Abstract:
A fishing pole holder is designed especially for use in catching large deep sea fish and has a bent and telescoping stanchion that is received in a standard pole holder found on a gunwale of a boat and other locations. A telescoping cross bar is attached to the top of the stanchion and has a padded member on one end and a gimble assembly on the other. The gimble assembly holds the fishing pole and allows pivoting along an X and Y axis. An arrester assembly is provided about the gimble assembly for safety should the fish pull down hard on the line of the fishing pole.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a fishing rod holder especially designed for use in catching large fish wherein the fishing pole holder has a padded and adjustable rest and allows the user to rotate with the holder should the fish move underneath the boat. 
   2. Background of the Prior Art 
   Fishing is one of the most popular participant sports in the country. On a nice day, and even on a not so nice day, popular fishing spots are crowded with folks trying to catch the big one. As the saying goes, many a fisherman would rather have a bad day at fishing than a good day at work. By far the most popular method of catching fish during recreational fishing is by use of a fishing pole. The fishing pole may be as simple as a stick having a hook and bait on its end to be dropped into the water off a bridge or a dock. From there, fishing poles, and accompanying paraphernalia, can graduate to be quite elaborate and very expensive. One of the kings of fishing is deep sea fishing where the hopes of catching a massive fish, such as a sword fish or a tuna, are always at hand. Such fishing requires heavy duty rods with heavy duty line as well as bait and tackle—a hundred fifty pound fish is simply not going to be caught with a thirty pound test line. Many rods are available to haul in even the biggest of the large fish. 
   Having a solid fishing pole and similar strength line is ordinarily not enough when going after a large deep sea fish. Even a moderately sized fish can overpower a fisherman and either cost the fisherman his rod and reel or, during a fierce fight, may give the fisherman an unwanted swim. In order to aid the fisherman, various assist devices have been introduced. One of the most basic devices is the rod holder, which places the proximal or butt end of the fishing rod into a receiver, which receiver is attached to the boat or some appropriate structure on the boat. With the butt end of the fishing rod held within the receiver, the fisherman gains mechanical advantage over the fish and allows a fish that would otherwise overpower the fisherman, to be hauled in. Some fishing rod holders are placed in front of fishing chairs that allow a fisherman to be seated and buckled in during the fight. Fishing rod holders come in various shapes and sizes and range from the very simple to the very complex. The simple fishing rod holders are basic in design and operation, and while effective for a variety of uses, are somewhat limited in their ability to be used in a wide variety of situations. The complex fishing rod holders tend to be much more versatile, however, such devices tend to be overly expensive to manufacture and purchase, and are oftentimes difficult and time-consuming to assemble and operate. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The fishing pole holder of the present invention is designed to be used for all types of fishing, especially deep sea fishing where large fish are the target of the hunters. The fishing pole holder is of a relatively simple design and construction and is easy to assemble and operate, yet is very versatile in function, allowing a user to utilize the device in a wide variety of situations. 
   The fishing pole holder of the present invention is comprised of a stanchion that has a top end, a bottom end, and a medial section, the bottom end of the stanchion being adapted to be received within a pole receiver. A cross bar is attached to the top end of the stanchion and has a first end and a second end. A padded member is attached to the first end of the cross bar. A gimble assembly has a cup and a connecting arm that is attached to the second end of the cross bar. The medial section of the stanchion is bent at an obtuse angle. The stanchion is telescoping as is the cross bar. An arrester has a base bar attached to the second end cross bar and also has a U-shaped arrester rod extending from the base bar and positioned around and above the receiver cup. The arrester rod angles upwardly with respect to the receiver cup, in proceeding from the base bar. The cup receiver of the gimble assembly is pivotally attached to the connecting arm and can pivot on two separate axis with respect to the cross bar. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the fishing pole holder of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the fishing pole holder of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is an environmental view of the fishing pole holder of the present invention installed on a fishing boat 
   

   Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now to the drawings, it is seen that the fishing pole holder of the present invention, generally denoted by reference numeral  10 , is comprised of a stanchion  12  that is telescoping. As seen, the stanchion  12  has a lower section  14  that is a hollow tubular member that has a notch  16  and is bent at an obtuse angle and an upper section  18  that is received within the lower section  14  and is positioned at a desired height within the lower section  14  in order to achieve the telescoping ability of the stanchion  12 . A locking collar  20  slides along the length of the upper section  18  and has a set screw  22  that presses against the upper section  18  in order to prevent the locking collar  20  from sliding therealong. Therefore, in order to set the height of the stanchion  12 , the locking collar  20  is positioned along the upper section  18  and when at the desired position, the set screw  22  is rotated in order to press against the upper section  18  and thereby prevent the locking collar  20  from moving. Thereafter, the upper section  18 , by having an outer diameter that is less than the inner diameter (the diameter of the hollow portion) of the lower section  14 , is inserted into the lower section  14 , that is the portion of the upper section  18  that is below the locking collar  20 , is inserted into the hollow interior of the lower section  14 . The upper section  18  slides down into the lower section  14  until the locking collar  20  abuts the top of the lower section  14 . As the locking collar  20  has a diameter that is greater than the inner diameter of the lower section  14 , further inward movement of the upper section  18  into the lower section  14  is prevented. The upper section  18  is now gravitationally held within the lower section  14  yet allows easy removal of the upper section  18  from the lower section  14 . 
