Abstract:
A combined outrigger and fishing rod holder for a boat having built-in fishing rod holders has a base with an upper section and a lower section where the lower section fits within a fishing rod holder on the boat and the upper section has a holder to receive and support the lower end of a fishing rod, a boom that is attached to the base and that is adjustable and extends outwardly from the boat, a clip attached to a pulley on the boom for holding a fishing line during trolling, the clip being positionable at any location along the boom.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This application relates generally to the field of fishing. More particularly, to outriggers associated with powerboats and the trolling of fishing lines outward and astern of a vessel. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     In sport fishing, a traditional practice is the trolling of baits astern of the fishing vessel. To increase the number of baits that can be trolled at one time, outrigger devices are employed to hold the lines at spaced intervals parallel to the vessel&#39;s direction of travel, and creating sufficient distance between the lines to avoid their becoming entangled. 
     In the prior art, outriggers usually are formed of a tubular or pipe-like unit that extends outwardly from the sides of a fishing vessel. The unit is often adjustable between an inboard or stowed position and an extended or trolling position. On larger sport fishing boats, outrigger devices are of the tubular mast type, and have a pivot at their inboard ends that is permanently attached to a vertical portion of the cabin or some other part of the boat superstructure. Boom elements enable the outrigger to be firmly held in the stowage or trolling positions while permitting easy transition between each position. Outriggers of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,050 to Rupp, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,064, to Rupp, III. 
     On smaller fishing boats, the outrigger devices are less complicated than the tubular mast type used on larger sport fishing boats. Typically, such outriggers comprise only a single length of tubing that has a pivot at the inboard end that is connected or inserted to the gunwale or equivalent horizontal surface of the boat, as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,259 to Zornes. These are often operated with a specifically designed gunwale mount, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,102 to Rupp, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,196 to Slatter, and are easily removable from the vessel. This design, mounting, and use has been refined for use with permanently attached aluminum structures over the helm of vessels such as T-tops or arches, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,346 to Rupp. 
     The present invention further advances the art of outrigger design for use on smaller fishing boats by providing an outrigger and supporting apparatus that extends a fishing line outwardly from the vessel while holding the fishing rod to which the extended fishing line is connected. The device may be inserted into a standard flush mounted rod holder, such as those installed into the gunwales of most fishing vessels. No specific mounting device will be necessary for operation. 
     SUMMARY OR THE INVENTION 
     It is the object of this invention to provide an outrigger that will support a traditional fishing rod used for trolling, and will extend the line from the fishing rod outwardly from the side of the fishing vessel. The outward extension of the fishing line from the fishing vessel is achieved by using a boom that is adjustable from an inboard or stowed position to an outward or trolling position. 
     Another object of this invention is to allow rotational movement of the boom about a vertical axis to ensure the desired orientation of the boom with respect to the gunwale of the fishing vessel. 
     Still another object of this invention is to utilize a pulley system to adjust the distance along the boom that the trolled fishing line will be maintained. In conjunction with the pulley system, a quick release clip will be used to hold the fishing line outward from the vessel while trolling and will release the fishing line when rapid pressure is applied to the trolled bait. 
     Still another object of this invention is have an outrigger apparatus that is received and supported within a standard flush mounted rod holder, making specially designed gunwale mounts unnecessary. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sport fishing vessel trolling fishing lines. The apparatus of the present invention is in use in the forward rod holders. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of a sport fishing vessel trolling fishing lines from fore and aft fishing rods on both the port and starboard sides. In both the port and starboard foreword rod holders, the outrigger of the present invention is utilized to hold the fishing rods currently in use. 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the outrigger of the present invention located in the starboard foreword rod holder of the vessel shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the outrigger of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the outward end of the outrigger boom including a more detailed view of the pulley system utilized by the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of the outrigger of the present invention inserted into a standard flush mounted rod holder on the gunwale of the fishing vessel. 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of the outrigger of the present invention created with an alternative rod holding configuration. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be constructed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete in conveying the scope of the invention. Like numbers refer to like elements in all drawings. 
     FIG. 1 shows a traditional fishing vessel  20  trolling fishing lines  7  and  22 . Fishing lines  7  are attached to forward fishing rods  6  in use with the present invention located within the forward rod holders (not seen). The boom section  8  of the present invention is shown in the trolling position holding fishing line  7  outward from the gunwale  2  of the fishing vessel to create separation from fishing line  22 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, shown is a standard fishing vessel  20  having trolling lines  7  and  22  extending rearward as the vessel moves in a forward direction. Extension of the fishing lines associated with the forward fishing rods outwardly from the vessel is achieved through using the outrigger of the present invention to create the necessary separation to avoid entanglement with fishing lines trolled from the fishing rods located in the aft rod holders. 
