Sunday, July 6, 2014

William W. Brown's Balsa Bobber



On August 25, 1942 William W. Brown of Warren, Indiana received  patent 2,293,800. The patent covered the line hitch and the method of forming it.The langauge in the patent papers states that the object of the invention is to provide a hitch especially adapted to be attached to articles of fishing tackle such as floats, sinkers, spreaders and lures to provide means whereby a fishing line can be quickly and easily attached thereto without forming a knot in the line and from which the line may be readily removed.
  Most bobbers and floats are found without  their original box or display card. This makes identifying old bobbers and floats  difficult. When trying to identify a bobbers maker, one of the best keys is to look at the hardware or method of line attachment. This often times is the only thing that makes a bobber unique. Willliam Brown's line hitch was created from a single strand of resilent wire formed to make a spring coil in which the end convolutions of the spring were wound in the same direction.


William Brown's patented line hitch

Instructions for attaching the bobber to the line were shown on the point of sale dealer display card


                               If you are interested in old floats, check out my old float page.