Patent ID: 7571564

Claim:
A fish harvesting head, comprising: a fish harvesting body having a forward portion and a rear portion, wherein the forward portion defines a distal end of the fish harvesting body and includes a connection device and the rear portion includes a connection device for attachment to a shaft; a barb receiving slot positioned in the forward portion of the fish harvesting body that extends along a longitudinal axis of the fish harvesting body, extending a width of the fish harvesting body with openings on side surfaces of the fish harvesting body and including an opening on a distal outer surface of the fish harvesting body at the distal end of the fish harvesting body, the barb receiving slot extending from the opening on the distal outer surface of the fish harvesting body toward the rear portion and terminating at a terminal end of the barb receiving slot located between the connection device of the forward portion and the connection device of the rear portion; a barb device formed with a middle bight portion disposed within the barb receiving slot and a pair of barbs extending from the barb receiving slot on opposite sides of the fish harvesting body; a piercing tip including a releasable connection device attachable to the connection device on the forward portion of the fish harvesting body for removably securing the piercing tip to the fish harvesting body and for securing the barb device within the barb receiving slot; wherein the barb device is rotatable from a fish piercing position in which said barbs lie in a plane substantially in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the fish harvesting body to a fish retaining position in which the barb device is rotated and the barbs are moved to an angle from the plane substantially in alignment with the longitudinal axis; recesses along intersections between another outer surface of the fish harvesting body and a surface forming the barb receiving slot at a location where the barb device resides during use to enable the barb device to rotate between the fish piercing position and the retaining position; and wherein the piercing tip covers the opening of the barb receiving slot on the distal outer surface of the fish harvesting body to prevent the barb device from being removed from the barb receiving slot, and the connection device of the forward portion is located along the longitudinal axis of the fish harvesting body between the opening at the distal end of the fish harvesting body and the terminal end of the barb receiving slot.