Abstract:
The present invention is directed to a fixed/flying gaff that is easier to use, safer, and more effective for landing large fish than conventional types of gaffs. The fixed/flying gaff of the invention includes a gaff head that is detachably engaged with an elongated handle.

Description:
[0001]    The present invention relates to a fixed/flying gaff which is effective for landing large fish. More specifically, the fixed/flying gaff of the invention is designed to easily penetrate a fish, remain securely in the fish, and be easily removed from the fish.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    When a large game fish such as a giant tuna, swordfish, shark, or marlin is taken by sportfishermen, the fish is played until it is depleted of energy and then gaffed to bring it into the boat. Typically, gaffs used to secure a large fish include a rounded end that must be place under or below a fish to penetrate its body.  
           [0003]    A substantial amount of time must be undertaken to allow the fish to tire to the point of laying motionless so that a rounded style gaff hook can be used. During this time fisherman can be injured and often during this time the fish escapes. A rounded style gaff hook is very difficult to use on large gamefish such as sharks due to their thick skin. A rounded style gaff hook without serrated teeth does not lodge into the fish and will easily come out. Further, once the barb of a rounded style gaff penetrates a fish, it must be pulled back for removal, further damaging the flesh of the fish.  
           [0004]    Once a gaff is inserted into a fish, the gaff head may separate from the gaff handle. The amount of force or shear needed to cause separation of the gaff head from the gaff handle is variable and cannot be predetermined by a user to provide a fixed predetermined breakaway shear strength.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0005]    The present invention is directed to a fixed/flying gaff effective for gaffing large fish. The fixed/flying gaff of the invention is easier to use, safer, and more effective for landing large fish than conventional types of gaffs. After landing the fish, the fixed/flying gaff can be easily removed without further damaging the flesh of the fish.  
           [0006]    The fixed/flying gaff of the present invention includes a detachable gaff head that includes a hook portion extending from a hook shaft. The hook shaft includes serrated teeth and is attached to a detachable offset rope holder. The hook shaft extends past the offset rope holder to form a handle engagement portion that extends into an elongated handle. The elongated handle detachably engages the handle engagement portion and fixes the detachable engagement portion to the elongated handle with a fixed determined breakaway shear strength. The fixed predetermined breakaway shear strength may be provided by a wire, a cable, a rubber band, a plastic strap, and in a preferred aspect of the invention, by at least one shear pin or bolt. In the aspect of the invention where a shear pin is used, the shear pin provides a predetermined breakaway strength effective for allowing the elongated handle to release from gaff head. The detachable gaff head includes an offset rope holder with holes that are effective for allowing attachment to a rope, chain or cable.  
           [0007]    In one aspect of the invention, the fixed/flying gaff includes a steel bolt(s) or a shear pin(s) to secure the handle engagement portion to the elongated handle. When a steel bolt or bolts are used to secure the handle engagement portion to the elongated handle, the detachable gaff head will not detach and will remain fixed on the elongated handle. When a shear pin or pins are used to secure the handle engagement portion to the elongated handle, the detachable gaff head will separate from the elongated handle at a predetermined breakaway strength and the detachable gaff head will remain securely in the fish.  
           [0008]    Prior to using the fixed/flying gaff of the invention, a determination must be made to use the gaff as a fixed or flying gaff. If the detachable gaff head is to remain firmly attached to the elongated handle, a steel bolt or bolts will be used to attach the detachable engagement portion to the elongated handle. When the detachable gaff head penetrates the fish, the detachable gaff head will remain fixed on the elongated handle. If a user anticipates catching large fish that can not be pulled into the boat without risk of injury then a shear pin or pins are used to attached the handle engagement portion to the elongated handle. The detachable gaff head will detach from the elongated handle at a predetermined breakaway strength to become a flying gaff head.  
           [0009]    Prior to using the fixed/flying gaff of the invention, the detachable head portion of the fixed/flying gaff is engaged with the elongated handle. At least one shear pin hole on the elongated handle is matched up with at least shear pin hole in the handle engagement portion of the detachable head portion of the fixed/flying gaff. At least one shear pin of predetermined strength or at least one bolt is inserted through the holes to secure the elongated handle to the detachable head portion. A rope, chain or cable is secured to one of the holes in the offset rope holder.  
