Fishing line choke for the rod of a spinning reel

A thumb-operated fishing line choke accessory that may be installed to an existing fishing rod for choking the line when preparing to cast, as well as for choking the line after the cast has been made in order to accurately pinpoint the drop of the lure being cast. The device has a clamping member that is adapted to be fastened to the front end of the rod handle, a thumb-engaging actuator member that is pivotally connected to the clamping member, and a movable collar that is carried by the rod and acted upon by the actuator and serves as an anchor for one end of a pair of parallel wire members that are supported along the length of the rod. There is a combined fishing line ring guide and choke member mounted intermediate the length of the rod, and it has an inclined guide frame supporting a smooth ring guide through which the fishing line extends, as well as a movable choke member that is attached to the other end of the pair of wire members. The guide frame includes a resilient stop against which the fishing line is adapted to be forced by the choke member when the actuator member is operated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to the art of spinning reel control and release 
mechanisms for use on fishing rods having spinning reels for casting. In 
particular this invention relates to a thumb-operated fishing line choke 
that is installed on the handle of a fishing rod having a spinning reel 
attached to the rod for casting so that the invention is used for choking 
the fishing line so that the line may not move just prior to casting the 
rod forward to release the line and its lure allowing the line to unwind 
from the spinning reel. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The Kaminski U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,443 describes a fishing reel accessory to 
be mounted on the handle of a fishing pole where the accessory comprises a 
finger operated brake member that is adapted to engage the reel and 
prevent it from turning thereby preventing the unwinding of the line from 
the reel. This brake member has a spring-loaded thumb lever that is 
pivotally mounted at the handle. Accordingly, this accessory prevents the 
slipping of the fishing line during casting. This is not a fishing line 
choke per se, but it is a fishing reel brake. 
The Denny et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,367 describes with many types of 
spinning reels, the practice of the fishing line being temporarily 
retained by looping a portion of the line extending from the spinning reel 
over the tip of the users index finger. Then, as the cast is made, the 
index finger is retracted at the appropriate time, so as to disengage the 
finger from the line to allow free unwinding of the line from the spinning 
reel, as the terminal line tackle or lure is projected toward the 
splash-down location. This Denny et al patent incorporates a housing 
mounted on top of the rod handle. This housing includes a spring-loaded 
thumb lever that includes a perpendicular latch pin. The line is looped 
around a V-shaped, smoothly rounded, recessed fairlead by the user's left 
hand, and then the line extends rearwardly and passes once around the 
latch pin, and then extends forwardly and downwardly in a linear reach 
toward and through the aftermost line guide. The fishing line is released 
by a slight movement of the thumb at the appropriate juncture in the 
casting operation. 
The Meredith U.S. Pat. No. 3,045,380 describes a fishing line brake or 
choke for a spinning reel. There is a spring-loaded thumb lever that is 
mounted on top of the rod handle, and it acs upon line pincers having both 
pivoted handles and line grasping jaws, almost like a pair of pliers. This 
patent mentions the fact that the monofilament line is quite fragile, and 
that any mechanical device that touches this line must be delicate in its 
contact so as not to injure or weaken the line. 
The Butehorn U.S. Pat. No. 2,843,963 describes a mechanical finger for 
controlling the line of a spinning fishing reel. This patent relates to a 
manually actuated release mechanism for permitting the fishing line to 
disengage from the mechanical finger during the casting of the lure 
without the necessity of having to directly hold the line with the users 
hand. This mechanical finger serves to hold the line as it is being cast 
so as to prevent slipping and pulling of the drag or the sinking of the 
line into the windings of the reel. There is a hollow housing mounted on 
the top of the rod handle and it supports a pivotally mounted mechanical 
finger assembly or latch supported upon a centrally located hinge pin. A 
U-shaped bail is pivotally supported upon the rear end of the housing and 
it serves as the locking means for a trigger or thumb plate. Notice there 
is no spring acting upon the latch. The fishing line is wound upwardly 
from the reel around the rear of the mechanical finger on the latch, then 
forwardly around the housing and into an indent at the forward end thereof 
and then rearwardly back and around the mechanical finger so as to extend 
forwardly toward the front end of the rod. Thus, it will be recognized 
that any forward pull on the line only tightens the engagement of the line 
with the housing so that no pull is exerted upon the line on the reel. The 
cast is then made in the same manner as with a conventional surf reel 
during which cast the thumb is lifted at the proper time from the thumb 
plate to permit the latch member to rotate to a released position, in 
which position the mechanical finger is disposed to fall open forwardly to 
permit the line to disengage from the mechanical finger and from the 
housing, whereupon the lure draws the line outwardly from the reel in a 
conventional manner. 
OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a fishing line 
choke accessory for use with a rod having an open-face spinning reel, 
where the accessory is clamped to the handle of the rod, and extends along 
the length of the rod, and it has a combined fishing line ring guide and 
choke member in combination with a resilient stop so that the fishing line 
may be forced by the choke member against the stop. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a fishing line 
choke accessory of the class described with a thumb-engaging actuator 
member which acts upon a movable collar that is carried by the rod, where 
the collar serves as an anchor means for a pair of compression wire 
members that are fitted at the opposite end of the wire members with a 
choke member that operates within an inclined guide frame through which 
the fishing line extends. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a fishing line 
choke accessory of the class described where the guide frame is fitted 
with a resilient stop against which the fishing line is adapted to be 
forced by the choke member when the actuator member is operated. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a thumb-operated fishing line choke 
accessory that includes a first clamping member fastened to the rod 
handle, a thumb-engaging actuator member pivotally mounted to the clamping 
member, a movable collar carried by the rod and acted upon by the actuator 
and serving as an anchor means for one end of a compression strut means 
that is supported along the length of the rod and guided to move generally 
parallel thereto. There is a combined fishing line ring guide and choke 
member that is adapted to be fastened intermediate the length of the rod, 
and it includes an inclined guide frame supporting a smooth ring guide 
through which the fishing line extends, as well as a movable choke member 
that is supported on the other end of the compression strut means and is 
movable thereby. The guide frame includes a resilient stop against which 
the fishing line is adapted to be forced by the choke member when the 
actuator member is operating. There is a retractable spring means acting 
upon the actuator member to reset the actuator member when it is released 
by the user.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning now to a consideration of the drawings, and, in particular, to the 
fragmentary side elevational view of FIG. 1, there is shown a fishing rod 
10 equipped with an open-face spinning reel 12 fastened beneath the handle 
14 of the fishing rod, as is standard in this art. The reel 12 has a 
winding handle 16 for operating the reel. Other features of the reel are 
the spool 18 on which is wound the monofilament line 20, the rotating head 
22, the line pick-up bail 24, mounting bracket 26 having a pair of feet 28 
and 30 which are fastened to the handle 14 of the rod by means of a pair 
of adjustable ferrules 32 and 34 respectively, as is standard in this art. 
Another standard feature of this fishing rod 10 is a series of line guides 
38 which are mounted along the length of the rod for receiving the line 20 
therethrough, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 5. 
Now to be explained is the thumb-operated fishing line choke accessory 40 
which may be installed on an existing fishing rod or it may be added to 
the fishing rod during the manufacture thereof. The elements of this 
fishing line choke assembly 40 are best illustrated in the exploded 
perspective view of FIG. 5, but they will be described in detail starting 
first with FIG. 1. This fishing line choke accessory 40 has a clamping 
member 42 in the form of a curved saddle which is fastened to the front 
end 44 of the rod handle 14 by means of a pair of U-shaped bolts 46 which 
are threaded on their free ends 48 for receiving the fastening nuts 50 
thereon. The saddle-shaped clamping member 42 has a pair of mounting ears 
52, where each mounting ear has a hole 54 for receiving the free end 48 of 
the U-bolt therethrough. Of course, other means may be employed for 
attaching this clamping member 42 to the rod handle 14. This pair of 
mounting ears is on the two opposite sides thereof. 
The fishing line choke accessory 40 of the present invention has a 
thumb-engaging actuator member 60 that is pivotally mounted to the 
clamping member 42 by means of a hinge connection 62. Intermediate the 
length of the actuator member 60 is a knee joint 64 which divides the 
actuator member into a thumb-engaging portion 66 and a pusher element 68. 
The actuator member 60 is shown buckled about its knee joint 64 and held 
in that position by a tension spring 70 that is positioned under the 
actuator member and connected between the thumb-engaging portion 66 at one 
end 72 and to the pusher element 68 at the other end 74. The function of 
this tension spring 70 is to normally hold the actuator member 60 in a 
non-operating position, always ready to be acted upon by the user's thumb, 
as is shown in sequence in FIGS. 3 and 4. 
A movable collar 80 is assembled on the rod 10, and it is pivotally 
connected to the pusher element 68 of the actuator member 60 by means of 
the hinge joint 82, so that the operation of the actuator member 60 
controls the position of the movable collar 80 on the rod 10. The purpose 
of the movable collar 80 is to serve as an anchor means for one end of a 
pair of generally parallel, compression struts or linear wire members 84 
and 86, as is best seen in FIG. 5. These wire members are adapted to 
extend for about one-third of the length of the rod 10 and generally 
parallel to the top portion of the rod. A short anchor bolt 88 is located 
on the top of the collar 80, and it is fitted with washer and lock nut 90 
for clamping down on the ends of the two wires 84 and 86, as best seen in 
FIG. 5. These two linear wire members 84 and 86 serve as compression strut 
members, so that it is important that they not buckle when they are called 
upon to serve their function. Thus, the top portion of the rod 10 is 
furnished with a double elongated sheath 92 of lightweight plastic 
material which is fastened to the rod and has a pair of narrow gauge bores 
94 running longitudinally thereof to receive the respective wires 84 and 
86 therethrough. The overall length of this sheath 92 may be as much as 90 
percent of the overall length of the pair of wire members 84 and 86. It 
will be recognized by those skilled in this art that this double sheath 92 
could be replaced by a pair of individual plastic straw-like members or 
tubes which would serve the same purpose as the double elongated sheath 
92. 
