Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Fishing – Artificial bait
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-13
2003-06-24
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Fishing
Artificial bait
C043S042350
Reexamination Certificate
active
06581320
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates, in general, to fishing artificial flies and lures, and, more specifically, to lures and flies which have added weights to cause the lure and fly to descend to greater depths in the water.
For catching certain species of fish, fishermen frequently add a separate weight to the line carrying the artificial lure or fly to cause the lure or fly to descend to greater depths in the water. Typically, such weights have been implemented by a metal tube of brass or copper. The external surface of the tube is decorated with hair, feathers and other fish attractor elements which are securely attached to the tube by means of glue, etc. A monofiliment line is inserted through the tube and has one end tied to a hook and the other end tied to the fishing reel. In this construction, the decorated tube is freely moveable along the line.
The reel facing end of the tube is typically flared a slight amount. This end, however, is frequently nicked or damaged as the lure is used, such as when the lure strikes a rock, submerged log, etc., in the water as the lure is pulled toward the fishermen. This nick creates a sharp edge or burr which frequently cuts the line thereby causing loss of the lure and the hook.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an artificial lure which contains a weight and, at the same time, has an aesthetic fish attractor appearance. It would also be desirable to provide a weighted tube lure which overcomes the deficiencies of previously devised tube lures with respect to minimizing the potential loss of the lure and hook due to sharp edges on the weight tube.
SUMMARY
The present invention is a tube weight lure apparatus which utilizes a weight member in the form of a hollow tube fixedly mounted on a flexible inner tube extending between opposed ends of a hollow lure body.
In one aspect, the lure includes a body having a hollow interior cavity, a hollow tube weight disposed within the hollow interior cavity of the body, an inner tube extending through the tube weight. The body is fixedly attached to the inner tube such that a fishing line extending through the inner tube does not contact the tube weight.
In one aspect, the tube weight is compressedly fixed about the inner tube. The tube weight can also be a hollow tube which is compressed into engagement with the inner tube.
In another aspect, the inner tube has a length between opposed first and second ends greater than the distance between the points on the body to which the first and second ends of the inner tube are fixed. This causes the flexible inner tube to assume an arcuate shape between the first and second ends. In this aspect, the tube weight is disposed at the valley of the arcuate-shaped inner tube.
Alternately, the tube weight may be fixed at a number of variably selectable positions along the length of the inner tube within the hollow cavity in the body to provide different orientations of the lure in the water.
In another aspect of the invention, an insert is mounted within the hollow cavity of the body to provide the body with an attractor fish shape.
The weight in the lure of the present invention is unitarily provided as part of the lure without the need for a separate weight attachment to an existing lure which can detract from the fish attractor appearance of the lure. The weight, which is preferably in the form of hollow metal tube, is prevented from direct contact with the fishing line through the use of a flexible plastic inner tube disposed through the interior of a hollow tube and carrying the fishing line therethrough.
The flexible interior tube affords the opportunity to fixedly position the tube weight at any one of a number of different positions along the length of the lure body and the inner tube. For example, the weight tube can be positioned toward the front, center or rear of the body thereby respectively enabling the lure to exhibit greater diving potential, a generally bottom heavy central weight position in the water, or a rear weighted position where the nose of the lure rides upward through the water. The tube weight can also be fixed to the inner tube with most of the weight above the inner tube for a different tracking action in the water. At the same time, these different weight positions are possible without the need for any additional materials, components, labor and assembly time. Attaching the weight to the inner tube by crimping provides equal left and right side weights for truer tracking through the water.
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Smith Kimberly S.
Young & Basile PC
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