     As shown, the vessel has gunwales  2  which contain permanently mounted cylinders  11  and  21  for holding fishing rods. The cylinders are commonly referred to as “flush mounted rod holders.” The outriggers of the present invention are mounted in forward rod holders  11 , which, in turn, each hold a fishing rod  6 . The base section  5  of the outrigger of this invention is designed to hold a fishing rod  6  with associated fishing line  7 . A pulley system is used to move fishing line  7  outwardly from the gunwale of the fishing vessel to create separation from the fishing line  22 , which is being trolled from the fishing rod  23  contained within the aft rod holder  21 . The pulley system runs substantially the length of the boom  8  of the present invention, and has a quick release clip near the end of the boom to hold the line during trolling. 
     FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the gunwale  2  of the vessel with the base portion of the outrigger of this invention inserted into a flush mounted rod holder  11  in the gunwale. The base of the outrigger has an upper section  5  that fits within and is normally locked to a lower section  3  by means of a locking pin  10 . A boom  8  is attached to the upper section  5  by means of a boom joint  19 . A number of pinholes through the upper and lower sections permit relative rotational positioning of the upper section within the lower section when the locking pin  10  is removed. When a desired rotational positioning of the upper section is achieved, it may be locked in place through the use of the locking pin  10 . 
     The lower section  3  of the base is inserted in the rod holder. A notch  15  is located at the bottom of the lower section, and is designed for proper seating of the outrigger in rod holders containing a seating pin. The base can be removed at will from the flush mounted rod holder in a manner similar to the removal of a standard fishing rod. 
     The upper section  5  of the base is cylindrical, forming an annular recess, and is configured to hold the lower end of a standard fishing rod  6 . The upper section contains a seating pin  4  for securing fishing rods containing a notch at the end of the rod handle. 
     FIG. 3 shows the pulley system located on the boom that allows for the outward movement of the fishing line from the gunwale of the vessel. The boom  8  utilizes a pulley  12  to allow adjustment of the specific location of the trolled fishing line along the boom. The pulley system operates between two circular eyelets or pulley wheels  9  and  14  permanently attached to the boom, and utilizes a quick release clip  13  to hold the fishing line while trolling takes place. 
     In FIG. 4, a range of vertical motion of the boom  8  is shown in various positions. The boom may rotate about a fixed pivot  17  located on the boom joint  19 , and can be held at a given angle by inserting a pin through pinholes  16 ,  18 , or  24 . The range of motion for the boom while in use varies between 0 degrees from the horizon to about 90 degrees. 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the outward end of the boom section  8  of the current invention. This view illustrates in more detail the pulley section  12  associated with the boom  8  that controls the location of the fishing line  7 . The pulley system  12  operates between pulley wheels  14  and  9  (not shown) located on the boom section  8 . Along the pulley a quick release clip  13  holds the fishing line  7  in place while being trolled. 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of the upper section of the outrigger of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, seating pin  4  is visible within the upper section, and will prevent any fishing rod having a notch at the end from rotating in the cylinder. Rotational movement of the boom  8  and upper section within the lower section may be controlled by removing and reinserting adjustment pin  10 . Positional holes for adjusting the rotational movement of the upper section extend through the lower portion of upper section  5 . 
     FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the upper section of the base does not form a full annular recess, but consists of straps or “fingers” that may extend around the lower handle of the fishing rod. In this embodiment, the straps or fingers may have buckles (not shown) or some other releasable means for attaching them around the fishing rod, or they may be partially rigid, and simply hold the rod until greater forces cause the fingers to open. Other, non-preferred embodiments may be used for supporting the fishing rod upon the base of the outrigger, such as through the use of Velcro or some other releasable attachment means, without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     The outrigger of this invention is suitable for use in small boats having rigidly attached rod holders. Although the boat will preferably have flush mounted rod holders, the invention is not limited to this kind of boat, but will provide excellent results with any boat having rigidly-mounted fishing rod holders. The assembly is easily installed and removed, and provides the boater with versatility in using the boat for troll fishing with the outriggers installed, and for other recreational uses when they are removed. Because the outriggers may be manufactured in different sizes, and are not permanently mounted, a boater may select and use a larger or smaller outrigger, depending upon the particular occasion. 
     While the invention has been disclosed and described in accordance with the preferred embodiments known to the inventor, the invention is not so limited, and is to be given the broadest scope consonant with the following, appended claims.