Long fishing line apparatus with movable multiple skate racks, a two position main hauler and a slack taker, and a water agitated automatic baiter

A fish hook baiter of long fishing line apparatus, comprising:

• (a) an open top and open end channel to receive chopped bait;
• (b) a set of rectangular bristle brushes oppositely positioned one another with their bristles contacting at one open end of the channel to position oncoming fish hooks for their subsequent snagging of bait and to confine the chopped bait from passing through this open end;
• (c) a set of rectangular bristle brushes oppositely positioned one another with their bristles contacting at the other open end of the channel, and to allow the baited hooks to pass on through the bristles of the brushes;
• and
• (d) a water system injecting water under pressure into the open top and open end channel, from hose connection orifices which are located at least below the bait and alongside the bait, to continuously agitate and to continuously stir the chopped bait to keep the unhooked bait positioned and repositioned for hooking and snagging by the fishing hooks passing through the fish hook baiter.

A long fishing line apparatus, for installation on a rear deck of a fishing boat equipped with a hauling in roller at the rail of the ship, comprising:

• (a) a main hauler to haul in a long fishing line commencing with the buoyline and continuing with the groundline having the gangions and hooks, having a sheave positionable to rotate in a vertical plane while hauling in the buoyline, and in a horizontal plane while hauling in the ground line with the gangions and hooks, as the line, i.e. first the buoyline and then the ground line, is always being pulled in while traveling along substantially the same transverse direction over the deck and arriving at substantially the same longitudinal position over the deck;
• (b) movable miltiple racks slidably and removably received on supports, each of these racks being capable of being arranged parallel to one another, and adapted to support a skate of the long fishing line coming from the main hauler, as the barbs of the fishing hooks are held vertically in place until the fishing hooks are rotated and the fishing hooks remain slidable throughout the racks;
• (c) a support to slidably receive the movable multiple racks parallel to one to another, whether empty or loaded with a skate, and to hold sufficient loaded skate racks to receive all of the ground line, gangions and hooks, of a long fishing line coming from the main hauler;
• and
• (d) a fishing hook baiter used in baiting the fish hooks of a long fishing line, as this line is pulled from the skate racks, through the fishing hook baiter and over the stern of a boat, having an open top and open end channel to receive chopped bait, a set of rectangular bristle brushes oppositely positioned one another with their bristles contacting at one open end of the channel, both to confine the chopped bait and to position the fish hooks for their subsequent snagging of bait, and a set of rectangular bristle brushes oppositely positioned one another with their bristles contacting at the other open end of the channel, to confine the chopped bait until this bait is snagged on barbs of fishing hooks passing through the open top and the otherwise open end channel, and to allow the baited hooks to pass on through the bristles of the brushes, and a water system injecting water under pressue into the open top and open end channel, from hose connection orifices which are located at least below the bait and alongside the bait, to continuously agitate and to continuously stir the chopped bait to keep the unhooked bait positioned and repositioned for hooking and snagging by the fishing hooks passing through the fish hook baiter.

A long fishing line apparatus for installation on the rear deck of a fishing boat equipped with a hauling in roller at the rail of the ship, for longlining fishing operations, comprising:

• (a) a main hauler to haul in a long fishing line commencing with the buoyline and continuing with the ground line having gangions and fishing hooks, having a sheave positionable to rotate in a vertical plane while hauling in the buoyline transversely over the deck as this buoyline line leaves the hauling in roller, and also positionable in a horizontal plane while hauling in the following on ground line with the gangions and fishing hooks, this line hauling continuing along on substantially the same transverse direction over the deck and arriving at substantially the same longitudinal position over the deck;
• (b) a slack taker with a driven sheave rotatable in a horizontal plane to haul in the ground line with gangions and fishing hooks being discharged rearwardly over the deck from the main hauler operating with its sheave in a horizontal position, and to in turn discharge the ground line with gangions and fishing hooks, as the long fishing line is mounted on skate racks by utilizing the fishing hooks which are positioned by hand by a member of the crew on the skate racks by endwise sliding them in or dropping the barbed ends in at a wider entry of the skate racks, so their barbs are thereafter held in place along the skate racks until the fishing hooks, for inspection and repair, are rotated and lifted so the barbed ends are cleared from the skate racks, with the fishing hooks remaining slidable throughout the length of the skate racks;
• (c) movable multiple skate racks slidably and removably received on supports, each of these skate racks being adapted to support a skate of this long fishing line coming from the slack taker, as the barbs of the fishing hooks of various sizes, both planar and offset are held in place on these skate racks, each of which have a reciever to receive the barbs of the fish hooks via sliding in at the entry end, or farther on as each fish hook is rotated and lowered and upon counter rotation the barbs are held in place in the receiver along the skate rack, until opposite rotation and lifting occurs, or until the fish hooks are longitudinally and slidably moved out the ends of the skate racks clearing the receiver;
• (d) a support to slidably receive the movable multiple skate racks, arranged parallel to one another, whether empty or loaded with a skate, and to hold sufficient loaded skate racks to receive all of the ground line, gangions and fishing hooks, of a long fishing line coming from a slack taker.
• (e) a tiltable alignment and spacer positioner to temporarily position one of the movable multiple racks in alignment with the ground line being discharged from the slack taker and the ground line to be discharged over the stern of a fishing boat without interfering with the endwise loading and unloading of a skate on the aligned skate rack;
• and
• (f) a fishing hook baiter used in baiting the fish hooks of a long fishing line, as this line is pulled from the skate racks, having a guide at its entry end to direct the incoming ground line, gangions and fishing hooks, then having an open top and open end channel to receive chopped bait, a set of rectangular bristle brushes oppositely positioned one another at the other open end of this channel, with the opposite bristles substantially contacting one another, which positions the fish hooks for snagging the bait, and a set of rectangular bristle brushes oppositely positioned one another at the other open end of the channel, with the opposite bristles substantially contacting one another, whereby the respective sets of bristle brushes substantially successfully confine the chopped bait until this bait is snagged on barbs of fishing hooks passing through the open top and otherwise open end channel and allow a baited hook to pass through, and a bait recovery and ground line guiding channel at the exit of the channel containing the chopped bait, to collect any chopped bait, which is drawn through the bristles of the brushes, but which is not snagged or not sufficiently snagged to continue on while held on the barb of a departing fishing hook being guided with its gangion on the departing ground line over the stern of a boat and into the sea, and a circulating water system receiving water under pressure from below and often from the sides to continuously agitate and to continuously stir the chopped bait in the fishing hook baiter, which as necessary is being hand supplied via buckets to the open top channel.