   A cross bar  24  is affixed to the top of the stanchion  12  by appropriate means, such as by welding the two members  12  and  24  together. As seen, the cross bar  24  is also telescoping by providing a proximal section  26  that slides within a distal section  28 . The proximal section  26  has a series of openings  30  therealong, one of which registers with an opening  32  located on the distal section  28 . When the two openings  30  and  32  are registered, a pin  34  is passed through the opening pair  30  and  32  in order to maintain the proximal section  26  in a fixed position with respect to the distal section  28 . The pin  34  may be attached to one of the sections  26  or  28  by a lanyard  36  in order to help prevent loss of the pin  34 . Therefore, in order to change the length of the cross bar  24 , the proximal section  26  is slid within the distal section  28  until the desired length of the cross bar  24  is achieved. If necessary, the length of the cross bar  24  is tweaked slightly in order for one of the openings  30  on the proximal section  26  to align with the opening  32  on the distal section  28  in order for the pin  34  to be inserted through the corresponding opening pairs  30  and  32 . 
   As seen, located on the end of the distal section  28  of the cross bar  24  is a base bar  38  that has a generally U-shaped arrester bar  40  extending diagonally upwardly therefrom, together the base bar  38  and the generally U-shaped arrester bar  40  have a generally D-shape. A gimble assembly  42  is attached to this end of the distal section  28  of the cross bar  24 . The gimble assembly  42  has a pair of connecting arms  44  that each have a notch  46  that receive the lower part of the base bar  38 . A retainer clip  48  completes the encompassing of the base bar  38  and a series of screws  50  pass through openings  52  on the retainer clip  48  and corresponding openings  54  on the connecting arms  44  in order to hold the connecting arms  44  on the end of the distal section  28  of the cross bar  24 . A receiver bracket  56  is pivotally held between the connecting arms  44  by passing a pair of screws  58  through openings  60  on the connecting arms  44  and corresponding openings  62  on the receiver bracket  56 . This arrangement allows the receiver bracket  56  to pivot back and forth with respect to the connecting arms  44  and thus the cross bar  24 . A receiver cup  64  is pivotally attached to the receiver bracket  56  by passing a pair of screws  66  through openings  68  located on the receiver bracket  56 , which openings  68  are each spaced 90 degrees apart along the circumference of the receiver bracket  56  relative to the openings  62  that receive the screws  58  that attach the receiver bracket  56  to the connecting arms  44 , and corresponding openings  70  located on the receiver cup  64 . In this arrangement, the receiver cup  64  is pivotally attached to the receiver bracket  56  which is pivotally attached to the connecting arms  44 , this pivotal attachment being spaced 90 degrees apart from the receiver cup  64  to receiver bracket  56  attachment. Therefore, the receiver bracket  56 , holding the receiver cup  64  can pivot back and forth with respect to the cross bar  24  and the receiver cup  64  can pivot side to side with respect to the receiver bracket  56  and thus the cross bar  24 . Accordingly, the receiver cup  64  can pivot with respect to the cross bar  24  along two different axis spaced 90 degrees apart. 
   Located on the end of the proximal section  26  of the cross bar  24  is a padded member  72  for receiving the torso region of a fishing person. 
   The stanchion  12 , the cross bar  24 , the arrester bar  40  and base bar  38  and the gimble assembly  42  are all made from an appropriate durable material such as metal, and, advantageously, out of a material that is able to withstand the harsh salt air associated with deep sea fishing, such as stainless steel, although other materials can also be used and can further have an appropriate corrosion resistant coating thereon. The padded member  72  is made from any appropriate cushioning material such as either open or closed cell foam and has, advantageously, an appropriate cover thereon, which cover, made from vinyl, plastic, etc., is also resistant to salt air. 
   In operation, the lower section  14  of the stanchion  12  is inserted into a standard basic rod holder H as may be found along the gunwale G of a boat B or other location. The height of the stanchion  12  is adjusted as needed. Thereafter, the length of the cross bar  24  is adjusted as needed. A fishing pole F has its butt end received within the receiver cup  64 . A fishing person places his or her torso against the padded member  72  and grasps the fishing pole F as needed. The angled stanchion  12  allows the cross member  24  to have a desired upward slope toward the fishing person. During fishing, especially when a fish is on the line, the dual axis pivoting of the receiver cup  64  allows the fishing person to have the fishing pole F stay within the device  10  while allowing for movement to the left or right (receiver cup  64  pivoting with respect to the receiver bracket  56 ) as well as back and forth (receiver bracket  56  pivoting with respect to the connecting arms  44 ). Additionally, as the stanchion  12  is loosely held within the rod holder H of the boat B, should the fish go underneath the boat B, the entire device  10  can be spun around within the rod holder H in order to stay with the fish. Alternately, the upper section  18  of the stanchion  12  can rotate with respect to the lower section  14  of the stanchion in order to rotate with respect to fish movement. If the fish pulls hard downwardly on the line causing the fishing pole F to jerk downwardly in response, the arrester bar  40  catches the fishing pole F preventing loss of the fishing pole F. As the fishing person is pressed against the padded member  72 , the fishing person is relatively comfortable even while fighting the big one. 
   While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to an embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.