Improvements in Fishing Tackle specially applicable to Sea or Deep Water Fishing.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 21st July, 1893
Complete Specification Left. 23rd Apr., 1894-Accepted, 25:h May, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fishing Tackle specially applicable to Sea or
Deep Water Fishing.
We, ALFRED WILLIAM BETHAM of 37 Queens Road, Brownswood Park in the
County of Middlesex, Clerk, and ALFRED ANDREW ANDREW of Sawbridgworth
in the County of Hertford, Barrister at Law, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :—
The object of our invention is to provide an improved tackle for bottom and
deep water fishing whether in sea or fresh water, from piers, quays, boats or
otherwise.
The tackle usually employed for this purpose consists of a metal rod or wire to
which is attached a sinker of lead or other weighty substance and level with this
weight or sinker is arranged a set of arms or chopsticks of convenient length from
the ends of which depend the lines carrying the hooks and baits. The main hauling
line is attached to this arrangement the weight or sinker depending therefrom, and
the apparatus when rigged for fishing does not itself regulate the distance of the
sinker from the bottom. Moreover the weight or body of the sinker is constant, so
that in still water a light sinker may be employed but if by reason of tide, current
or storm the water becomes agitated a heavier sinker may be found desirable. A
further disadvantage which we overcome is that the main line with the weight or
sinker attached must be held in the hand of the fisherman so as to keep the weight
with hooks and baits raised a certain distance from the bottom, thus necessitating a
constant strain on the fingers. For a similar reason it is found inconvenient or
impossible to use a rod which would moreover render a bite hardly perceptible to
the holder of the same.
Now by our invention we provide a tackle for this description of fishing which
may be used with or without a rod, whereby the sinker can be loaded or unloaded
with extra weight without trouble, and of such a nature that although the sinker
is always arranged to be at the bottom, the spreaders or chopsticks are immediately
over the sinker and fixed in such a manner that the tide or current will not alter
their position, and this may be readily regulated by the fisherman who is not
burdened by the weight of the tackle and by whom a bite can be detected at once
without the necessity of holding the whole weight of the tackle in his hand, and for
this purpose, we provide firstly a weight or sinker say of conical shape and
preferably of lead or other heavy metal and about of the usual size and for the
purpose of readily increasing the weight or substance of this we provide hollow.
cones of like metal having a slit on one side so as to be able to pass them over the
line or vertical rod to which the main sinker may be attached and allow them to
fall over the conical termination thereof and any desired number of these may be
kept ready and applied or released as required.
We also provide a hollow conical cap permanently placed over the main sinker
and having
a hole in its apex through which the line or vertical rod passes,
which cap we raise when it is desired to add to the weight and return over.
the added blank or hollow cone or cones so as to keep them in position when
applied.
Instead of attaching our sinker to the end of a line we affix it to the end of
a short metallic rod or stiff wire so that such rod will stand upright or nearly
so over the sinker. Free to slide up or down on this vertical rod is a boss

page_text: which may be regulated by means of a set screw. At convenient points in this
boss say at right angles we pivot a number of bell crank levers, generally
three, having each a short arm and a long one, the long arms are the spreaders
in place of the usual chopsticks or cross arms and the external ends of these
are flattened and have a hole therein. The short arms of the levers are arranged
to lie within the boss and parallel with the vertical rod, a milled ring or collar
on the rod or a like device securing them in this position when in use, but on
slight alteration of position allowing the long arms to fold up against the vertical
rod into a very small compass when required for transport.
The top of the vertical rod has a loop or loops or a ring through which pass
lines or wires which are then led through holes or eyelets at the extremities of
the spreaders or long arms of the levers and terminate in stops, shackles or
swivels to which the gimp, wire or the like carrying the hooks and bait is
attached. The ends of these lines or wires are collected and bound together in
or attached to a loop over the ring at the top of the vertical rod and to this
loop the end of the running line is attached. It will thus be seen that the weight
may remain at the bottom of the sea or river and the weight of the line, bait,
hooks, etc. is all that is necessary to be sustained by the hand or finger of or
rod held by the fisherman who thus more readily detects a bite, the whole forming
a kind of running tackle. When a fish is hooked the line may be drawn taut, the
stops or swivels come in contact with the ends of the levers or spreaders and so the
whole apparatus may be drawn to the surface and the fish disengaged from
the hooks, or, by drawing the swivels up against the arms the apparatus may be
lifted for adjustment or for adding blank weights, etc.
Dated this 21st day of July 1893.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fishing Tackle specially applicable to Sea or
Deep Water Fishing.
We ALFRED WILLIAM BETHAM of 37 Queens Road Brownswood Park in the
County of Middlesex, Clerk, and ALFRED ANDREW ANDREW of Sawbridgworth
in the County of Hertford, Barrister at Law, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of our invention is to provide an improved tackle for bottom and
deep water fishing whether in sea or fresh water, from piers, quays, boats or
otherwise.