As is standard in this art, the fishing rod 10 is provided with a plurality 
of longitudinally-spaced fishing line ring guides 38, one of which is 
shown in FIG. 5. This line guide 38 comprises a smooth-surfaced ring 
member 100 that is set at a slightly inclined angle, on the order of 15 
degrees with respect to a perpendicular line coming from the rod 10. The 
ring member is furnished with a pair of wire braces 102 which terminate in 
a single foot (not shown) which extends longitudinally of the rod 10 and 
is held thereto by means of a thread wrap 104, as is conventional in this 
art. Of course, other means may be employed for anchoring the ring member 
100 to the rod 10. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, 
the nearest line guide 38 to the rod handle 14 is employed as the mounting 
means for the fishing line choke 106 of the present invention. This choke 
106 is a thin, roller-like member having a small hole 108 in each end for 
receiving the end of one of the linear wire members 84 and 86 
respectively. This choke 106 is positioned beneath the rod 10 and 
generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rod and on the front 
side of the ring member 100. An open sheet metal frame 110 is provided to 
cooperate with the ring member 100 and the movable choke 106 for guiding 
the movement of the choke between its raised position of FIG. 3 and its 
lowered choke position of FIGS. 4, 2 and 6. This choke guide frame member 
110 is formed of a flat sheet of thin metal and then folded into its final 
shape. It has an enlarged port 112 that is generally larger than the 
interior periphery of the ring member 100. This frame also has a top 
flange 114 with a turned-up vertical flange 116 that includes a hole 118 
for receiving a fastening screw 120. A flat clamping plate 122, as seen in 
both FIGS. 2 and 5, is positioned on the opposite side of the ring member 
100 from the frame 110, and this plate also has a hole 124 for receiving 
the fastening screw 120 therethrough, and the screw is furnished with a 
lock nut 126. The choke guide frame 110 also has a pair of side flanges 
128 and a bottom flange 130. 
FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the combined fishing line ring 
guide and choke member of the present invention, on an enlarged scale, and 
it is taken on the Line 2--2 of FIG. 1. The bottom flange 130 of the choke 
guide frame 110 is furnished with a resilient stop 132, which is in the 
form of a heavy-duty rubber band which slips over, as well as under, the 
bottom flange 130, as is best seen in FIG. 2. Thus, this rubber band 132 
is easy to assemble and replace, as well as it is easy to adjust its 
position which may be necessary after prolonged use because the fishing 
line 20 tends to cut through the rubber band 132 in the event the line 
choke accessory is used for line twist removal, as on an occasional 
retrieve of the line. 
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional elevational view, on an enlarged scale, taken 
on the Line 6--6 of FIG. 2. 
Turning to a consideration of the comparison views of FIGS. 3 and 4, FIG. 3 
shows the relative position of the thumb-engaging actuator member 60 and 
the choke member 106, where the choke member is in its raised position 
when the actuator member 60 is not being depressed. When the user wishes 
to choke the line 20, he forces his thumb against the actuator member 60 
which causes the movable collar 80 to slide along the rod 10, thereby 
forcing the pair of wire members 84 and 86 to move bodily along the length 
of the rod, thereby forcing the choke member 106 to descend until finally 
it squeezes the fishing line 20 against the resilient stop, as seen in 
FIGS. 4, 2 and 6. If the user's thumb 134 is raised in FIG. 4 from the 
actuator member 60, then the tension spring 70 will return the movable 
collar 80 to the position shown in FIG. 3, and, at the same time, raise 
the choke member 106 to its position as shown in FIG. 3. 
As mentioned earlier, FIGS. 7-9 show a second modification of the combined 
fishing line ring guide and choke member of FIG. 5. In this second 
modification, a standard line guide 38 is not employed. This second 
modification is more of a heavy-duty design for use when fishing for 
larger size fish. In this second modification, there is a smooth-surfaced 
ring member 100, but it is not directly supported from the rod 10, but 
instead is built into a folded sheet metal choke guide frame 138 which is 
stamped of flat sheet material and then folded transversely adjacent its 
center, as at 140, to form a front side 142 and a rear side 144. The top 
portion of both the front side 142 and the rear side 144 is furnished with 
a mounting foot 146 and 148 respectively that is adapted to engage the 
underside of the rod 10 and to be fastened thereto by means of the thread 
wrap 104, as shown, for example, in FIG. 5. There is an enlarged port 150 
in the front side 142 and a smaller port 152 in the rear wall 144. The 
smooth-surfaced ring member 100 is fastened in the smaller port 152, and 
the choke member 106 is positioned between the front side 142 and the rear 
side 144 of the frame member 138. The bottom portion of the frame member 
is fitted with a resilient stop 154 which has a top surface 156 that 
extends above the lowest reach of the enlarged port 150 in the front side 
of the frame, as best seen in FIG. 9. 
Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art. 
Therefore, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to 
the particular embodiments disclosed, but that it is intended to cover all 
modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention 
as claimed.