Fishing case

A fishing case for storing a variety of fishing equipment. The fishing case comprises a substantially rectangular body that has a front section and a back section. The front section and the back section are provided with a closing means that helps to securely fastens the front section and the back section together. The inside of the back section is fitted with a cutout insert having a plurality of cutouts that house various fishing equipment pieces. The fishing case may be provided with a handle and straps on its back to facilitate the user in carrying the fishing case.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 This invention relates to a fishing case. More particularly, the invention
 relates to a lightweight, portable and ergonomically-designed fishing case
 that compactly stores one's fishing equipment.
 When travelling on business, one often has the opportunity to go fishing.
 However, conventional fishing equipment is not easy to carry. In addition,
 when business brings the fisherman to a new, unknown fishing spot, the
 fisherman usually does not know what type of fishing will be available at
 that location and therefore does not know what type of equipment to bring.
 Because it is difficult to anticipate the type of fishing that will be
 available, the fisherman must bring additional equipment.
 Even while at home, professional and amateur fishermen alike constantly
 seek that special fishing spot where the fish are plentiful and are always
 biting. Unfortunately, the best fishing spots are not always easily
 accessible by car. Thus, fishermen often find that they must carry all
 their fishing equipment to a remote fishing site.
 In addition, transportation and storage of fishing rods and reels generally
 requires disassembly of the rods from the reels, enclosing the rods in
 rigid tubes and putting the reels in separate cloth bags or boxes. These
 tubes, bags, or boxes only accommodate a single rod or reel.
 To overcome the inherent problem of carrying a numbers of bags, it has been
 suggested to construct carrying cases that can enclose the entirety of a
 fishing rod along with the reel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,590 to
 Hepworth et al. discloses a rigid carrying case for a fly fishing rod
 along with the fly fishing reel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,874 to Vance
 discloses a soft sided carrying case for fishing poles. However, this
 carrying case is designed such that it can only contain a fishing rod
 and/or reel. As a result, fishermen are forced to carry their fishing
 accessories such as floats, fishing rod flies, bait and sunglasses in
 additional cases or bags. Alternately, a fisherman may wear a bulky
 fishing jacket comprising an excessive number of pockets for carrying his
 fishing accessories. The use of a fishing jacket by the fisherman has the
 disadvantage that the fisherman's ability to maneuver is severely
 restrained by the various accessories stored in the pockets of his fishing
 jacket.
 While these units mentioned above may be suitable for the particular
 purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for
 the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 It is an object of the present invention to provide a fishing case that is
 capable of storing all standard fishing equipment and accessories.
 Accordingly, internal compartments are provided for neat storage of all
 ordinary fishing supplies and equipment.
 It is another object of the invention to provide a fishing case that is
 lightweight and portable.
 It is yet another object of the invention to provide a fishing case that
 protects the fishing equipment from water damage. Accordingly, the case
 has a water-proof exterior which prevents water from entering the interior
 of the fishing case.
 It is a still further object of the invention to provide a fishing case
 that may be carried as a brief case or as a backpack. Accordingly, a
 handle and a pair of straps are provided on the fishing case.
 To accomplish the above and related objects, the invention may be embodied
 in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called
 to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations
 are contemplated as being part of the invention, limited only by the scope
 of the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 Initial reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1, fishing
 case 100 is a rectangular structure. The fishing case 5 has a front
 section 11 and a back section 12. The front section 11 is hingeably
 attached to the back section 12. According to the present invention, the
 fishing case 5 is appropriately sized to contain the user's fishing fly or
 rod in its folded or dismantled position and all of the user's fishing
 supplies and accessories. In the preferred form, the fishing case 5 is
 approximately sixteen inches in length along its top portion 16 and its
 bottom portion 14, approximately twelve inches in height and approximately
 four inches deep.
 Referring momentarily to FIG. 3, the fishing case 100 has an exterior
 portion 10 and an interior portion 32 that is provided with space for
 storage.
 It is preferable that the exterior portion 10 of the fishing case 5 be
 constructed of a water-proof material, such as nylon, canvas, or the like.
 The use of a water-proof material for the exterior portion 10 ensures that
 the fishing equipment stored inside the fishing case 5 are not damaged
 when the user wades into the water while fishing.
 The top portion 16 of the fishing case 5 is provided with a U-shaped handle
 25 to facilitate in carrying the fishing travel case 5. The handle 25 may
 be constructed from any sturdy and resilient material.
 As shown in FIG. 2, the back portion 12 of the fishing travel case 5 is
 provided with a pair of straps 20. The presence of the pair of straps 20
 has the advantage of allowing the user to carry the fishing case 5 as a
 backpack.
 Once the fishing case 5 has been stocked with the fishing equipment, it may
 be closed by extending the closing flap 17 onto the front section 11 and
 securely engaging the reciprocal fastening means 15. It is preferable that
 the fastening means 15 be a zipper to ensure that the closing flap 17 is
 firmly affixed onto the front section 11 of the fishing case 5.
 Alternately, the fastening means 15 may be a hook and loop fastener, snap
 buttons or the like.
 As shown in FIG. 3, the front section 11 and the back section 12 of the
 fishing case 5 are provided with a closing means 30. The closing means 30
 allows the user to securely fasten the front section 11 to the back
 section 12 to maintain the case in a closed position. According to a
 preferred embodiment, the closing means 30 is a zipper. To open the case
 to provide access to the inside portion 32 of the fishing travel pack 5,
 the closing means 30 is disengaged and the front section 11 is lifted
 upwards.
 The top portion 11 of the fishing case 5 is provided with a plurality of
 pockets 41, storage compartments 42 and flexible holder bands 43. Fishing
 accessories and supplies may be placed in the pockets 41 and the storage
 compartments 42. The flexible holder band 43 may be used to securely hold
 small instruments, such as a pair of scissors or a pen knife.
 According to one embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 6, the
 inside portion 32 of the fishing case 5 firmly houses a cutout insert 50.
 In another embodiment, shown in FIG. 7, the inside portion 32 of the
 fishing travel pack 5 removably houses a second cutout insert 60, which is
 fixedly placed on top of the first cutout insert 50.
 FIG. 4 is a top view showing one embodiment of the cutout insert 50.
 According to this embodiment, the cutout insert 50 may be made from any
 flexible material, such as styrofoam.
 The cutout insert 50 is provided with an elongated cutout 51, which is used
 for housing a folded fishing fly or rod. The elongated cutout 51
 preferably extends diagonally across the case 5, to maximize the length of
 said elongated cutout 51 so as to allow a fishing rod of maximum dimension
 to be stored therein. The fly reel is stored in a circular cutout 52.
 Additional cutouts 53 are provided for storing flies.
 FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of a second cutout insert 60 that should
 be placed over the first cutout insert 50. The second cutout insert 60
 forms a tray which may be inserted and removed from the case. When the
 second cutout insert 60 is placed in the tray, it generally covers the
 elongated cutout 51, and further prevents the fishing rod typically
 contained therein from moving. The scope of the present invention is not
 limited by the exact locations of the individual cutouts on the cutout
 insert 50 or the cutout insert 60.
 Many specific details contained in the above description merely illustrate
 some preferred embodiments and should not be construed as a limitation on
 the scope of the invention. Many other variations are possible.