Fishing Lure with Flow-Through Cavity Portion(s)
A fishing lure including a head portion and a flow-through appendage cavity portion which are removably secured together, the cavity portion including an open front end, a closed tail end, and a substantially rigid sidewall between the front and tail ends, the sidewall having a plurality of sidewall openings disposed to permit flow-through of fluid while preventing pass-through of solids dimensioned greater than the widest sidewall opening.
This invention relates to sport fishing, and, more specifically, to the field of fishing lures and baits for attaching fish.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe challenge of attracting fish with lure and bait goes back millennia and has spawned much invention among fishermen and makers of tackle. For fisherman not content to adorn the end of their line with simple sinker and hook, non-disposable artificial lures of immense variety are known in the art. Most have no provision at all for bait, such as organic or animal matter, and instead depend on visual attractiveness. However, some non-disposable artificial lures have been developed with means for temporary attachment or enclosure of bait, such as animal or other organic matter, which provides non-visual sensory attractiveness to fish. It is improvement in this sort of fishing lure to which the present invention is directed.
The variety of available fishing lures for use at the end of a fishing line has increased with the availability and affordability of modern methods for fabricating and shaping materials—for example, metal and plastic—used in lures. Despite notable creativity in this area in recent decades, room for invention is far from exhausted.
Particular need exists for an attractive non-disposable lure that is capable of securely enclosing bait, large or small, while permitting natural flow of water through the bait-enclosing part of the lure, and wherein the bait-enclosing means provides for quick, simple and clean insertion, enclosure, removal and replacement of bait, facilitating clean and efficient switching of bait by the fisherman without switching lures, and which also serves effectively as a fish-attracting lure even in the absence of any enclosed or attached bait. It is to these several advantages which are the objects of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe fishing lure of this invention includes (1) a head portion and (2) at least one flow-through appendage cavity portion secured to the head portion. More specifically, the head portion has a first securement surface and the cavity portion has a second securement surface, such securement surfaces being configured and dimensioned so that they are engageable with one another to secure the cavity portion to the head portion. If there are more than one cavity portions, each cavity portion has a second securement surface to engage a corresponding first securement surface of the head portion. The fishing lure also has a hook or other fish-catching member; the hook or other fish-catching member is preferably attached to the head portion of the fishing lure, typically in some dangling fashion.
The flow-through appendage cavity portion, or more accurately each flow-through appendage cavity portion, includes: an open front end and at such location its corresponding second securement surface; a closed tail end; and a substantially rigid sidewall between the front end and the tail end, the sidewall including a plurality of sidewall openings disposed to permit flow-through of fluid (water) while preventing pass-through of solids dimensioned greater than the widest sidewall opening. The cavity of the flow-through cavity portion is configured to hold bait inserted therein by the user, such that when the fishing lure is in the water, either still or moving through the water, the fish-attracting constituents of such bait emanate from the fishing lure, by virtue of its flow-though characteristic, and increase the attractiveness of the fishing lure to fish in the area.
In certain preferred embodiments of this invention, the sidewall of the flow-through appendage cavity is of wire mesh and the sidewall openings are apertures defined by intersecting wires of the mesh. Preferably, such sidewall includes many hundreds of sidewall openings, and the sidewall openings are sized to prevent flow-through of animal matter usable as fishing bait. Most preferably, the widest sidewall opening is less than about 2 mm in width.
It is highly preferred that the sidewall of the cavity portion of the inventive fishing lure be hollow and tubular, providing good capacity for bait material. Such sidewall may be of cylindrical, near-cylindrical or truncated conical shape. The cross-sectional shape of the sidewall can be in a smooth circular or other smooth shape.
In certain preferred embodiments, the sidewall of the flow-through cavity portion includes at least one longitudinal crease. Such crease may be formed by the folding of wire mesh material or may be formed by the joining together of free edges of a piece of wire mesh material, for example, such that there are two “creases”—one resulting from folding of wire mesh material and a generally parallel one from the joining of edges. In certain embodiments having at least one sidewall crease, the sidewall includes two opposing interior surfaces that meet at such at least one longitudinal crease and define an angle of 90° or less.
In certain preferred embodiments of the fishing lure of this invention, the head portion includes a marking, coloring or shape feature simulating an eye or other animal head part. This is believed to create visual interest for fish to go along with the non-visual sensory attractiveness provided by the bait or other material contained within the flow-through cavity portion.
