Abstract:
A removable head for a fishing lure for changing the action of the fishing lure. The removable head may convert a lure, such as, but not limited to, a soft-bodied lure, into a diving lure, a rising lure, a chugger, a popper, or others. The removable head may slide onto the head of a lure and include a front face for creating action. The front face may include a number of configurations such as, but not limited to, an angled surface, a concave surface, and others.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed generally to fishing lures, and more specifically to soft bodied fishing lures. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Artificial lures have been used for many years to catch fish in rivers, lakes, estuaries, bays, and oceans. Artificial lures typically are formed from either hard or soft materials. Hard bodied lures commonly have hooks attached to an outer surface of the lure, while soft bodied lures often have hooks completely concealed within the lure or at least partially concealed in cavities in the lures. Soft bodied lures are typically molded into a single body having many different exterior configurations. Some conventional soft bodied lures include baitfish, grubs, jerk baits, tube lures, artificial worms, some of which resemble naturally occurring earthworms, crawfish, frogs, and others. Soft bodied lures often have tails made from various configurations, such as a straight tail, a paddle tail, a forked tail, a ripple tail, a rounded tail, a pointed tail, and others. Each lure has a distinctive action when retrieved through the water. However, the action produced by each lure is not successful in enticing all fish to strike under all weather conditions, in all water conditions, and in all geographic locations. 
   Anglers have attempted to solve this problem by carrying one of each type of lure so that the anglers may have the best lure for all water and weather conditions for a particular species of fish. However, attempting such a feat can be overwhelming as there exist many different types of lures, all with distinctly different actions, and many different colors for each lure. The number of different lures and colors makes it impossible for an angler to bring all possible lures with the angler on a fishing trip. Thus, a need exists for a device capable increasing the versatility of each lure to increase the effectiveness of the tackle available to an angler. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed to a removable head configured to be positioned on a fishing lure that simulates a natural baitfish, crustacean, or other prey when suspended in water. Attachment of the removable head to a lure changes the action of the lure thereby increasing the versatility of the lure. The removable head can change a conventional soft-bodied lure into a diving lure, a rising lure, a popper, a chugger, or others, or any combination thereof. The removable head may be placed onto lures designed to catch fish in saltwater, freshwater, or brackish water environments. 
   In at least one embodiment, the removable head may be formed from a body and a cavity positioned in the body for receiving a head of a fishing lure. The cavity may extend through a rear wall of the body and into close proximity to a front face of the removable head. The body of the removable head may be generally cylindrical or have other appropriate shapes. The cavity may be cylindrical or have other appropriate shapes and may be positioned generally along a longitudinal axis of the body. 
   The removable head may also include a front face on the body. The front face may create a substantial portion of the action produced by a lure to which the removable head is attached. The front face may have numerous configurations for providing action to the lure to which the head is attached. For instance, the front face may be angled such that the front face proximate to an upper surface of the body extends further from a midpoint of the body along a longitudinal axis of the body than the front face proximate to the lower surface. The front face may be angled between about 45 degrees and about 75 degrees, and more specifically, about 60 degrees. The front face may also be concave in addition to the angled front face and in embodiments without the angled face. 
   The removable head may include one or more eyes on the head. In at least one embodiment, the removable head may include a first eye protruding from a first side of the body proximate to the front face and a second eye protruding from a second side of the body generally opposite to the first eye and proximate to the front face. The eyes may be generally hemispherical. The removable head may also include one or more fins extending from the body. The body may include a first lateral fin extending from a first side of the body, and a second lateral fin extending from a second side of the body generally opposite the first lateral fin. 
   The removable head may be attached to a lure by inserting a lure into the cavity in the head. In at least one embodiment, a hook may be inserted through the front face of the removable head, into the lure, and through a bottom surface of the head. The hook may then extend through the body of the lure such that the barb of the hook may rest against the lure, thereby creating a weedless lure. The hook may be attached to the lure in other manners as well. 
   A lure with the removable head attached may be cast and retrieved or fished in other manners. The lure may be retrieved in a number of ways to simulate a baitfish and to entice a nearby fish to strike. The removable head in at least one embodiment may, together with a lure, form a generally neutrally buoyant lure that, when retrieved, rises in the water column. In an alternative embodiment, the head may be attached to a lure in an inverted position, which causes the lure to dive when retrieved. The lure may also be retrieved at or near the surface. The removable head may be used as a chugger or popper by retrieving a lure with the removable head attached at the water surface and jerking the lure. The removable head may also be retrieved very quickly at the water surface to create a bubble trail, also referred to as a smoke trail, behind the lure. 
   An advantage of this invention is that the removable head can transform nearly any lure into a lure having a different action by sliding the removable head onto a head of the lure. The removable head can change the action of a lure into a rising lure, a diving lure, a chugging lure, a popping lure, a smoke trail lure, and others, thereby greatly increasing the versatility of conventional lures. 
   Another advantage of this invention is that removable head can change the attitude of a lure when the lure rests in a water body, thereby changing the action of the lure. 
   Yet another advantage of this invention is that the removable head takes up relatively little space thereby making it an easy addition to any tackle box. 
   These and other embodiments will be described in more detail below. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the presently disclosed invention and, together with the description, disclose the principles of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a removable head for a fishing lure according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of the removable head shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a left side view of the removable head shown in  FIG. 1  attached to a lure. 
       FIG. 4  is an exploded right side view of the removable head shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the removable head shown in  FIG. 3  attached to a lure. 
