Abstract:
The present invention is a towel or absorbent cloth adapted for use by a fisherman for grasping a freshly caught fish with measurement means visible on a surface of the towel or absorbent cloth. In a preferred embodiment, attaching means provide for attachment of the towel to a belt or pants top of a user so that it can be easily reached upon catching a fish. In another embodiment, a grasping part of the towel or cloth is adapted to minimize absorbency to preserve the protective slime coat of a freshly caught fish so that it can be safely released after measurement.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to equipment and tackle used for recreational fishing. More specifically, the present invention relates to recreational fishing devices used to measure a freshly caught fish length. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Sport and recreational fishing is a popular pastime, and, accordingly, the production of sport fishing equipment has become a very large industry. Critical to every recreational angler is the length and weight of each fish that constitutes their catch. In addition, catch-and-release fishing, for example, is one method which has grown in popularity, either by regulation in some areas, or by the voluntary action of fishermen. In the case of catch-and-release fishing, measurement of at least the length of each fish is an essential part of the fishing experience so that a sport fisherman can relate to others their prowess in catching large fish, albeit to let them go after admiring them. All states and territories of the United States maintain laws and regulations requiring minimum lengths of some fish caught in their jurisdictions. These laws and regulations are intended to reduce the potential for overfishing. However, many states provide for regulations for only specific regions or bodies of water where overfishing is a recognized problem. In addition, the regulations can be quite complex in requiring that fish be kept only if their length is within or outside of very specific ranges, i.e., slot limits allow for keeping fish only (1) above a minimum length, (2) below a lower length above the minimum and (3) above a higher length above the lower length. An example of a slot limit is a minimum length of 12 inches with a lower length of 18 inches and an upper length of 24 inches. A fish with a length of 19 inches could not be kept but a fish with a length of 25 inches could be kept. A length measurement device is clearly critical to the fishing process. 
   Minimizing handling for both catch-and-release fishing and fishing for keeps aids in maintaining the vitality of the fish. However, upon catching a fish, a fisherman must obtain a handhold on the fish, which is sometimes difficult because the fish is slippery, and is thrashing about, remove the hook from the fish, and place the fish adjacent to some measuring scale, such as a rigid ruler or flexible tape. Then, if the fish does not meet the length requirements or if all fish are released, the fisherman will return the fish back into the water. 
   All of these actions are difficult to perform, time consuming, and subject the fish to some level of trauma, sometimes needlessly. The time and trauma involved can sometimes lead to major injury, or even the needless death of the fish. While measuring devices abound for caught fish, they are often not usable in the place most advantageous to the health of the fish and to minimizing the thrashing reflex of the caught fish. 
   The prior art is extensive with respect to devices for catch site measurement of fish caught for recreation (or competition). U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,876,818, 4,631,851, 6,094,996, and 6,615,532 all describe incorporation of a measurement component into a typical hand held net for sport fishing. The disadvantages of such an incorporation are readily apparent. A freshly caught fish will be thrashing vigorously in the net and will need to be restrained and forced into a measuring position adjacent to the measuring component in the net. In addition, the fish typically responds to restraint by arching its body sideways, making measurement difficult or inaccurate. 
   The prior art also describes incorporation of measurement components in a fishing gaff or other rigid lengths, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,228,226, 4,885,862, 5,934,004, D372,294 and 6,115,932. Various approaches to measuring fish are known in the prior art, but each of the known approaches suffers from certain problems and disadvantages. One common approach is to use a general measuring device, such as a yardstick or tape measure. In this approach the fisherman must simultaneously hold both the fish and the measuring device, properly position the fish relative to the measuring device, and read the length of the fish from the markings on the measuring device while holding the fish in the proper position. In addition to the mechanical difficulty of simultaneously holding, positioning, and measuring, this approach has the serious disadvantages of leading to inaccurate measurements and of exposing both fisherman and fish to injury. These acts are not optional given the penalties, fines and imprisonment that can occur through keeping fish of an illegal length. 
