GB2076272A - Fishing lure - Google Patents

Abstract

A fishing lure comprises a body 11, of shape resembling a fish, enclosing an upper chamber 14 and a lower chamber and a hole 17, extending longitudinally through the body 11, for reception of a fishing line. The upper chamber 14 may be filled with air or a light material and the lower chamber with a heavy material such as lead pellets 16, ensuring that the lure floats back uppermost at all times and that it does not move erratically through the water when retrieved. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Fishing lure This invention relates to fishing lures.

The sport or pastime of fishing usually involves the use of fishing lures, such lures having a body which resembles a fish in its shape and/or colouring. The lure is attached to a line of a rod and carries a number of hooks. Lures can be one of three main types, namely floaters, slow-sinkers and sinkers.

However, it is their characteristic movement through the water when retrieved that makes them attractive to fish. They usually wobble or twist when retrieved or perform a diving action or spin about their own longitudinal axis.

This movement is, however, haphazard and bears no resemblance to the normal movement of fish through water. Therefore, any particular shape or colouring the lure may have to attract fish is largely lost.

It is an object of the invention therefore to provide a fishing lure which will float horizontally and which will not wobble or twist, even when retrieved.

Another disadvantage with known fishing lures is that they pass on their movement in the water to the line. This imparts what is known as twist to the line during fishing. Not only is this highly undesirable but it means that swivels and anti-kink devices have to be connected between the line and the lure.

Since the anti-kink devices are usually in the form of large vanes or weights, they detract considerably from the lure having the natural movement, behaviour and appearance of a fish and in fact do a great deal to frighten away the fish.

Therefore, it is a further object of the invention to provide a lure which will not impart twist to the line and hence does not require the attachment of swivels and anti-kink devices.

With these objects in view the present invention provides a fishing lure comprising a bouyant body of shape resembling a fish and adapted for securement to a fishing line, characterised in that said body has a plurality of spaces, of which at least one defines an upper chamber and another defines a lower chamber, the or one of said upper chambers being filled with air or a light material and the or each of said lower chambers being filled with a heavy material so that the body will float back uppermost and will not move erractically in water even when retrieved.

Each of the chambers may extend in the longitudinal direction of the body.

The lower chamber or chambers may be substantially kidney shaped in cross-section, and the heavy material contained therein may comprise lead pellets or beads.

The body may have an opening leading to the lower chamber or chambers and through which the pellets or beads may be removed or inserted. This removal or insertion of pellets allows the depth to which the lure will float in the water to be varied.

For the attachment of a fishing line, the body may have a centrally-disposed longitudinally-extending hole or narrow bore. Then, the line can be threaded through the bore from the head end to the tail end where a hook may be attached. The hole advantageously communicates with a recess, of greater crosssection than the hole, at the tail end of the body, into which recess a shank part of the hook can be drawn by pulling the line taught, leaving just the barbed part of the hook protruding from the tail end.

The invention will be described further by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of the fishing lure of the invention; Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-section through the lure of Fig. 1; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The illustrated practical embodiment of the fishing lure 10 of the invention comprises a bouyant body 11 made, for example, of plastics. The body 11 is generally of a shape resembling a fish, having a fin 1 2a on its back and a fin 1 2 b on its underside adjacent its tail end. It also has an eye 13, which may be painted on at its head end. The body 11 may have any desired colouring, depending on the type of fish the user hopes to catch.

The body 11 is formed with two enclosed spaces defining respectively an upper chamber 1 4 and a lower chamber 1 5. The upper chamber 14 and the lower chamber 1 5 are separate from one another and both extend in the longitudinal direction of the body 11, above and below its lateral line respectively.

The upper chamber 14 is smaller than the lower chamber 15, is generally oval in end cross-section (see Fig. 3) and contains only air. It can, if desired, be filled with a lightweight material, such as expanded polystyrene.

The lower chamber 1 5 is substantially kidney shaped in cross-section (see Fig. 3) and is filled with heavy material in the form of pellets or beads 1 6 made, for example, of lead.

Extending longitudinally centrally and from end to end of the body is a hole 1 7 of narrow bore. This hole 1 7 opens at one end at the head end of the body 11 and at its other end terminates in a recess 1 8 of slightly greater cross-section than the cross-section of the hole 17.

The hole 1 7 enables a fishing line (not shown) from a fishing rod to be threaded therethrough, the line being attached to a hook or hooks, (not shown) at the tail end. Part of the or each hook extends into the recess 18 when the line is pulled taut so that only the hook's ends protrude therefrom. This ensures that the or each hook does not adversely affect the overall fish-like appearance of the lure. Furthermore, the hook or hooks can be changed to any type or size required as they are not secured to the lure itself, so that the same lure can be used with different types of hooks.

The upper and lower chambers 14, 1 5, with the lower chamber 1 5 being filled with heavy material, ensure that the lure of the invention is very stable in water and will float back uppermost at all times. It will not move erratically in the water, even when retrieved and therefore will not impart twist to the fishing line, so that the need for swivels and anti-kink devices between the line and the lure is eliminated.

Additionally, the absence of swivels and anti-kink devices adds considerably to the appearance to fish, both in its movement and behaviour, that the lure is a fish.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing embodiment and variations may be made thereto. For instance there may be more than two chambers and the chambers may be of different shapes. The or each lower chamber may have a closable aperture through which the pellets may be inserted or removed from the chamber, to enable the weight of the lure to be altered to take into account different speeds and depths of water.

Claims (8)

1. A fishing lure comprising a buoyant body of shape resembling a fish and adapted for securement to a fishing line, characterised in that said body has a plurality of spaces, of which at least one defines an upper chamber and another defines a lower chamber, the or one of said upper chamber being filled with air or a light material and the or each of said lower chambers being filled with a heavy material so that the body will float back uppermost and will not move erratically in the water even when retrieved.

2. A lure as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the chambers extend in the longitudi nal direction of the body.

3. A lure as claimed in claim 1, or in claims 1 and 2, wherein the lower chamber or chambers are substantially kidney shaped in cross-section.

4. A lure as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the heavy material contained in the lower chamber or chambers comprises lead pellets or beads.

5. A lure as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the body has an opening lead ing to the lower chamber or chambers and through which the pellets or beads are re moved or inserted.

6. A lure as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the body has a centrally disposed longitudinally-extending hole of narrow bore.

7. A lure as claimed in claim 6 wherein the hole communicates with a recess, of greater cross-section than the hole, at the tail end of body, into which recess a shank part of a hook can be drawn by pulling a line to which the hook is attached taut through the hole leaving just the hook's barbed part protruding from the tail end.

8. A fishing lure substantially as herein before described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.