Fishing rod holder having dual mounting capabilities

A fishing rod holder is capable of being placed in the sand or attached to a suitable bracket which is accommodated on the bumper of a vehicle. The holder comprises a longitudinal tubular member having a reel accommodating slot, which member is secured to a spiked member containing an anchor plate. The holder operates in a dual mode and can be either emplaced in the sand or ground or emplaced within the above described bracket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention pertains to a fishing rod holder and particularly to a 
holder that can be accommodated either in the ground or by a holder 
secured to the bumper of a vehicle. 
The prior art is replete with a plurality of fishing rod holders structured 
and operated for various purposes. In any event, a most popular sport 
which has been receiving increased attention is the sport of surf fishing. 
Surf fisherman may employ vehicles such as trucks and so on and drive 
directly to the beach front to fish. Fishing rod holders as described in 
the prior art are mainly designed for supporting a rod while the holder is 
inserted into the ground or into the sand. As such, such holders have 
sometimes been referred to as sand spikes. 
As above indicated, there are many examples of rod holding devices which 
exist in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,551 entitled FISHERMANS 
ACCESSORY issued on Oct. 3, 1967 to B. D. Chestnut depicts a fishing spike 
which accommodates a rod within a tubular member. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,902 entitled FISHING ROD HOLDER issued on Feb. 15, 1977 
to G. K. Pettee depicts a holder which allows a fishing rod to be inserted 
in the ground or attached to the hull of a boat. The holder consists of 
upper and lower members positioned at acute angles with respect to one 
another. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,795 entitled FISHING POLE MOUNT AND SIGNAL issued on 
June 6, 1978 to I. L. Bryant depicts a holder which can be inserted in the 
ground or attached to a boat. The holder operates in conjunction with an 
electrical circuit, which circuit provides an adjustable tone signal 
manifesting an audible sound as to when a fish is caught. 
Other patents as U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,775 entitled FISHING ROD HOLDER depict 
other devices for holding a fishing rod. This patent shows a unique 
clamping assembly which enables a fisherman to firmly clamp the rod in 
place while maintaining the reel in proper orientation. 
As one can denote from the prior art, there are many embodiments in 
facilitating the holding of a rod. These devices are not adaptable to 
perform the dual function enabling them to be mounted on the bumper of a 
vehicle or inserted into the sand. The devices employ relatively 
complicated mechanisms to accommodate the fishing rod and are difficult 
and expensive to build and fabricate. The prior art devices are also 
capable of rotating or changing their position during operation. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fishing rod 
holder, which holder includes means for maintaining the rod in a fixed 
orientation. The invention also describes a unique bracket assembly which 
can be mounted on the bumper of a suitable vehicle to enable a fisherman 
to emplace the rod therein instead of in the ground. The bumper assembly 
also serves as a transport for the rod holders and hence, enables the same 
to be accommodated by a vehicle without taking up any additional storage 
space. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
A fishing rod holder adapted for insertion into the ground and attachment 
to the bumper of a vehicle having secured to said bumper a tubular 
bracket, comprising a longitudinal tubular member symmetrically disposed 
about a main axis and of a given diameter having an open top for 
accommodating the handle portion of a fishing rod, and a closed bottom 
end, said member having a slot extending from the periphery of the open 
top and directed relatively parallel to the main axis of said tubular 
member, an elongated spike member depending from said bottom end and 
having a relatively pointed termination remote from said bottom end and 
adapted to be inserted into the ground or into said tubular bracket, an 
anchor plate member secured to said spike member at a predetermined 
distance above said pointed termination, with said anchor plate adapted to 
be inserted into the ground when said spike is so inserted to prevent 
rotation of said holder when accommodating a fishing rod.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a fishing rod holder or sand spike 10 
according to this invention. Essentially, the device 10 consists of a top 
elongated tubular member 11 which may be fabricated from a strong 
structural material such as steel, aluminum or some other suitable 
material which is relatively corrosion resistant. The tubular member 11 
has a diameter 12 sufficient to accommodate the handle portion of a 
typical surf rod or other fishing rod. Located at the top portion of the 
tubular member is an elongated slot 14 which will accommodate a fishing 
reel normally associated with the rod. 
