There have been a number of attempts to provide greater excitement to the sport of fishing at night, some of which relate to the provision of lights or light sources that are attractive to fish, and others of which relate to the provision of lights or signalling means that indicate when a fish has been caught. In some jurisdictions, the former approach may not be totally acceptable, comprising as it were the practice of "jack lighting" whereby a light or other illumination is provided to attract fish to a specific area at which they might be caught such as by a net.
On the other hand, many fisherman are content to use approved lures or bait, but may wish to have a means whereby they may receive a signal when a fish has been caught. This may be especially true where a single fisherman may be tending several fishing lines, perhaps at various points around him such as off both sides of a boat or a dock. Usually, for such kind of fishing procedures, a fisherman rigs his fishing line with a lure or bait so that a fish hook or hooks associated with the lure or bait are suspended into the water at a specific distance below the surface thereof. To do so, the fisherman will use a fishing float attached to his fishing line, where the float simply floats at the surface of the water, and where a particularly violant bobbing motion of the float is indicative of the fact that a fish has taken the bait or lure at the end of the fishing line to which the float is attached.
However, the use of a fishing float has, heretofore, been acceptable only in daylight hours, or using several prior art devices as described hereafter, because the float may itself not be visible after dark. The present invention seeks to resolve those shortcomings, using a novel approach by adapting an attachment to an otherwise standard fishing float, and using a chemiluminescent light stick as a light source, so that the fishing float assembly provided by the present invention is completely self contained and will give the desired signal to the watching fisherman throughout the whole night--from dusk to dawn--if desired.
Moreover, the present invention provides a fishing float assembly which is of the sort that can be accepted in every jurisdication, because the chemiluminescent light stick which is adapted to be fitted to a fishing float by the attachment of the present invention would not, of itself, be attractive to and in most cases would not even be seen by fish below the surface of the water.
The chemiluminescent light sticks of the sort that are particularly useful for purposes of the present invention include those which are provided to the market by American Cyanamid Company in association with its trade mark CYALUME. Those devices are of the sort that are particularly taught in BOLLSKY et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,362 dated Aug. 3, 1971, or VOIGHT et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,987 dated May 4, 1971. It is not the purpose of the present invention to teach in detail those light stick structures; suffice it to say that generally they may have a diameter of approximately 2.9 mm. and a length of approximately 24 mm., and that they comprise a flexible light transmitting container that is filled with a first luminescent reactant, and a breakable container within the flexible container which is filled with a second luminescent reactant. The flexing of the flexible container causes the breakable container to break, thereby allowing mixing of the two luminescent reactants, and thereby causing chemiluminescence. Of course, such chemiluminescent light sticks, once activated, have a limited life--twelve to twenty hours; but on the other hand, they are relatively inexpensively obtained, and are self contained and independent of any external energy or light source. Moreover, chemiluminescent light sticks of the sort contemplated to be used by the present invention are non-toxic and non-radioactive, thereby being perfectly safe to be handled.
Typical fishing lures of the sort that rely for their fish attracting function on the presence of a chemiluminescent stick or wand include HOLCOMBE, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,861,072 issued Jan. 21, 1975 and 3,921,328 issued Nov. 25, 1975. Other similar patents include BERCZ et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,903 issued Jan. 9, 1973, and PURLIA, U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,380 issued Feb. 4, 1975. However, all of those patents relate to fishing lures, which are below the water and are generally associated with fish hooks, and are of the type that are designed to be specifically attractive to fish so as to catch the fish when they attempt to bite the lure and its associated hooks.
Other patents relating to fishing bobbers or floats that may have lights associated with them include KLOCKSIEM, U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,349 issued May 14, 1985. However, that patent is, to all intents and purposes, nothing more than a flashlight in the shape of a float or bobber, having a battery mounted within the bobber so that a lamp associated with it may be illuminated. Another fishing float which not only accepts a penlight but also reflects a portion of the light downwards so as to attract fish is that taught in YOUNG, U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,484 issued Sept. 29, 1981.
Yet another fishing float is taught by MORRIS et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,256 issued Oct. 21, 1975; where the float itself is comprised of light emmiting material and is connected with a power source. Other battery powered fishing float/light assemblies include DURHAM, U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,513 issued June 19, 1973; ADAMS, U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,227 issued Sept. 28, 1971; and MANROSS, U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,188 issued Sept. 15, 1970.
One night fishing signal which relies upon a chemiluminescent light stick structure is PRICE et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,063 issued Mar. 19, 1985. However, that patent teaches the use of a fishing pole having a device fitted to the end thereof, and being so arranged that upon a fish having been caught, an inner container is broken to allow mixing of the chemiluminescent reactants, thereby signalling the fact that a fish has been hooked. Of course, such a structure is usable only once, and involves the necessity of having to dispose of the light stick and replace it with another one so as to determine when another fish may be caught.
In contradistinction to all of the above, the present invention provides a fishing float assembly which has a float that is generally of a type readily obtainable in any sporting goods store, which float has a substantially rigid upstanding circular neck portion at its top; to which the present invention provides an attachment portion fitted over the upstanding neck, into which attachment portion an activated light stick may be inserted and grippingly retained.
The attachment portion of the fishing float assembly according to the present invention has a body portion having a lower constrictable sleeve and an upper socket, and a collar fitted over the sleeve and moveable up and down along its length. The sleeve has at least one slit formed along at least a portion of its length, and at least one of the outer surface of the sleeve and the inner surface of the collar has a sloped face for interference with the other of those surfaces, so as to cause the at least one slit to constrict when the collar is moved downwardly on the sleeve. Of course, the sleeve is so dimensioned that when the collar is moved upwardly and the at least one slit is substantially unconstricted, the sleeve can be easily fitted over the upstanding neck portion on the float; but when the collar is moved downwardly and the at least one slit is constricted, the sleeve is grippingly retained on the upstanding neck portion of the float. Moreover, the socket is so dimensioned as to receive and grippingly retain a chemiluminescent light stick, as described hereafter.
The present invention is an extension of that which is taught in United States Disclosure Document No. 135167 filed Feb. 20, 1985.