1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of fishing, and to the particular field of holders and buckets used in fishing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fishermen desire that fish that are caught be maintained in a live condition as long as possible to reduce spoilage or deterioration of the meat. Likewise, sport fishermen who do not intend to eat their catch desire to maintain the catch alive so that the fish can be returned to the body of water from which they were caught. Heretofore, a common method for keeping such fish alive was to place them on a stringer and to allow the fish to remain submerged in the body of water and on the stringer, with the end of the stringer connected to the fishing boat. However, that method could possibly lead to injury of the fish as a result of the stringer passing through the gills and mouth of the fish. Also, other fish or turtles often discover the stringer and destroy the catch. Moreover, the stringing operation is troublesome to the fisherman and injurious to the fish. Furthermore, if the stringer is not pulled in whenever the boat is moved by power to another location, the fish may be torn off. Another method of keeping caught fish alive is to provide a submersible creel that is submerged in the water, and is in the form of a perforated enclosure. However, such creels can be expensive.
Another technique for maintaining caught fish in a live condition includes a live bait and fish container that is at least partially filled with water to contain fish, and is adapted to float in the water adjacent to a boat and to be tied to the boat so it can be pulled along with it. However, such devices are not well adapted for receiving fish and maintaining the fish uninjured in the container.
Even though the devices that have heretofore been developed can help to maintain the fish in a live state while the fisherman continues to fish, where the fisherman is participating in a fishing contest, in which it is usually required that the fish that are caught be kept alive, weighed, and then returned alive to the body of water from which they are taken, each fish must individually be removed from a stringer or a submerged creel for weighing. Oftentimes the fish are placed in plastic bags partially filled with water in an effort to keep the fish alive. However, in the course of removing the fish from a stringer or retrieving it from a live well, injury is sometimes caused to the fish, and that injury sometimes kills the fish. In tournament fishing, dead fish could result in a penalty being imposed against the fisherman. Further, fish in the plastic bags must be carried to the scales, the water must then be released from the bag, and the fish weighed on the scale. Then, after the weighing has been completed, the fish are again placed in the plastic bags for carrying back to the body of water so that they can be released.
The above-described methods are cumbersome, and also lead to dead or injured fish. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved fish container and carrier that is particularly adapted to keeping the fish alive and injury free.
Still further, many of the devices known to the inventor are used on a boat and are not well adapted for use on land. To be most versatile, such devices should be useable on both land and water.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved fish container and carrier that is particularly adapted to keeping the fish alive and injury free and which can be used on land as well as on a boat.
Still further, to be most useful, a container should be as versatile as possible.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved fish container that can be used as a seat as well.