In some preferred embodiments, the tail end of the of the cavity portion of the fishing lure also includes a capping element. The capping element is preferably manually removable by the user to open the closed tail end.
In some of such embodiments, at least one of the sidewall and the capping element includes a marking, an applied coloring, an infused coloring or a shape feature simulating an animal body part. This marking, coloring and/or shaping is/are believed, as with respect to markings and features added to the head portion, to create visual interest for fish to go along with the non-visual sensory attractiveness provided by the bait or other material contained within the flow-through cavity portion.
Attachment and detachment of the flow-through cavity portion of the fishing lure from the head portion or, more accurately, opening and closing the cavity of the cavity portion, are preferably facilitated by the nature of the structure. There are various preferred structures for these purposes.
In certain highly preferred embodiments, the flow-through cavity portion is screwably attachable/detachable with respect to the head portion. In such cases, the first and second securement surfaces included corresponding threads.
In another preferred embodiment, the head portion and the cavity portion are attached to each other by a hinge, with one of the first and second securement surfaces of such portions including a latch and the other of the first and second securement surfaces including a latch-catch. The latch and the latch-catch define a point of securement after the cavity portion has bait or other material inserted in it.
In still other preferred embodiments, the first and second securement surfaces of the head portion and cavity portion, respectively, are frictionally engageable. In one highly preferred embodiment, the first and second securement surfaces configured and arranged to be snap-engageable.
As already stated or implied above, some fishing lures in accordance with this invention included a plurality of flow-through appendage cavity portions. In such cases, the head portion includes a plurality of securement surfaces for simultaneous securing a corresponding plurality of cavity portions to the head portion.
Another aspect of this invention is a flow-through appendage cavity member for a fishing lure, the cavity member including: an open end having a securement surface for securement to another portion of the fishing lure; a closed end; and a substantially rigid sidewall between the two ends which has a plurality of sidewall openings disposed to permit flow-through of fluid while preventing pass-through of solids dimensioned greater than the widest sidewall opening.
Another aspect of this invention is fishing lure including: a first body portion that has a first securement surface; and at least one flow-through cavity portion appended to the first body portion, the cavity portion including (a) an opening and a second securement surface engageable with the first securement surface, (b) a substantially rigid sidewall, the sidewall including a plurality of sidewall openings disposed to permit flow-through of fluid while preventing pass-through of solids dimensioned greater than the widest sidewall opening.
The figures illustrate a number of embodiments of the present fishing lure invention. Like numbers are used for parts and portions of the embodiments shown if the parts and portions are substantially similar.
Head portion 12, sometimes referred to herein as first body portion, is not given the name head portion because it may replicate the head of a fanciful creature, although it may be made to appear like a creature's head or to include a creature's head or to include features such as eyes which would be representative of a fanciful creature. In the embodiment illustrated, head portion 12 is the front or lead portion of fishing lure 10 as it is pulled through the water on a line. But other arrangements are also contemplated.
As shown best in
Flow-through appendage cavity portion 14 also has a closed tail (or rear) end 28. Between tail end 28 and the front end of cavity portion 14 where opening 23 is located, cavity portion 14 has a substantially rigid sidewall 30 extending along the length of cavity portion 14. Sidewall 30, and also rear end 28, are a substantially rigid wire-mesh structure. The term “substantially rigid” as used herein means that the structure has fixed form and shape, rather than being collapsible, such as a bag or the like. Thus, cavity portion 14 together with head portion 12 makes fishing lure 10 to have a defined essentially fixed shape. The wire mesh sidewalls of cavity portion 14 are permanently attached to a rigid band 32 which forms the forwardmost portion of cavity portion 14 and forms second securement surface 22.
The wire mesh structure of fishing lure 10 is perhaps best illustrated in
Cavity member 74 has a sidewall of substantially rigid wire mesh material, as with other embodiments illustrated herein. However, rather than having essentially round cross-sections along the length of the cavity member, the sidewall of cavity member 74 includes opposing sidewall portions 75A and 75B which come together at two longitudinal creases 76 and 77 which are spaced from one another. One of the creases may be created by the folding of the wire mesh material, and the other by the joining together of edges of the wire mesh material. Or, if the wire mesh material is provided in tube form, both creases may be the result of folding. The term “creases” as used herein does not require formation by folding. Sidewall portions 75A and 75B come together at each crease at an angle well under 90°, and sidewall portions 75A and 75B are outwardly bowed when viewed in cross-section, as can be seen best in
All portions of the fishing lures of this invention may have shape features simulating animal body parts, applied coloring, markings, or graphic decorations of various kind, as is frequently done with fishing lures. Such features are added to create visual interest for fish to go along with the non-visual sensory attractiveness provided by the bait or other material contained within the flow-through cavity portions.