           [0010]    The fixed/flying gaff of the invention is put into use when a large fish is hooked. When the fish nears the boat, the fixed/flying gaff is thrust into the fish. In the aspect of the invention where the handle engagement portion is secured to the elongated handle by at least one shear pin, if the fish thrashes about and starts to move away from the boat, the shear pin will break, allowing the elongated handle and head portion of the fixed/flying gaff to separate.  
           [0011]    The detachable fixed/flying gaff remains firmly attached to the fish due to a barb and serrated teeth. As the fish swims away from the boat, the rope, chain or cable secured to the offset rope holder and to the boat begins to tighten. As the rope, chain or cable tightens, the detachable fixed/flying gaff is pulled back in a direction opposite from which it entered the fish, thereby burying the barb deeper into the flesh of the fish. The serrated teeth prevent the barb from exiting the fish and as the fish struggles, the barb becomes more deeply buried into the fish. The detachable head portion of the fixed/flying gaff along with the fish may be retrieve by pulling in the rope or chain that was attached.  
           [0012]    In an important aspect of the invention, the design of the fixed/flying gaff allows an entry point into the fish directly into vital organs as opposed to a traditional rounded gaff that only enters the fish in the belly or jaw. By thrusting the gaff directly into the vital organs as opposed to the belly or jaw, the fish becomes immediately incapacitated and the amount of thrashing is greatly reduced, thereby increasing the safety and success of the fisherman.  
           [0013]    Upon landing of the fish, the offset rope holder may be removed and the fixed/flying gaff can be pushed forward through the fish and removed. Removing the fixed/flying gaff by pushing forward as opposed to pulling back, prevents further damage to the flesh of the fish. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a side view of a top portion of the fixed/flying gaff of the invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a side view of a top portion of another aspect of the invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a side view of a top portion of yet another aspect of the invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a side view of the fixed/flying gaff head of the invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 shows the fixed/flying gaff head of the invention with the offset rope holder detached.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of the fixed/flying gaff of the invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is a back view of the fixed/flying gaff of the invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8 is a back view of the fixed/flying gaff of the invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the fixed/flying gaff of the invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 10 is a side view of a U-shaped fixed/flying gaff of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]    One aspect of the fixed/flying gaff of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. The fixed/flying gaff  10  includes a hook portion  20  and a hook shaft  30 . The hook shaft  30  is attached to and continues through a detachable offset rope holder  40 . The hook portion  20  may include a hook point  50  and a hook barb  60 . The hook point  50  is effective for providing additional penetrating ability when the fixed/flying gaff is thrust forward into a fish. In this aspect of the invention, the hook portion  20  includes a hook barb  60  that extends in an opposite direction from the hook point  50 . The hook barb  60  is effective for further securing the fixed/flying gaff in the fish.  
         [0025]    The hook shaft  30  may also include serrated teeth  70 . The serrated teeth  70  may generally extend in an opposite direction from the hook point  50 . The serrated teeth  70  are effective for further securing the fixed/flying gaff into the fish.  
         [0026]    In an important aspect of the invention, the hook shaft  30  is secured to the offset rope holder  40  and continues and extends through the offset rope holder  40  to form a handle engagement portion  345  (shown in FIG. 4). The handle engagement portion  345  extends for a distance effective for detachably engaging a detachable elongated handle  80 .  
         [0027]    The offset rope holder  40  is threaded onto the hook shaft  30 . A support collar may be threaded onto the hook shaft  30  behind the rope holder  40  to provide additional support. A handle cap  130  is threaded onto the top of elongated handle  80 . The handle cap  130  includes handle cap opening  135  (shown in FIG. 5) which is slightly larger than the handle engagement portion  345 . The handle engagement portion  345  is inserted through the handle cap opening  135  and extends into the elongated handle  80 .  
         [0028]    The detachable gaff head and detachable elongated handle  80  are secured together to provide a fixed predetermined breakaway shear strength. The shear strength is fixed and predetermined by selecting a material effective for shearing or breaking at a predetermined amount of shear or force. Examples of materials effective for providing a fixed predetermined breakaway shear strength include plastic, metal, ceramic, wood and rubber.  
         [0029]    In one aspect of the invention, the handle engagement portion  345  includes at least one handle engagement shear pin hole (shown in FIG. 4) which may be matched up to at least one handle shear pin hole  95 . After matching up at least one handle engagement shear pin hole  90  and at least one handle shear pin hole  95 , at least one bolt  143  (shown in FIG. 2) or shear pin  140  may be inserted and extended through the holes. The shear pin  140  provides a predetermined strength effective for allowing the shear pin  140  to break and for allowing the detachable elongated handle  80  to disconnect. In an alternative aspect of the invention, a shear pin hole  95  may be located in the support collar  120 , the handle cap  130 , or both.  
