Sensitivity adjustment for electronic bite alert for a fishing reel

A fishing reel comprising:

• a body assembly;
• a center shaft assembly passing through said body assembly;
• a spinner head assembly mounted on said center shaft assembly forward of said body assembly;
• a spool assembly rotatably mounted on said center shaft assembly between said spinner head assembly and said body assembly;
• a crank rod transversely mounted in said body assembly;
• a drive gear mounted on said crank rod for engaging a pinion gear that is mounted on said center shaft assembly;
• a clutch assembly mounted on crank rod adjacent to and in frictional contact with said drive gear, said clutch assembly provided with a first radial protrusion and a second radial protrusion;
• a bite alert contact proximate an outer surface of said clutch assembly for selective engagement with said first radial protrusion;
• a calibration slider proximate to an outer surface of clutch assembly, said calibration slider having a first end for engagement with said second radial protrusion;
• a sensitivity spring provided on a second end of said calibration slider for providing a calibration force to said second radial protrusion via said calibration slider in an opposite direction from force provided by tension from a fishing line;
• a sensitivity switch extending from said body assembly and accessible by a user, said sensitivity switch having a stem with a portion having a non-circular cross section, said non-circular portion received within said sensitivity switch retainer, said switch retainer biasing said sensitivity switch into one of several discrete positions, said sensitivity switch further having a section defining a lobe with a camming surface for adjusting the sensitivity of the bite alert.

An adjustable sensitivity bite alert for a fishing reel comprising:

• a clutch assembly mounted on a shaft adjacent to a rotating component, said clutch assembly for frictional engagement with said rotating component, said clutch assembly having a first protuberance and a second protuberance;
• a bite alert contact adjacent said clutch assembly for engagement with said first protuberance;
• a calibration member adjacent said clutch assembly for engagement with said second protuberance;
• wherein said calibration member provides a selectable amount of resistance to rotation of said clutch assembly, thereby regulating an amount of rotational force required to activate said bite alert contact;
• said calibration member has a first end for engaging said second protuberance of said clutch assembly, said calibration member has a second end upon which is mounted a sensitivity spring;
• and further comprising
• a sensitivity switch accessible by a user for selectively engaging said sensitivity spring for altering a resistance to rotation of said clutch assembly by said calibration member.