Downrigger System with Responsive Depth Setting
First Claim
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1. A downrigger system, comprising:
- a drive assembly coupled to a reel holding wire suitable for supporting a weight; and
a processor electronically coupled to the drive assembly and configured to receive data from a fish finder system and provide drive commands to the drive assembly in response to detection of fish.
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Abstract
A downrigger system for suspending a lure or bait at a depth during trolling includes a controller for adjusting the operating depth in response to detecting fish on a sonar or upon reaching a navigation waypoint entered in a GPS system. Information received from a sonar or a GPS receiver system are compared to preselected parameters to determine whether the operating depth of the downrigger weight should be adjusted. Sonar transducers or a reflector may be added to the weight to permit more accurate control of the operating depth. Fish attractors may be attached to the weight to take advantage of the weight being positioned at the depth of detected fish.
43 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A downrigger system, comprising:
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a drive assembly coupled to a reel holding wire suitable for supporting a weight; and
a processor electronically coupled to the drive assembly and configured to receive data from a fish finder system and provide drive commands to the drive assembly in response to detection of fish. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of controlling a depth of a downrigger weight, comprising:
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positioning the weight at a first depth; and
automatically repositioning the weight at a second depth upon detecting fish at a depth different from the first depth. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A downrigger system, comprising:
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a weight suspended on a wire coupled to a reel;
a drive assembly coupled to the reel and configured to turn the reel in response to control signals; and
a controller including a processor and a memory electronically coupled to the processor, the controller configured to receive data from an external sensor, wherein the processor is programmed with executable instructions which cause the processor to perform the steps of;
automatically sending control signals to the drive assembly to position the weight at a first depth; and
automatically sending control signals to the drive assembly to reposition the weight at a second depth based upon data received from the external sensor. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification