Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Traps – Fish
Patent
1991-11-05
1993-04-06
Seidel, Richard K.
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Traps
Fish
43102, 4141377, 4141428, 294 6824, A01K 6910
Patent
active
051992116
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to fishing apparatus, particularly for commercial fishing operations.
In the past, it has been known to provide fish and crustacean traps having a mesh enclosure defining a cage and a generally funnel shaped mouth in the top through which the fish enters the trap but which prevents the fish from leaving the trap after entering. One particular problem with these known traps is that they occupy a very large volume of space when stowed on the deck of a fishing boat preparatory to use or after retrieval from the sea bed. Problems with foldable traps include the difficulty of erecting the traps easily, inability of some foldable traps to withstand rough handling, and inability to store the collapsed traps in a compact stack.
The launching or "shooting" of fish traps has in the past comprised a manual operation in which the trap is heaved over the side of the fishing boat. Retrieval of the traps has involved hauling the traps up the side of the boat and onto the deck. Both of these shooting and retrieving operations can be strenuous. Also, the nature of these operations has of necessity limited the usable size of the traps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of a first aspect of the present invention to provide a shooting mechanism which enables ready release of fishing traps into the water, particularly relatively large fishing traps.
It is an object of a second aspect of the present invention to provide improved fishing apparatus in which larger traps can be used.
It is a particular object of a second aspect of the present invention to provide a trap which can be relatively compact for storage on board a fishing vessel.
It is a further preferred object of the second aspect of the present invention to provide a fish trap which can be very quickly erected from a collapsed condition.
It is a particular object of a third aspect of the present invention to provide a fishing trap retrieval apparatus enabling ready retrieval from the water of fishing traps and particularly relatively large fishing traps.
According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a shooting mechanism for depositing a fish trap into a body of water, the shooting mechanism including a main support frame for mounting to a fishing vessel so as to extend outwardly from the vessel over the water, a trap support gate mounted to the main support frame, the trap support gate being selectively movable from a supporting position in which it can support a fishing trap over the water and a retracted position in which the trap is allowed to fall freely into the water.
Preferably, the trap support gate is mounted to the main support frame for pivoting movement downwardly from its supporting position to its retracted position whereby upon downward pivoting movement of the trap support gate, a fishing trap can fall downwardly past the support gate and into the water. The trap support gate may comprise two support gates, each support gate being hinged for movement about a longitudinal direction at an outer edge of the support gate, the trap support gates being arranged so that their inner edges are generally adjacent when in the supporting position so that the gates provide a support platform for the fishing trap, the two support gates being movable to their retracted positions simultaneously to allow the fishing trap to fall downwardly between the support gates and into the water. The main support frame may be generally U shaped and preferably comprises inner and outer side support arms which respectively provide mountings for the hinging movement of the two support gates. In this embodiment, the inner side support arm of the main support frame may be pivotally mounted to the side of the fishing vessel so that the main support frame can be selectively pivoted upwardly and inwardly to a storage position with the main support frame being generally upright thereby clearing the shooting apparatus from projecting outside the lines of the vessel.
According to a second aspect of the p
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Mah Chuck Y.
McKenzie's Fishing Company Pty Ltd
Seidel Richard K.
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