Fishing rod indicator assembly

An indicator assembly for attachment to a fishing rod, which assembly gives a positive, visual indication of a fish bite. The assembly, which may be semi-permanently or permanently mounted on a standard fishing rod, does not in its first, stored position, interfere with the normal use of the rod, being mounted thereon by means which permit conventional use of the rod. The assembly may be placed into use by merely unhooking a weight, which is carried by the mounting means and through which the fishing line is trained, permitting the weight to move, by gravity, from its first position, to a second, use position, spaced from the rod and whereby a portion of the fishing line is drawn away from the rod, the weight, in said second position, being shiftable in response to the bite of a fish on the line, to thereby visually signal said bite.

BACKGROUND ART 
This invention relates to an assembly for attachment to a conventional 
fishing rod and wherein there is support structure permanently or 
semi-permanently mounted on the rod, which support structure carries a 
weight, the fishing line being trained through an opening in the weight, 
the weight being movable from a first, stored position to a second 
position of use and wherein the weight draws the fishing line away from 
the rod in such a manner that a bite on the end of the line will cause 
shifting movement of the weight to visually indicate the presence of a 
bite on the line. 
This invention is an improvement over my U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,957 issued 
Nov. 21, 1978 and which relates generally to the same subject matter. 
However, the present assembly is much simpler in construction and operation 
and presents a unit wherein the fishing line and the means holding the 
weight on the fishing pole are relatively free from the possibility of 
becoming entangled. Further, the mounting means by which the assembly is 
attached to the fishing pole also provides, at the same general area, the 
hook for retaining the weight in its stored, non-use position and it is 
not necessary to hook the weight to the pole at a position distant from 
its normal point of use in order to store the weight. 
Another important difference is that the fishing line is, at all times, 
trained through the opening in the weight; however, such does not prevent 
conventional use of the fishing pole, such as by casting the same or the 
like, and it is not necessary to train the fishing line through the weight 
after the pole has been cast; that is, subsequent to the placing, in the 
body of water, the lure or plug as was the case with the invention 
disclosed in my said previous Pat. No. 4,125,957. 
As indicated in said earlier patent, others have been aware for some time 
of the problem of detecting a fish bite, as evidenced for instance, by the 
disclosures in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,023,532; 3,143,822; and 3,916,554, which 
disclose various types of apparatus adapted to be used with a rod and a 
line combination for indicating the existence of a bite on the line. Each 
of the devices in the above noted prior art patents is sensitive to the 
application of tension on the line which occurs when a fish moves the bait 
in a direction away from the rod and function to produce a visual signal 
when a prescribed tension has been imposed on the line. However, as 
previously indicated, these prior art devices are less than completely 
satisfactory since line tension produced by waves or wind can give rise to 
faulty indications of bite; moreover, none of these previous indicators is 
operative to signal a bite when the fish is taking and moving the bait in 
a direction toward the rod. 
The present invention, for the reasons hereinabove set forth, overcomes the 
above mentioned deficiencies in that it provides a readily visible weight 
which is carried by mounting means intermediate the ends of a conventional 
fishing pole and which weight has trained, through an opening therein, the 
fishing line, the weight being shiftable from a stored, first position, 
adjacent the fishing rod to a second, gravity-induced position spaced from 
the rod. 
In the position of use, the weight draws the fishing line away from the rod 
in such a manner that, when there is any pull or other action on the end 
of the fishing line normally carrying the bait, the weight will move 
whereby to give the user a visual indication that there is a bite on the 
end of the line. 
Thus, a primary object of the invention is to provide a fishing rod 
indicator assembly which is readily mounted upon a fishing rod and which 
may be used to visually indicate the presence of a bite on the line. 
Yet another object is to provide an indicator assembly which is readily 
visible, by means of a shiftable weight, the weight being shiftable by 
action of the fishing line, which fishing line is trained through an 
opening in the weight at all times. 
Yet another object is to provide an assembly wherein the weight may be 
readily moved to a storage position when it is not desired to use the same 
but may likewise be readily moved to a position of use when it is desired 
to place the same in an operative position, all without removing the 
fishing line from the opening provided therefor in the weight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
The fishing rod indicator assembly is broadly designated by the numeral 10 
and is intended to be mounted upon a conventional fishing rod 12, which 
rod 12 normally carries a reel 14 and a fishing line 16. 
The indicator assembly 10 is intended to be mounted on the rod 12 between 
the butt end 18 and the tip end 20 thereof. 
Indicator assembly 10 includes, as its primary components, support 
structure, broadly designated as 22 for mounting the assembly 10 on the 
rod 12; a weight 24; a pair of spaced arms 26 and 28 and a length of 
flexible material 30 mounting the weight 24 between said arms 26 and 28, 
as illustrated. 
Specifically, the support structure 22 includes a pair of spaced apart 
wires 32 and 34 adapted to generally straddle the fishing pole 12 and 
carrying, intermediate the ends thereof a plate 36 which, on the face 
thereof adjacent rod 12 is provided with a cushion 38 and, on the face 
thereof spaced from rod 12 is provided with a hook 40. 