The tackle usually employed for this purpose consists of a metal rod or wire to
which is attached a sinker of lead or other weighty substance, and level with this
weight or sinker is arranged a set of arms or chopsticks of convenient length from
the ends of which depend the lines carrying the hooks and baits; the main hauling
line is attached to this arrangement the weight or sinker depending therefrom. The
apparatus when rigged for fishing does not itself regulate the distance of the sinker
from the bottom this depending upon the judgment of the fisherman. Moreover
the weight or body of the sinker is constant, so that in still water a light sinker
may be employed, but if by reason of tide, current or storm the water becomes
agitated a heavier sinker may be found desirable.
A further disadvantage which we overcome by the use of our invention is that
the main line with the weight or sinker attached must be held in the hand of the
fisherman so as to keep the weight with hooks and bait raised a certain distance
from the bottom, thus giving a constant strain on the arm. For a similar reason
it is found inconvenient or impossible to use a rod, which would moreover on

page_text: account of the weight of the sinker render a bite hardly perceptible to the holder
of the same.
Now by our invention we provide a tackle for this description of fishing which
may be used with or without a rod, whereby the sinker can be loaded or unloade
with extra weight without trouble and of such a nature that although the sinker
is always arranged to rest upon the bed or bottom of the water the spreaders or
chopsticks are immediately over the sinker and fixed in such a manner that the tide
or current will not alter their position, and this may be readily adjusted by the
fisherman who is not burdened now by the weight of the tackle and who can detect
a bite at once without the necessity of holding the whole weight of the tackle in
his hand.
The accompanying sheet of drawings to which we shall hereafter refer illustrates.
a convenient form of our invention,
Figure being a general view of our apparatus when resting in position in the
water.
Figure 2 is the same when the collapsible arms or spreaders are folded up for
convenience in carrying.
Figures 3, 4, and 5 are details (enlarged) of portions of the spreaders showing
mode of pivotting and securing.
Figure 6 is an enlarged view of the weight or sinker made up of a number of
superposed cones upon a rod or wire.
We provide firstly a weight or sinker say of conical shape and preferably of lead
or other heavy metal and about of the usual size and for the purpose of readily
increasing the weight or substance of this we provide hollow cones A. A A of like
metal having a slit a a a on one side so as to be able to pass them over the line or
vertical rod B to which the main sinker may be attached and allow them to fall
over the conical termination thereof, and any desired number of these may be kept.
ready and applied or released as required, being kept in position by means of a.
hollow conical cap or a screwed ring or collar B.
Instead of attaching our sinker (when used in connection with our arrangement.
of tackle) to the end of a line we affix it to the end of the short metallic rod B or
stiff wire so that such rod will stand upright or nearly so over the sinker A; free
to slide up or down on this vertical rod is a boss D which may be regulated by
means of a set screw C. At convenient points in this boss say at right angles we
pivot a number of bell crank levers E E E, generally three, having each a short
arm and a long one; the long arms are the spreaders in place of the usual chop-
sticks or cross arms and the external ends of these are flattened as at F and have
a hole therein. The short arms of the levers are arranged to lie within recesses G
in the boss D and parallel with the vertical rod B, a milled ring or collar Hon
the rod or a like device securing them in this position when in use, but on slight
alteration of position allowing the long arms to fold up against the vertical rod B
into a very small compass when required for transport.
The top of the vertical rod has a loop or loops or a ring J through which pass
lines or wires K which are then led through the holes or eyelets F at the extremities
of the spreaders or long arms E of the levers and terminate in stops, shackles or
swivels L to which the gimp or the like carrying the hooks and bait is attached.
The ends of these lines or wires are collected and bound together in or attached
to a loop M over the ring at the top of the vertical rod B and to this loop the end
of the running line is attached. It will thus be seen that the weight may remain
at the bottom of the sea or river and the weight of the line, bait, hooks, etc. is all
that is necessary to be sustained by the hand or finger of or rod held by the
fisherman who thus more readily detects a bite, the whole forming a kind of
running tackle. When a fish is hooked the line may be drawn taut, the stops
or swivels L come in contact with the ends F of the levers or spreaders E and so
the whole apparatus may be drawn to the surface and the fish disengaged from the
hooks, or, by drawing the swivels up against the arms the apparatus may be lifted
for adjustment cr for adding blank weights, etc.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
The tackle for bottom and deep water fishing consisting of a vertical rod such
as B terminating at its lower end in a sinker of variable weight such as A, a. boss
such as D adjustable and travelling thereon, arms or spreaders such as E pivotted
to boss D having at their extremities eyes such as F through which pass lines K
collected together at M and passing through a loop J at upper extremity of rod B,
substantially as and for the purposes described and with reference to the accom-
panying drawings.
Dated this 23rd day of April 1894.
POPPLEWELL & Co.,
32, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.