   Fishermen typically handle fish with their bare hands. It is more practical to perform all fishing tasks with bare hands in light of a high degree of manual dexterity required for other fishing operations, such as tending to reels, rods, lures, bait and fishing lines. Pulling on gloves or picking up a towel or cloth to protect the hands in the act of catching a fish is usually out of the question. It is well known that gloves and towels are used by fishermen in the acts of post-catch activities to protect hands or to wipe surfaces clean, but use of gloves or towels at or immediately after catching a fish is not preferred by them. However, gloves or towels are sometimes used in the act of handling freshly caught fish. 
   One drawback to use of gloves or towels in handling fish is the quick accumulation of slime and scales on any absorbent surface. Fish have substantial amounts of slime on their outer surfaces for a reason. It protects the fish from bacterial, and fungal infections. So fishermen reserve use of absorbent articles such as towels for wiping their own hands after handling fish to measure them. The thrashing reflex of fish out of water can be more effectively restrained with a dry towel un-infused with fish slime and scales, but the effectiveness of the towel for restraint over a user&#39;s hand is dramatically reduced when the towel is wetted and/or coated with fish slime and scales. 
   There is a need for a sport or recreational fishing device that can be easily used by a fisherman to assist in holding and measuring a freshly caught fish and is incorporated into equipment that a fisherman would typically carry for fishing. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is a towel or absorbent cloth adapted for use by a fisherman for grasping a freshly caught fish with measurement means visible on a surface of the towel or absorbent cloth. In a preferred embodiment, attaching means provide for attachment of the towel to a belt, pants top of a user or a nearby boat seat so that it can be easily reached upon catching a fish. In another embodiment, a grasping part of the towel or cloth is adapted to minimize absorbency to preserve the protective slime coat of a freshly caught fish so that it can be safely released after measurement. 
   Yet another embodiment comprises a towel or cloth with multiple folds which are releasably secured in a compact form, where measurement marks are continuous along the fully unfolded length of the towel. In a compact form, the towel is used for measuring smaller fish, where in a fully unfolded state the towel is used for measuring longer fish. 
   It is preferred that measurement marks for inches or centimeters (and their subdivisions) be located on a long edge of the invention towel. In this form, the invention towel can be used as a flexible tape measure and be held edgewise along a length of a fish so that only said long edge need be brought close to the fish to measure its length. In using it this way, the measuring part of the towel need not touch a fish at all. 
   In another usage, the invention towel may be spread out on any relatively flat surface with its measurement markings visible to a user looking down at the invention towel. The user can then place the length of a gutted fish along the measurement markings for cutting desired lengths of the fish body for storage or distribution among other fishermen when a catch is shared. A particularly useful measurement accomplished with the invention towel is during a fillet step in relation to a regulation of the State of California, i.e., a piece of the fish&#39;s skin measuring at least two inches by two inches must be retained on each fillet for identification of the species. A towel is commonly used near the cleaning and filleting operation. The invention towel is quickly spread so that length measurements of the skin piece are determined. 
   Printing and embroidering of towel and absorbent cloth material is well known. In one embodiment of the invention towel, a representation of a ruler is printed on the edge of the towel or within a mid portion of the towel. Alternately, grid lines are printed on a towel&#39;s surface uniformly spaced apart with unit measurements easily read along the grid lines so a fish may be supported generally anywhere or in aligned in almost any direction relative to the printed towel surface and a fish&#39;s length and width measurements may be viewed by a user. Grid lines can run parallel and diagonal to edges of a rectangular towel in such an embodiment. Indications of length units on the invention towel may be incorporated with the absorbent material in other ways, i.e., by way of screen printing, painting, heat transfer or the like. 
   The user of an invention towel will have initially reeled in a subject fish. A user may wet the towel and reach into the water to retrieve the fish, supporting the fish in a wetted surface less likely to remove protective slime and scales but providing a secure grasp of the fish with a single hand. A user may support the fish in the towel with palm(s) upward so that a printed ruler on the towel is oriented with the length of the fish to note its measured length. Alternately, a user may drape the towel over the top of a fish and hold the fish in their bare hands, where the printed ruler is viewed on the top surface and the fish&#39;s length can be determined by the support length of the towel over the length of the fish. 
   Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a measuring means integral with absorbent material for measuring a fish&#39;s length without killing or damaging the fish. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front, perspective view of a prior art towel for use in sport fishing having a belt loop. 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of an invention towel for use in sport fishing having fish measurement means imprinted on its top surface along an outside edge and along a mid-line portion of a towel length, where a second layer is integrally attached to long edges of the towel to form a glove or mitt for a user&#39;s hand. 
       FIG. 3  is a top view of an invention towel for use in sport fishing having fish measurement means imprinted on its top surface along a diagonal of a rectangular shape of the towel. 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of an invention towel for use in sport fishing presenting fish measurement means imprinted on its top surface along an outside edge, where the towel is folded and showing only half its full length. 
       FIG. 5  is the towel of  FIG. 4  unfolded to full length. 
       FIG. 6  is a top view of an invention towel for use in sport fishing having fish measurement means imprinted on its top surface shown as a grid allowing a user to measure a fish in either of two directions. 
       FIG. 7  is a top view of a triangle-shaped invention towel for use in sport fishing having fish measurement means imprinted on its top surface along an outside edge as arcs sections of circles whose centers are at a belt loop opening at an apex of the towel. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is now discussed with reference to the figures.  FIG. 1  is a prior art towel  10  for use in sport fishing. It is common for a text or graphic device to be printed or embroidered to visible on a surface of the towel  10 . Towel  10  is shown in a folded state comprising a single sheet of towel material such as terrycloth, woven or non-woven flexible and absorbent sheet material or its equivalent and is adapted to dry a user&#39;s hands or other surface. Halves  11  and  12  of towel  10  join at fold  13 , sharing bottom edge  16  and top edge  17 , where hook strap  19  and loop patch  20  form hook and loop means for maintaining halves  11  and  12  in a folded position and to further provide a loop  15  in strap  19  so that towel  10  can be attached to a user&#39;s belt or on a wall hook. Towel can further be folded again at fold  14 . Edges  18  of halves  11  and  12  are generally aligned in the folded position. 
     FIG. 2  is a top view of a rectangular invention towel  30  with long edges  34  and  35  and end edges  32  and  33  generally defining top surface  31 . The embodiments of the invention fishing towels generally comprise a single sheet of towel material such as terrycloth, woven or non-woven flexible and absorbent sheet material or its equivalent, unless otherwise described. 
   Top surface  31  of towel  30  comprises imprinted or embroidered measurement means  39  comprising rule marks for units  1  through  12 , which may represent inches, centimeters or other useful measurement units. Fish  21  comprises a end to end axis  22  which is aligned with edge  35  so that fish  21  can be measured for length. 
   In another embodiment as to the placement of measurement means on towel  30 , measurement means  40  is imprinted generally along a mid-line between edges  34  and  35  so that fish  41  (shown in broken lines) can be measured with substantial towel material extends beyond a width of fish  41 . It is preferred that a user may place their hand palm upward underneath towel  30  in the area of the head of fish  41  and allow their arm to extend rearward along the end to end axis of fish  41  so that the user&#39;s hand grasps, through the towel material of towel  30 , the head of fish  41  for restraint, allowing a user&#39;s other hand free to draw edge  33  rearward of a thrashing fish and then to further restrain the fish&#39;s tail for measurement using measurement means  40 . 
   A mitt embodiment of the invention towel is shown in  FIG. 2  where a sheet  37  of flexible material generally the size of towel  30  is sewn or secured to edges  34  and  35  with opening  38  adapted to receive a user&#39;s hand for insertion between towel  30  and sheet  37  in the manner of a mitt. The mitt embodiment allows a user greater freedom to align the measurement means of towel  30  along an end to end axis of a fish for measurement without fear of having towel  30  drop from a user&#39;s hand in the measurement process. In a fresh caught embodiment, a user may wear the mitt of towel  30  and sheet  37  during the process of reeling in a fish. After a fish is lifted from the water by a user&#39;s free hand by way of a fishing line, the user can quickly and effectively restrain the freshly caught fish with a mitt covered hand and, with or without removal of a hook set in the fish&#39;s mouth, measure the fish with measurement means on towel  30 . If the measurement process takes place before de-hooking, a user can know whether the freshly caught fish needs to be released as undersized. The user can take greater care to unhook an undersized fish which is to be released than one which is to be kept. 
