objects using either hand of a user disposed in said mitten.
13. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 12 wherein disposed on said pocket is at least one outside storage compartment of a particular size and shape to securely hold small articles placed there by the user.
14. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 13 wherein said means for attaching is a fabric attached to said woven material that the first end of said lengthwise dimension and a matching S loop of durable, non corrosive material whereby said woven loop may be secured at a first end of said S loop and a second end of said S loop may be used to attach said woven material to an article of clothing of the user.
15. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 14 wherein said means for attaching further includes a spring loaded clip with an opening thereon to receive said S loop whereby said spring loaded clip may be used to grip a portion of an article of clothing of a user thereby securing said fishing accessory to an article of clothing of a user.
16. A fishing accessory for use by a fisherman while fishing of claim 15 wherein on said lengthwise dimension is displayed a measuring rule of at least 12 inches.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 29, 2005
Publication Date: May 31, 2007
Inventor: Earnest Lawrence (Elizabethtown, NC)
Application Number: 11/288,907
International Classification: A45F 5/00 (20060101); A45C 1/04 (20060101); A45F 3/00 (20060101);