The fishing lures of this invention may be made with available materials and using known methods.
While the principles of this invention have been described in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood clearly that these descriptions are made only by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A fishing lure comprising:
- a head portion including a first securement surface; and
- at least one flow-through appendage cavity portion securable to the head portion, the cavity portion including (a) an open front end having a second securement surface engageable with the first securement surface, (b) a closed tail end, and (c) a substantially rigid sidewall between the front and tail ends, the sidewall including a plurality of sidewall openings disposed to permit flow-through of fluid while preventing pass-through of solids dimensioned greater than the widest sidewall opening.
2. The fishing lure of claim 1 wherein the sidewall is of wire mesh and the sidewall openings are apertures defined by intersecting wires of the mesh.
3. The fishing lure of claim 2 wherein the sidewall includes hundreds of sidewall openings, the sidewall openings being sized to prevent flow-through of animal matter usable as fishing bait.
4. The fishing lure of claim 2 wherein the widest sidewall opening is less than 2 mm in width.
5. The fishing lure of claim 4 wherein the sidewall is hollow and tubular.
6. The fishing lure of claim 5 wherein the sidewall is of cylindrical, near-cylindrical or truncated conical shape.
7. The fishing lure of claim 5 wherein the sidewall includes at least one longitudinal crease.
8. The fishing lure of claim 7 wherein the sidewall includes two opposing interior surfaces that meet at least one longitudinal crease and define an angle of 90° or less.
9. The fishing lure of claim 5 wherein the head portion includes a marking, coloring or shape feature simulating an eye or other animal head part.
10. The fishing lure of claim 5 wherein the tail end includes a capping element.
11. The fishing lure of claim 10 wherein at least one of the sidewall and the capping element includes a marking, an applied coloring, an infused coloring or a shape feature simulating an animal body part.
12. The fishing lure of claim 1 wherein the cavity portion is screwably attachable/detachable with respect to the head portion, the first and second securement surfaces including corresponding threads.
13. The fishing lure of claim 1 wherein the head portion and the cavity portion are attached to each other by a hinge, one of the first and second securement surfaces including a latch and the other of the first and second securement surfaces including a latch-catch, the latch and the latch-catch defining a point of securement.
14. The fishing lure of claim 1 wherein the first and second securement surfaces are frictionally engagable.
15. The fishing lure of claim 14 wherein the first and second securement surfaces are snap-engageable.
16. The fishing lure of claim 1 including a plurality of cavity portions, the head portion including a plurality of securement surfaces for simultaneous securement of at least two cavity portions.
17. A flow-through appendage cavity member for a fishing lure, the cavity member comprising (a) an open front end having a securement surface for securement to another portion of the fishing lure, (b) a closed tail end, and (c) a rigid sidewall between the front and tail ends, the sidewall including a plurality of sidewall openings disposed to permit flow-through of fluid while preventing pass-through of solids dimensioned greater than the widest sidewall opening.
18. The cavity member of claim 17 wherein the sidewall is of wire mesh and the sidewall openings are apertures defined by intersecting wires of the mesh, the sidewall openings being sized to prevent flow-through of animal matter usable as fishing bait.
19. The cavity member of claim 18 wherein the sidewall is hollow and tubular.
20. The cavity member of claim 19 wherein the cavity member includes a marking, an applied coloring, an infused coloring or a shape feature simulating an animal body part.
21. The fishing lure of claim 10 wherein the capping element is capable of being manually removed to open the closed tail end.
22. A fishing lure comprising:
- a first body portion including a first securement surface; and
- at least one flow-through cavity portion appended to the first body portion, the cavity portion including (a) an opening and a second securement surface engageable with the first securement surface, (b) a substantially rigid sidewall, the sidewall including a plurality of sidewall openings disposed to permit flow-through of fluid while preventing pass-through of solids dimensioned greater than the widest sidewall opening.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 24, 2013
Publication Date: Mar 26, 2015
Inventor: William G. Madala (Racine, WI)
Application Number: 14/034,596