Paddle-fish landing net combination
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a paddle-fishing net combination which can be used in one of its operative positions as paddle for paddling a boat, and in a second operative position as a fish landing net for netting a fish to enable the fish to be boated. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Brief Description Of The Present Invention 
     The present invention provides a useful fishing accessory which can be used at times as a paddle for providing locomotion to a small boat, and which can be used at other times to net a fish which has been hooked and which is to be landed or boated after having been scooped into the net. 
     Broadly described, the paddle-fish landing net combination of the invention includes a hollow, generally paddle-shaped housing which is truncated at its upper side at the location where the handle of the paddle would normally extend from the described housing. The housing has a handle opening at this truncated upper side where there is a neck located which defines such opening. The housing is also provided with an opening at its opposite side through which a fish net can be moved outwardly to an open, fish netting status at certain times when the net is to be used for landing a fish. A pair of guide elements are secured to the inside of the housing and these function to guide an elongated handle which has an end portion slidingly mounted in the hollow housing. The handle also carries a hand grip on the end of the handle located outside this housing. At the inner end of the handle located within the housing, a fishing net is secured to such inner end and moves with the handle at such times as the handle is slidingly reciprocated through the handle opening in the housing. As the handle is reciprocated to move it further into the hollow housing, the effect is to push the fish net out through the opening at the opposite side of the housing, allowing the fish net to spring to its opened position. The net opens as a resilient hoop to which one side of a flexible net web is attached, and springs out into an oval or circular configuration. At this time, the handle has been pushed a substantial distance into the hollow housing, but still projects sufficiently to permit a user of the device to grip the hand grip at the outer end of the handle, and use this to maneuver the net for purposes of landing a fish which has been hooked after a strike and brought alongside a boat. 
     The opening through which the net is pushed as the handle is reciprocated is of a size such that the resilient hoop to which the net is attached must be substantially constricted in order to pass through this opening as the net is brought back into the hollow housing for storage at a time when the device is to be used as a boat paddle. 
     Moreover, the size of the net opening into the housing is such that when the net is partially retracted into the housing, the effect is that the resilient hoop to which one side of the net is attached is substantially closed, thus making it unlikely that the fish can jump out of the net, or be lost therefrom during retrieve. 
     It is an important object of the present invention to provide a combination paddle and fish net structure which has great utility for use in fishing from a boat, both in providing manual locomotion for the boat at times when such is needed, and in providing a useful and functional fish net which can be used to land and boat a fish which has been caught following a strike. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide an easily used, lightweight structure which can function quite well either as a boat paddle, or as a fish landing net in another phase of the fishing activity. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a combination fish net and paddle which is sufficiently rugged and sturdy in construction that it can be used for both the function of paddling a boat, and the function of landing a fish by use of the net, and can be so used over an extended period of time without mechanical malfunction or failure to perform the described functions efficiently. 
     Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the combination paddle-fishing net of the invention as it appears when it is configured for use as a paddle. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the structure depicted in FIG. 1 when it has been re-arranged to a status where it is to be employed as a fish net for landing a fish which has been brought alongside a boat after a strike. 
     FIG. 3 shows a different status of the structure depicted in FIG. 1, in which different status the net has been caused to become nearly closed adjacent its open end to thus prevent the fish from escaping after the fish has been netted. 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 3. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring initially to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the combination paddle and fish net of the invention is a hollow, paddle-shaped housing 10 which includes a base portion 12 and a truncated upper portion which terminates is an integrally formed, extended neck 14. The housing 10 has a hollow interior and defines a paddle opening 16 at one side thereof, and a net opening 18 at the opposite side thereof. In the neck portion 14, generally U-shaped cross-sectioned track elements 20 and 22 are secured to opposite sides of the housing 10 (see FIG. 5). These function to slidably receive one end portion of an elongated handle, designated generally by reference numeral 24, and to guide this handle during its movements relative to the housing. 
     The handle 24 includes a shaft 26 which is oval or elliptically shaped in cross-section, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 to afford easier gripping with the palm of the hand, and also includes a hand grip element 28 secured to the outer end of the shaft. Adjacent opposite ends of the shaft 26, a pair of spaced pin receiving detents or recesses 33 and 35 are formed in the shaft. These function at different times during operation of the invention to receive a spring biased locking pin 37 carried on the housing neck 14 and projecting through the track element 20 (see FIG. 5). 
     At the end portion 29 of the handle 24 which is inside the hollow housing 10, the handle is secured to one side of a fish net structure denominated generally by reference numeral 30. The fish net structure includes a circular or elliptical resilient hoop or rim 32 which is secured to, and movable with the inner end of the handle shaft 26. Secured by means of suitable eyes or loops to the hoop or rim 32 is an open mesh flexible landing net 34. At a time when the fish net structure 30 is fully retracted within the hollow housing 10, as shown in FIG. 1, the hoop or rim 32 is contracted or constricted so that it becomes elongated and will fit snugly and confined within the rigid housing 10. At this time, the paddle handle 24 is in its extended position so that its shank 26 extends upwardly outside the housing, and is accessible for use in paddling a boat. 
     When a fish has struck the bait of the fisherman and has been hooked, the fish is played until it is alongside the boat. At this time, the hand grip 28 is used to push the shank 26 of the handle 24 downwardly into the housing 10 until the handle has moved to approximately the position shown in FIG. 2. During this movement, the handle is guided by the track elements 20 and 22, and slidably reciprocates from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2. 
     When the net structure 30 has reached the position shown in FIG. 2, the hoop or rim 32 springs outwardly to the expanded position depicted in FIG. 2, and the mesh landing net 34 extends or hangs downwardly from the hoop ready for netting the fish. At this time, the handle is locked in this position by the spring-biased pin 37 being forced into a second detent or recess 33 formed in the upper portion of the handle shank 26. The handle structure 24 is thus locked against reciprocating sliding movement relative in the housing 10, and this facilitates the use of the net structure in snaring the fish. 
     After the fish has been netted, the spring-biased pin 37 can be pulled up to release the handle 24 by extrication of the point of the pin from the detent or recess 33. The handle 24 can then be pulled from the position shown in FIG. 2 toward the position shown in FIG. 1. At some point, the resilient hoop 32 commences to enter the opening 18 formed in one side of the housing 10, and the hoop is thereby compressed or constricted to the position shown in FIG. 3. This narrows the opening at the upper end of the net so that a fish (shown in dashed lines and denominated by reference numeral 40) which has been netted cannot easily escape from the net. The combination paddle and fish net can then be used for landing the fish in the boat, and final release of the fish can be made easier by pushing the handle back toward the position shown in FIG. 2 to allow the hoop 32 to expand to the position shown in FIG. 2. This will allow the fish to be more easily removed from the net. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein described in order to illustrate the principles underlying the invention, various changes and innovations can be effected in the described structure without departure from these principles. Modifications of this type are therefore deemed to be circumscribed by the spirit and scope of the invention except as the same may be necessarily limited by the appended claims or reasonable equivalents thereof.