BAIT-DISPENSER

Abstract: A bait-dispenser comprises means for connection to a fishing line and a compartment containing fish attractant material which is closed and has a semi-permeable membrane allowing slow release of the contents of the compartment when in water. In addition there is a second closed compartment, which may enclose the first compartment, that opens following contact with water. The second compartment may contain ground-bait. Another bait-dispenser comprises means for connection to a fishing line and means for anchoring the dispenser to a surface, and may be used in combination with features of the first bait-dispenser.

Description: BAΓΓ-DISPENSER This invention relates to bait-dispensers for use by anglers. In the present invention the term bait is intended to embrace a wide range of material that is fish attracting and specifically includes bread, luncheon meat, worms, maggots, boilies - commercially manufactured bait containing egg and flavoured powders that is mixed into a ball and boiled, amino acids, commercially available flavours such as linseed oil flavours and shrimp flavours. It is common practice when fishing, in addition to attaching bait to a hook, to disperse additional unattached bait into the water where the baited hook is to be located. This practice is known as ground baiting, and its object is to attract fish into the area by the presence of the unattached bait so as to increase the chance that a fish will take the bait attached to the hook. Drawbacks of ground baiting include that it is a wasteful and potentially polluting process. Dispersed ground-bait cannot be recovered by the angler. Many times the quantity of hook-attached bait is used as ground-bait. Unattached bait that is not eaten by fish typically falls to the bottom of the lake or area of water concerned, where the uneaten bait may rot and contaminate the water as bacteria in the bait multiply. Chemical constituents in the bait can thereby be metabolised to potentially toxic or teratogenic products hazardous to the fish and/or other flora/fauna in the aquatic environment. A further disadvantage is that the ground bait may not be located in the same place as the baited hook and may as a result be ineffective in attracting fish to the location of the baited hook. It is also known that small molecular weight molecules emanating from the bait, such as a ino acids, constitute at least part of the fish-attractive quality of bait, whether ground-bait or attached to a hook. It is desirable to utilize the fish attractant properties of bait without the problems of bait wastage and bait-derived pollution described above. However, there is no known means of locating a source of such low molecular weight attractant molecules in the vicinity of a hook. It is an object of the invention to provide an improved bait dispenser that overcomes and/or mitigates the disadvantages of known bait dispensers. Thus, according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a bait-dispenser comprising means for connection to a fishing line, and a first closed compartment for containing bait and having a semi-permeable membrane providing for slow release of short chain molecules within said bait. In an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention the first closed compartment contains low molecular weight fish attractant molecules such as amino acids and/or commercially available flavours. When the bait-dispenser is immersed in water the attractant molecules are slowly released from the first closed compartment through the semi-permeable membrane. This slow release is alternatively achieved by the compartment containing powdered bait and powdered enzymes. When the enzyme comes into contact with water it is activated and breaks down high molecular weight or long chain molecules in the powdered bait into low molecular weight or short chain attractant molecules which are able to pass through the semi-permeable membrane. The nature of the bait and the semi-permeable membrane can in different embodiments of the invention provide for release of fish attractant molecules over a time period of one, two, four, eight or mor hours. Preferred fillings for the first compartment include amino acids, linseed oil flavours, shrimp flavours, and other commercially available flavours. The bait-dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a second closed compartment adapted to open once th bait-dispenser is in water. Optionally the second compartment contains a hook which is released following opening of the second compartment. As a further option, the first compartment is contained within the second compartment. In typical use, the bait-dispenser is connnected to a fishing line with a hook attached, which hook is normally baited. In an embodiment, the hook is attached to the line close to the bait-dispenser and in a particular embodiment the hook is held within the second compartment of the bait-dispenser on casting and is released from the bait-dispenser when the second closed compartment opens on contact with water. In a further embodiment the second compartment is closed by closure means responsive to immersion in water to open the second compartment. The