Patent ID: 7347024

Claim:
A method of retrieving and storing a decoy assembly that reduces tangling of lines, the method comprising: (a) obtaining a decoy assembly comprising a main line having two ends and a diameter, each end having an anchor and a stop member with a minimum dimension attached to the line a spaced distance from the anchor; and a plurality of decoy lines, each decoy line having a proximate end and a distal end and a diameter, the decoy lines being connected at their proximate ends to the main line at spaced intervals, each decoy line connected to a decoy at its distal end, each decoy line having a stop member with a minimum dimension attached to the line a spaced distance between the distal end and the proximate end; (b) obtaining a holder tube comprising an inlet end, a closed end, a length, and an interior, the tube having a longitudinal slot extending from the inlet end substantially the entire length of the tube, the slot having a width about equal to or greater than the diameter of the main line and less than the minimum dimension of the stop members, the tube having a diameter and a length sufficient to accommodate the main line, the decoy lines, and the stop members within its interior; and (c) inserting the decoy assembly into the interior of the tube while positioning the anchors and the decoys outside the tube with the ends of the main line and the decoy lines passing through the slot so that all the decoy assembly, except for the anchors and decoys, is stored inside the tube where it is protected from tangling; and (d) wherein each said stop member has a width, height and length being substantially equal.