Secured to the bottom portion of the tubular member 11 is an elongated 
spike member 15. The member 15 has a relatively sharp termination point 16 
to enable a user to emplace the holder device in sand or gravel as usually 
found on a beach. Rigidly secured to the spike 15 is a triangular shaped 
anchor plate 18. The plate 18, as will be further described, functions to 
anchor the holder 10 in the sand or ground and to prevent the undue 
rotation of the same when a rod is emplaced within the accommodating 
aperture of the holder 10. 
Shown to the left of the holder 10 is a box-like configuration 35 having a 
front clamp 36. The clamp 36 is dimensioned to encircle a portion of the 
outer diameter of the tubular member 11 to thus affix the box 35 to the 
tubular member at any desired location. The box 35 may contain a cover and 
is employed for accommodating bait or other accessories that a fisherman 
may employ. 
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a simplified view of a fishing rod 30 
having a reel 31 being accommodated by the holder depicted in FIG. 1. As 
can be seen from FIG. 2, the anchor plate 18 as coupled to the spike 
member 15 has its lower peripheral end inserted into the sand and 
functions to prevent the undue rotation of the holder 10 when the same is 
accommodating a rod 30. The anchor plate 18 thus provides great facility 
in that wind or pulling on the line will not change the orientation of the 
apparatus. As one can thus ascertain from FIG. 2, the holder 10 is capable 
of being accommodated and inserted in the ground via the spike member 15. 
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a side elevational view of a bracket 20 
which is secured to the front bumper 21 of a suitable vehicle. The bracket 
20 consists essentially of a tubular member 22 which is attached to a 
flexible bracket 23. The bracket 23 has a curvilinear top section which is 
adapted to mount over a conventional flange included at the top portion of 
the bumper 21. An adjustable bottom depending bracket section 24 is shown 
secured to the bottom portion of the bumper 21 to hence, hold the bracket 
firmly in place. 
FIG. 4 depicts a front view of the tubular member 22 coupled to the 
bracket. The tubular member 22 may have an accommodating slot 27, into 
which slot the anchor plate 18 may be positioned and hence, the bracket 
assembly 20 may be employed to accommodate the holder 10 during transport 
or to accommodate the holder if the vehicle is near the surface line and 
hence, to avoid replacing the spike 15 into the ground. 
Both the brackets 20 and 45 of FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 contain a bottom plate as 
plate 28 in FIG. 3 and plate 42 in FIG. 5. The plates are secured to the 
bottom surface of the respective tubular member and have an extending 
flange containing a slot as 29 and 48. The slots or keyways are employed 
to restrain the lead sinker 50 which is normally employed at the end of a 
fishing line. Thus, when the brackets 22 and 45 are accommodating the sand 
spike unit 11, the unit 11 is carrying a rod 30, the line having a sinker 
50 is emplaced with tension into the slot as 29 and 48 to immobilize both 
the rod due to tension and to further restrain the sinker 50 from moving 
and damaging the vehicle. In this manner, the entire assembly can be 
transported by the vehicle with assurance of a secure and compact 
arrangement. 
Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown an alternate embodiment of a bracket 
assembly which may be mounted on the bumper of a vehicle. The bracket 
assembly 40 has a top portion 41 for coacting with the top of a vehicle 
bumper and a bottom depending portion 42 for coacting with the bottom 
portion of the vehicle bumper. 
The bracket as depicted in FIG. 5 consists of a central member 45 having 
two depending flanges 46 and 47. Each flange as 46 and 47 has a central 
aperture 48 for accommodating the shaft of the spike member 15. 
While the exact constructional features have not been described in detail, 
it is noted that the holder 10 of FIG. 1 is fabricated from a strong 
constructional material as are the associated components. As such, the 
anchor plate 18 may be welded to the shaft 15 or secured thereto by other 
suitable means such as rivets, fasteners or other devices employed in 
metal fabrication. Such techniques for constructing such apparatus are 
well known in the art. 
As one can ascertain from the above described specification, there will be 
many alternate embodiments which would be obvious to those skilled in the 
art upon reading the above noted specification. All such embodiments are 
deemed to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of this invention as 
more particularly defined in the claims appended hereto.