Releasable non-slip attachment means for connecting fishing lines to down-rigger cables

Apparatus for releasably and detachably securing a fishing line to a weighted depth-setting downrigger line, comprising:

• means defining a pair of seat areas for receiving said downrigger line at a pair of spaced points along its length, said seat areas being spaced apart from one another by a distance on the order of at least twice the diameter of the downrigger line;
• means for engaging said downrigger line at said spaced points along its length and entrapping such line at such points against said seat areas;
• and
• manually releasable means for holding said line-engaging means against the downrigger line with sufficient force to hold said apparatus immovably in place on the downrigger line against forces acting upon the apparatus during fishing operation as a result of connecting a fishing line to the apparatus and pulling the fishing line and the apparatus through the water by means of the downrigger line.

Apparatus for releasably and detachably securing a fishing line to a weighted depth-setting downrigger line, comprising;

• means defining a pair of seat areas for receiving said downrigger line at a pair of spaced points along its length;
• means for engaging said downrigger line at said spaced points along its length and entrapping the line at such points against said seat areas;
• an elongated body extending away from said seat areas generally transversely of said downrigger line;
• means for attaching a fishing line to said elongated body at a point along the length of the latter spaced from the downrigger line by a distance at least greater than the distance between said seat areas;
• and manually releasable means for holding said line-engaging means against the downrigger line with sufficient force to hold the apparatus in place on the downrigger line against forces acting upon said fishing line during fishing operation.

Apparatus for releasably and detachably securing a fishing line to a weighted depth-setting downrigger line comprising:

• an elongated body defining guide surfaces for a movable plunger and establishing an axis for plunger movement, said body also defining indexing surfaces for seating said downrigger line transversely of said guide surfaces;
• tether line means for attaching a fishing line to said elongated body;
• a movable plunger disposed for movement along said guide surfaces and having a head portion for engaging said downrigger line and entrapping same upon said indexing surfaces;
• means for urging said plunger into entrapping engagement with said line and for maintaining the plunger in such engagement to thereby attach said body to said downrigger line;
• said body defining a butt portion at a point along the length of the body spaced away from said indexing surfaces;
• and manually-operable means for releasing said plunger from its line-entrapping engagement to thereby enable release of said elongated body from the downrigger line;
• said manually operable means including an arm projection extending laterally from the body at a position between said butt and said indexing surfaces;
• and
• resiliently biased means operatively coupled between said arm projection, said plunger and said butt portion of said body, said means arranged to cause withdrawal of said plunger from entrapping engagement with said downrigger line upon relative movement between said butt portion and said arm projection.