BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to fishing equipment, and particularly to an apparatus used while trolling multiple fishing lines from a fishing boat.

When fishing lines are used behind a boat during trolling, the lines have a tendency to move to a path of least resistance, typically directly behind the moving boat. When use of multiple lines is desired, this tendency may create difficulties due to entanglement of the lines drifting together behind the boat. Planer boards are typically used to enable baits to be pulled through the water at locations away from the side of the boat. Planer boards operate to help guide fishing lines laterally outward from the boat, to allow the fisher to utilize more than one line, and to reduce the chance of line entanglement. A fisher may employ several planer boards on either side of the boat and at various distances from the boat to maximize the area being fished.

Generally, a fishing line attaches to a planer board at two points. The board pivots about a forward, tow point as the water moves against the board to maintain an angular orientation relative to the water and guides the line away from the boat to help prevent entanglement with other lines. A rearward strike point attaches to a baited fishing line.

Prior art planer boards may have several problems. First, they are often difficult to use, particularly after hooking a fish. The user must reel in the line, the board, and the hooked fish all while the board continues to move across the water surface angularly to the direction of the boat. This is cumbersome and the user is hindered in quickly removing the board from the line to reel in the fish. This may cause lost fish. Moreover, typical boards are configured to be usable on one or the other side of a boat and are not interchangeably usable. This forces the fisher to purchase multiple boards, each having practical use on only one side of the boat. This can be costly and is inefficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a mechanical planer board that is sturdy and easy to use. The board is adapted for use on both the right and left sides of a towing boat and is further adapted to move from a boat side position to a boat rear position upon a fish strike.

The planer board includes a body having a housing and a float which are symmetrical about their length, an internal assembly, and at least one line clip having a tow arm. The tow arm maintains the line clip in towing configuration until a fish strike pulls a trigger pin to release the tow arm thereby allowing it to swing and lock in a forward position. With the tow arm in the forward position, the board moves from a position flanking the tow boat to a position behind the boat to allow the user to easily retrieve the board and attached fish. The board may further include an indicator device to inform users of the board location or notify nearby boaters of the presence of the device.