         [0030]    The fixed/flying gaff  10  of the invention also includes an offset rope holder  40 . The offset rope holder  40  includes at least one rope hole  100  and may include two rope holes  100  as shown in FIG. 1. In an important aspect of the invention the rope hole  100  or rope holes  100  are offset such that they are towards an outside portion  110  of the offset rope holder  40 . When the offset rope holder  40  is threaded onto the threaded shaft collar  310 , the rope holes  100  are positioned such that they are outside of a plane formed by the hook shaft  30  and the barb  60  on the hook portion  20  and are perpendicular to the direction of the barb  60 .  
         [0031]    Prior to using the fixed/flying gaff  10  of the invention, a rope, chain or cable is attached to the fixed/flying gaff  10  by tying or securing the rope, chain or cable through one rope hole  100 . When the fixed/flying gaff  10  has been inserted into a fish, the fish may thrash about which may cause the rope to tighten. The offset design of the rope hole  100  is effective for providing a twisting action that further buries the barbs in the fish and causes a more secure attachment to the fish.  
         [0032]    After the fixed/flying gaff  10  of the invention has been inserted into a fish and the fish has been landed, the fixed/flying gaff can be easily removed without causing further damage to the flesh of the fish. The offset rope holder  40  may be unscrewed from the hook shaft  30  and the hook shaft  30  may be pushed forward through the fish.  
         [0033]    Another aspect of the fixed/flying gaff  10  is shown in FIG. 2. In this aspect, the hook portion  20  is flared out a distance effective to provide a hook barb  60  that points away from hook point  50  and is parallel to hook shaft  30 . As further shown in FIG. 2, the hook shaft  30  and detachable elongated handle  80  may be secured with bolt  143  and nuts  145 .  
         [0034]    In another aspect of the invention, the fixed/flying gaff may be a rounded fixed/flying gaff  200  as shown in FIG. 3. In this aspect of the invention, the hook portion  20  is formed in a rounded or more hook-like shape. The hook portion  20  of the fixed/flying gaff  200  includes serrated teeth  70  on its hook portion  20 .  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 4 illustrates a view of a fixed/flying gaff head  300  without an offset rope holder and detachable elongated handle. As shown in this Figure, the fixed/flying gaff head  300  includes a threaded shaft collar  310 . The hook shaft  30  extends beyond the shaft collar  310  to form a handle engagement portion  345 . The handle engagement portion  345  extends for a distance effective for contacting the detachable elongated handle  80 . The handle engagement portion  345  includes at least one handle engagement shear pin hole  90 , and may include up to three handle engagement shear pin holes  90  as shown in the Figure.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 5 shows the fixed/flying gaff head  300  of the invention with the offset rope holder  40  detached. Upon assembly, the offset rope holder  40  is threaded onto the threaded shaft collar  310  through shaft collar opening  112 . Support collar  120  is threaded onto the threaded shaft collar  310  until support collar  120  contacts the offset rope holder  40 . The handle engagement portion  345  is inserted through handle cap opening  135  in handle cap  130  which is attached to one end of the detachable elongated handle  80 . At least one handle engagement shear pin hole  90  is matched up with at least one handle shear pin hole  95 . The hook shaft  30  and detachable elongated handle  80  are secured with at least one shear pin  140  or with a bolt  143  and nuts  145 . In the aspect of the invention where at least one shear pin  140  is used, the shear pins  140  may be of different diameter and/or be made of a variety of materials to be effective for providing a predetermined shear strength. For example, a greater shear strength may be provided by using a shear pin  140  of larger diameter made of a hard plastic.  
         [0037]    Additional views of the fixed/flying gaff of the invention are shown in FIGS.  6  to  9 . In an alternative aspect of the invention, the hook portion  20  may be U-shaped as shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0038]    The fixed/flying gaff of the invention may be made using known techniques using standard materials. For example, the fixed/flying gaff may be made out of metal, plastic, ceramic, wood or combinations thereof.  
         [0039]    Numerous modifications and variations in practice of the invention are expected to occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the foregoing detailed description of the invention. Consequently, such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.