The spaced wires 32 and 34 which serve to define the support structure 22 
then extend outwardly, being bent as illustrated, whereby to present the 
arms 26 and 28, which are in the nature of standoffs; that is, the inner 
ends of the arms 26 and 28, respectively, are generally adjacent the rod 
12 whereas the outer ends 42 and 44 of arms 26 and 28, respectively, are 
spaced a distance from the rod 12 and also, of course, from support 
structure 22. 
Forming a part of each of the arms 26 and 28 are keepers 46 and 48 which 
are generally U-shaped and have the bight portion thereof spaced from the 
rod 12 and the open end thereof generally adjacent the rod 12 so that the 
fishing line 16 may be trained through the keepers and the line restrained 
by the bight portions of said keepers 46 and 48. 
The weight 24, as indicated, is carried by the arms 26 and 28 by means of a 
flexible tether 30. The free ends of the flexible tether are secured, by 
swivel mountings 50 and 52, respectively, to the outer ends 42 and 44 of 
arms 26 and 28 whereby the weight 24 may be moved from a first position to 
a second position. 
FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawing show the weight 24 in its first or stored 
position. In said position, the weight is retained with respect to the rod 
or pole 12 by means of the hook 40, which hook engages a rim 54 which is 
defined by an opening 56 which is formed through the weight 24. 
The body portion of weight 24 is also provided with an aperture 58 through 
which the flexible line 30 is trained. 
It will be appreciated that, with the weight 24 in the first position as 
illustrated in FIG. 3, the assembly 10 may be readily and quickly mounted 
upon the fishing rod 12 as by bringing cushion 38 into engagement with the 
upper surface of the rod 12 as illustrated, for instance, in FIG. 1, and 
then securing the assembly 10 to the rod by means of tape or clamps such 
as 60 which are placed over the wires 32 and 34 and around the rod 12 
whereby to clamp or bind the assembly 10 to the fishing rod and in the 
position shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing. 
It should be noted that, either prior to or subsequent to the mounting of 
the assembly 10 on the rod, it is appropriate to train fishing line 16 
through the opening 56 so that the line 16 will thereafter always be 
retained within the opening 56 for purposes which will hereinafter become 
apparent. 
In its first or stored position, the assembly does not interfere with the 
conventional use of the fishing rod 12 and line 16 inasmuch as the line 
and the lure or other bait which might be attached to the free end thereof 
may be readily cast and the line 16 will operate in its normal manner, 
being retained in spaced, generally parallel relationship to the rod 12 by 
means of keepers 46 and 48 and the opening 56 in weight 24. Thus, keepers 
46 and 48 and opening 56 serve as further eyes through which the line 
passes, and are comparable to the conventional eye such as 62 which is 
normally found on a fishing rod and through which the line is trained. 
However, once the line has been cast and it is desired to position the 
assembly 10 in such a manner as to function in its intended fashion, the 
assembly may be inverted to the position shown in FIG. 2 of the drawing 
and the weight 24 detached from its first position held by hook 40. 
When in this position, the weight 24 draws the line 16 away from the rod 12 
to the position shown in FIG. 2 and wherein there is a tension exerted on 
the line 16 by virtue of the presence of the weight 24. Weight 24 is 
generally retained in a movable or shiftable position by means of the 
flexible, resilient tether 30. 
Further, the pole may be suitably supported by means of standards 64 which 
are generally Y-shaped, as illustrated in FIG. 5, and which may be 
suitably mounted upon a tackle box such as 66 or, if desired, may be 
pushed into the ground to then receive the rod 12 and associated 
components as illustrated in FIG. 2. 
When the assembly 10 is in the position of use; that is, the second 
position as illustrated in FIG. 2, any movement on the line 16 will cause 
a shifting movement of the weight 24 and thereby give a visual indication 
to the user that there is a bite on the line. It is preferable that the 
weight 24 be made of a brightly colored material so that any relative 
movement thereof will be instantly noticeable whereupon the appropriate 
action may be taken. 
It should be noted that, if the rod and line are retained in the position 
shown in FIG. 2 and the line reeled in, the weight 24 will still not 
interfere with the normal use of the line but will merely be drawn 
upwardly, viewing FIG. 2, and the opening 56 will then be moved into 
alignment with keepers 46 and 46 whereby to permit smooth reeling in of 
the line. 
When it is not desired to utilize the advantages of assembly 10, it will be 
appreciated that the rim 54 of weight 24 may be hooked over the hook 40 
carried by plate 36 and the opening 56 of the weight thereby serves as a 
further "eye" for the line in its conventional use and cooperates with 
keepers 46 and 48 and eyes or loops such as 62 in order to retain the line 
16 in the desired position with respect to the rod 12 for conventional 
use. 
However, when it is desired to utilize the advantages of assembly 10, the 
weight 24 may be readily released from its first position, as illustrated 
in FIGS. 1 and 3 and will, by weight of gravity, move to the second 
position, as illustrated in FIG. 2 whereby to draw a tension on the 
fishing line 16 and thus be ready to immediately indicate any movement of 
the line resulting from a bite.