This invention relates generally to the field of containers, and more particularly to a plastic floatable container for holding live bait or the like while being towed behind a boat, customarily referred to as a trolling bucket.
Trolling buckets are well known in the art and generally comprise a container in which live bait such as minnows, together with a quantity of water, may be carried as by towing the same behind a boat, in order to keep the live bait fresh until ready for actual use. A highly desirable form of trolling buckets will be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,728,812, commonly assigned with the instant application, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. From the foregoing U.S. patent it will be seen that trolling buckets ordinarily are substantially closed, although they include an access opening to permit bait or the like to be placed within, or removed from, the interior chamber. Normally, such opening is closed or blocked by a door member which is capable of being pivoted to an opened position within the interior of the bucket.
Prior devices of the type described require that the door means be held in an opened position against a spring loading when access to the interior is necessary. Maintaining the door in such an opened position is sometimes difficult, and limits the ability of the user to perform other functions during loading of the trolling bucket.