This project is a fishing down rigger release. What makes this design different from existing designs is the addition of a strain gauge to the inside of the release. The strain gauge allows for the monitoring of the force being exerted on the release mechanism from the fishing line before the release is triggered. The motive for doing this is because of unwanted weeds and fish not large enough to trigger the release. Using a normal release, the only way to see if there is unwanted material on the line is to trigger the release and visually check the line. The release must then be brought back up to the surface and the fishing line must be reattached to the release, then lowered again. Using my design of a release, an initial voltage reading is taken once the line is attached to the release and placed in the water. The release and fishing line are then lowered to the desired fishing depth and whenever the fisherman wants to check for unwanted material on the line, all he has to do is look at the voltmeter display. If the voltage reading is larger than the initial reading, then there is more force being applied to the line than when it was first put in the water. This would be the result of something being dragged on the line that is not applying enough force to trigger the release. So instead of having to pull the line in order to check it and find there is nothing on the line, the fisherman can simply look at an electronic reading and either choose to leave the line in the water or pull it up to relieve the line of debris.

Analysis of the existing model was done in order to see what changes needed to be made to suit the requirements of the new design. After these adjustments were made on paper (preliminary design), fabrication and assembly of the main components (load cell circuit, outer shell, shaft, and threaded tube) began. After minor adjustments to the design and requirements, the end result is a functional release that satisfies 16 of the original 19 requirements (Figure 6).