bait-dispenser according to the invention confers advantages over prior art bait-dispensers in that it is capable of dispensing low molecular weight attractant molecules in the vicinity of the hook. In addition, there is reduced wastage of these attractant molecules due to their location close to the hook. In a further embodiment of the first aspect, the second closed _ n _ compartment is adapted for containing bait which is released when the compartment opens following contact with water. Thus bait is released at or near the hook and in an efficient manner. It is of advantage for a bait-dispenser both to disperse ground-bait and provide a source of fish-attractant molecules from the first compartment to attract fish towards the baited hook. Preferred fillings for the second compartment include bread, luncheon meat, boilies, worms, maggots and other ground-bait. To be suitable for being cast, the bait-dispenser is preferably of aerodynamic shape and lightweight. A suitable material is plastics material. In certain circumstances, when a fish has taken a bait attached to a hook, the successful catching of the fish onto the hook is dependent upon the fish encountering resistance when pulling the hook. To enable a bait-dispenser according to the invention to be cast it is desirable for the bait-dispenser to be lightweight. But the fish, when pulling on the hook of such a dispenser, may not encounter sufficient resistance for the fish to be caught on the hook. It is consequently desirable for a bait-holder to offer resistance once in water and positioned say on the bed of a lake and to remain sufficiently lightweight to be cast long distances by an angler. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a bait-dispenser comprising means for connection to a fishing line, and means for anchoring the bait-dispenser to the surface on which it is positioned in use. In an embodiment of the second aspect, the bait-dispenser further comprises a closed compartment which opens when the bait-dispenser is i water. The closed compartment preferably contains bait which is released when the compartment opens following contact with water. It is further preferred that the container is attached to a fishing line close to a baited hook. In another embodiment a hook attached to a line is contained within the container and released into the water when the compartment opens following contact with water. In a preferred embodiment of the second aspect the anchoring means comprises one or more longitudinally extending wings attached to the bait-dispenser by hinge means and moveable from a first position in / which the wings are flush with the bait-dispenser and a second position in which the wings project from the bait-dispenser. Preferred angles of projection lie between 30° and 90°. It is particularly preferred that with two or more wings evenly spaced around the bait-dispenser as described, when the fish pulls on the baited hook, the hook attached to a fishing line which in turn is attached to a bait-dispenser, the fish will encounter resistance due to the anchoring means anchoring the bait-dispenser to the surface on which the bait-dispenser is positioned, for example, the bottom of a lake. As the fish pulls on the hook, the line to which the hook is attached pulls on the bait-dispenser and causes the bait-dispenser to move e.g. across the bottom of the lake. This movement causes the hinged wings to swing outward from their flush position to their projecting position. The projecting wings may become entangled in wee or dig into the bottom of the lake thereby creating an additional resisting force against the pull on the line. Thus, the anchoring means are of advantage in catching fish using bait-dispenser according to the second aspect of the invention. Furthermore, a bait-dispenser according to the first aspect of the invention can usefully be employed in combination with a bait-dispenser according to the second aspect of the invention. The bait-dispenser of the invention is suitable for use with or without buoyancy means. In a further embodiment, the bait-dispenser comprises two substantially hollow, substantially hemi-spherical halves that are rotatable about a common axis. There now follows a detailed description of two embodiments of the invention in which:- Fig. 1 shows a plan view of an open bait-dispenser in an open position; Fig. 2 shows an end view of the bait-dispenser in Fig. 1 in a closed position; Fig. 3 shows a side view of a closed bait-dispenser of Fig. 1 in a closed position; Fig. 4 shows a plan view of a second bait-dispenser in a open position; Fig. 5 shows a side-view of the bait-dispenser of Fig. k Fig. 6 shows detail of a spring mounted plunger; and Fig. 7 shows detail of a bait/attractant containing vial. Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a bait-dispenser is shown generally at 1 comprising halves 2 and 3« A spring-biased hinge 4 biasing the bait-dispenser towards the open position connects halves 2 and 3- Connecting portions 5 are provided on each of the halves 2 and 3. When the two halves are closed together as in Figs. 2 and 3 water soluble twine, not shown, can be used to keep the two halves closed creating a closed compartment for bait. A compartment 7 is provided for optional addition of lead or other weights. A compartment 8 is provided with a semi-permeable membrane 9. Powdered bait, flavourings attractants as hereinbefore described, whether natural or man-made can be placed in compartment 8. When closed, the bait-dispenser 1 provides a large compartment within half 2 for containing loose ground-bait. The side wall of half 2 is weakened at points 10 so that holes can be placed in the side wall of 2 if required. When open, following immersion in water in use, fish have access to the ground-bait orginally placed in half 2. Fish attractant substance leach out of compartment 8 through membrane 9 providing additional attraction to fish. Referring to Figs. 4-7, a bait-dispenser is shown generally at 31 having halves 32 and 33• The halves are connected by hinge 34. A spring mounted plunger 4l on a spring 45 (shown to a different scale in Fig. 6) is located towards the hinge 34 on half 33 and operates to bias the bait-dispenser 31 towards the open position. A compartment 37 is provided optionally to be used for adding weights to the bait-dispenser 31• Compartment 38 has a semi-permeable membrane 39 and in use the compartment 38 typically is filled with powdered bait or other fish attractant material, especially in dried powder form. There are also provided means 40 for inserting holes into half 33 of the bait-dispenser 31 * In addition to compartment 38 there is optionally provided vials 3 shown on a different scale in Fig. 7 with semi-permeable membrane 39 to be located in recesses 44 on the bait-dispenser. The vials 43 may contain further fish attracting nutrients. The vials can be used, in addition to compartment 38, for providing further slow release of fish-attractant molecules through their respective semi-permeable membranes. For example, one vial can contain a source of amino acids while the other contains a source of fatty acids. Alternatively, the semi-permeable membranes of vials 43 can provide for release of their contents over a shorter or longer timescale than compartment 38. When preparing the bait-dispenser for use, an angler may insert vials 43 of his particular selection into the recesses 44 as an alternative to or addition to using compartment 38. Wings 42 are shown on the bait-dispenser 31 in a partially projecting position. Eye 36 serves for attachment of the bait-dispenser to a fishing line and projection 35 is for insertion into recess 4 when the two halves of the bait-dispenser are in the closed position.

Claims: Claims 1. A bait-dispenser comprising means for connection to a fishing line, and a first closed compartment for containing bait and having a semi-permeable membrane providing for slow release of short chain molecules within said bait. 2. A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 1 in which the short chain molecules include amino acids and/or commercially available fish attractant flavours. 3. A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 further comprising a second closed compartment for containing bait adapted to open once the bait-dispenser is in water. 4. A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 3 in which the second compartment contains ground bait selected from boilies, bread, luncheon meat, worms, maggots and other ground bait- 5- A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 3 or 4 in which the second compartment is closed by closure means responsive to water so as to open the second compartment on immersion of the bait-dispenser in water. 6. A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 5 in which the closure means comprise water-soluble material such as poly-vinyl-alcohol. 7. A bait-dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising means for anchoring the bait-dispenser to the surface on which it is lying. 8. A bait-dispenser comprising means for connection to a fishing line and means for anchoring the bait-dispenser to a surface on which the bait-dispenser is lying. 9. A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 7 or 8 in which the anchoring means comprises one or more longitudinally extending wings attached to the bait-dispenser by hinge means and moveable between a first position in which the wing is substantially flush with the bait-dispenser and a second position in which the wing projects from the bait-dispenser. 10. A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 9 in which the wing in its projecting position forms an angle of between 30 * and 90 * with the side of the bait-dispenser. 11. A bait-dispenser as claimed in Claim 9 or 10 in which the wings are evenly spaced around the bait-dispenser. 12. A bait-dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim in which the first closed compartment is a removable vial.

Inventors: SKARSTEN ANDERS ROY HARGRAVE, SKARSTEN STEPHEN RANDOLPH, SKARSTEN, ANDERS, ROY, HARGRAVE, SKARSTEN, STEPHEN, RANDOLPH
Applicants: SCIENT ANGLING LIMITED, SKARSTEN ANDERS ROY HARGRAVE, SKARSTEN STEPHEN RANDOLPH, SCIENTIFIC ANGLING LIMITED, SKARSTEN, ANDERS, ROY, HARGRAVE, SKARSTEN, STEPHEN, RANDOLPH
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A01K97
IPC codes: A01K97