   In yet another embodiment of the mitt invention towel  30  and sheet  37 , a user may insert rod  52  in direction  51  so that it forms a rigid support for edge  35 , thereby assuring an even greater degree of measurement accuracy. Rod  52  can be easily removed after measurement has taken place by way of measurement means  39 . 
   The invention towel may comprise means for attaching it to a user&#39;s belt or other convenient support, which is partly shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  as reinforced hole  36 . Hole  36  is adapted to receive thongs, clips, hooks, hook and loop straps or equivalent means from which a user may connect towel  30  to a user&#39;s belt or other convenient support. 
     FIG. 3  shows towel  42  as an alternate form of towel  30  in  FIG. 2 . Towel  42  of  FIG. 3  shows long edges  44  and end edges  43  defining a rectangular top surface  50 , upon which are imprinted or embroidered (or their equivalent) measurement means  45  along a diagonal of surface  50 . In addition, outlines of fish  47  and  49  intending to be caught, i.e., Red Fish or Blue Fish for example, may be shown in alignment with means  45  in conjunction with indications  46  and  48  of minimum legal length for such a fish. A notation of the jurisdiction setting those limits may be noted on surface  50 . 
   The invention towel may be secured in a folded state for convenient support on a user&#39;s belt and unfolded to a longer state to measure a fish having a length greater than the folded state length.  FIG. 4  shows towel  53  folded in half at fold  56 , with half sheet  57  bearing a first half of measurement means  55  along edge  54 , opposite edge  58 . End edge  53  is the location of hole  60 .  FIG. 5  shows towel  53  opened, showing halves  57  and  57 a bearing the full extent of means  55  for measuring long fish. Hole  60 a is adapted to align with hole  60  when folded so that halves  57  and  57 a are maintained together when a loop of cord or clip are inserted through holes  60  and  60 a. Similarly, edge  59 a is also adapted to align beneath edge  59  in the folded state. 
     FIG. 6  is a grid bearing embodiment of the invention towel  63 , where edges  67 ,  68 ,  69  and  70  generally bear, respectively, measurement means  71 ,  68 ,  69  and  70 , which in turn indicate measurement of a fish  72  or  72 a lying on top surface. In the grid embodiment, multiple fish may be measured simultaneously. 
     FIG. 7  shows a wedge embodiment of the invention towel  73 , where angle edges  74  and  75  form an acute angle and extend down to circular arc edge  76 . Edge  76  is a section of a circle whose center is hole  77 . Arc measurement lines  78  are made on top surface  80  also sections of a circle whose center is hole  77  and which indicate unit fish lengths  79 . The wedge embodiment minimizes sheet size of a towel accomplishing the objects of the invention while requiring only an alignment of one end of a fish with hole  77 , thereby making it possible to determine a fish length without alignment of a caught fish  81  (in broken lines) to a single linear measurement means. The radial measurement means shown in  FIG. 7  may be applied to invention towels of other peripheral shapes. 
   The invention measuring towel has a first length of greater than a fish that a user desires to catch and a width of at least two inches or more so that a user has sufficient towel material to use the invention towel for a function other than simple fish measurement, i.e., for a specific example, a desired volume of liquid for drying hands or mopping a surface could be absorbed in a terrycloth towel of at least about two inches wide and about six inches long. 
   The invention towel is capable of bearing printed indications of slot limits of (1) a minimum length of, say, of 6 inches, (2) a lower length of, say, 9 inches and (3) a higher length of, say, 12 inches. The invention towels can inexpensively be printed or formed bearing an indication of at localities where confusing or lesser known slot limits apply and optionally distributed there for promotional items. 
   The above description discloses to one skilled in the art sufficient instruction that such a person may select, within skill in the art, appropriate and/or well-known modifications of apparatus, structures, and methods of using the above examples and descriptions of the invention without departing from its objects.