       FIG. 6  is a partial cross section of the removable head attached to a lure taken along section line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 5 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , this invention is directed to a removable head  10  configured to be positioned on a fishing lure  12  that simulates a natural baitfish, crustacean, or other prey, such as, but not limited to, frogs, when suspended in water. The removable head  10  may be used to change the action of a fishing lure  12 . The removable head  10  may cause a lure  12  to rise in a water column, to dive, to chug along the surface, or to produce a smoke trail of bubbles when retrieved rapidly, any combination of these actions, or other actions. As shown in  FIGS. 3-5 , the removable head  10  may be used together with a fishing lure  12 , which may be a pliable fishing lure  12  such as a plastic lure  12 , by pushing the head  10  onto the lure  12 . The removable head  10  can change the action of the lure  12  favorably, thereby increasing the versatility of the lure  12 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  6 , the head  10  may be formed from a body  14 . In at least one embodiment, the head  10  may be formed from a generally cylindrical body  14  or other appropriate shape. The outer diameter may be slightly larger than the size of a lure  12  on which the head  10  is to be positioned. In other embodiments, the body  14  may have other sizes. The body  14  may be sized in proportion with the lure  12  to which the body  14  is to be attached. 
   The body  14  may include a cavity  16  for receiving a lure  12 . The cavity  16  may extend through a rear wall  18  of the body  14 . The cavity  16  may be sized such that the cavity  16  can receive a lure  12 . The cavity  16  may be about the same size as the lure  12 . In at least one embodiment, an interference fit may be created when a lure  12  is inserted into the cavity  16 . The material forming the body  14  may be tacky, thereby preventing the lure  12  from inadvertently separating from the body  14 . The body  14  may be formed from, but is not limited to being, plastic. The cavity  16  may extend through the rear wall  18  generally along a longitudinal axis  20  of the body  14 . The cavity  16  may extend through the body  14  and terminate in close proximity of a front face  22  of the body  14  such that a sufficient amount of material remains to prevent damage of the head  10 . In at least one embodiment, the cavity  16  may be positioned such that a thickness of an outer wall  19  proximate to a bottom surface  28  may be greater than a thickness of the outer wall  19  proximate to a top surface  24 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . The thickness of the outer wall  19  proximate to the bottom surface  28  prevents the head  10  from tearing or otherwise being significantly damaged by a hook  25  inserted into the head  10 . The rear wall  18  may include groove  21  in the rear wall  18 . The groove  21  may be configured such that a portion of the rear wall  18  forming the groove  21  extends closer to the front face  22  than remaining portions of the rear wall  18  thereby enabling the first and second sides  34 ,  38  of the body  14  to be separated to receive a head of the lure  12  into the cavity  16  in the body  14  and form a friction fit therein. Moving from one side  34  to the other side  38 , the groove  21  forms a variable width in the head  10  such that the groove  21  increases moving from the first side  34  to the middle of the head  10  and then decreases from the middle of the head  10  to the other side  38 . thereby enabling the sides  34 .  38  to be movable during assembly of the head to a lure. 
   The head  10  may also include the front face  22  on the body  14  for changing the action of the lure  12 . The front face  22  may have numerous different configurations. In at least one embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 , the front face  22  may be angled relative to the longitudinal axis  20  of the body  14  such that the front face  22  proximate to an upper surface  24  of the body  14  extends further from a midpoint  26  of the body  14  along the longitudinal axis  20  of the body  14  than the front face  22  proximate to a lower surface  28  of the body  14 . In at least one embodiment, the front face  22  may be positioned between about 45 degrees and about 75 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis  20 , and more specifically, may be positioned at about 60 degrees. With this configuration, a lure  12  with the head  10  and suspended in water may rise in the water column when pulled through the water. The lure  12  may also dive when the head  10  is inverted on the lure  12  such that the front face  22  forms a diving lip on the lure  12 . In alternative configurations, the front face  22  may be positioned at other angles relative to the longitudinal axis  20 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 6 , all or a portion of the front face  22  may be concave. The concave front face  22  provides additional action to the head  10 . When the lure  12  with a head  12  attached thereto is on a water surface, the concave front face  22  may produce a strike inducing popping sound when retrieved with intermitting jerks. 
   The head  10  may also include one or more eyes  30 . In at least one embodiment, the head  10  may include a first eye  32  on a first side  34  of the head  10  and a second eye  36  on a second side  38  of the head  10 . The eyes  32 ,  36  may protrude from the surfaces of the first and second sides  34 ,  38  beyond an outer surface of the head  10 . In at least one embodiment, the eyes  32 ,  36  may have a generally hemispherical shape. The protruding eyes  32 ,  36  enhance the silhouette of the lure  12 . In an alternative embodiment, the eyes  30  may be in an indentation on the head  10  or on the outer surface of the head  10 . 
   The head  10  may also include one or more lateral fins. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the head  10  may include a first lateral fin  40  extending from the first side  34  and a second lateral fin  42  extending from the second side  38 . The lateral fins  40 ,  42  may extend generally orthogonally relative to the longitudinal axis  20  of the body  14 . In this configuration, the lateral fins  40 ,  42  may reduce the rate of sinking of the lure  12  in a water body. In alternative embodiments, the lateral fins  40 ,  42 , may extend from the body  14  at other angles relative to the longitudinal axis  20 . 
   In preparation for use, a lure  12  may be inserted into the cavity  16  in the head  10 . A hook  25  may be installed in numerous manners. In at least one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the hook  25  may be inserted through the front face  22 , into the lure  12 , and through the outer wall  19  proximate to the bottom surface  28 . The hook  25  may re-enter the lure  12  and pass through the body of the lure  12  away from the head  10 . The barb  44  of the hook  25  may be pressed against an outer surface of the lure  12  to conceal the barb  44  to make the lure  12  weedless. Once the head  10  has been positioned on a lure  12  and the hook  25  inserted, the lure  12  is ready for use. 
   During use, the head  10  and lure  12  may be cast with a conventional rod and reel. The head  10  enables the lure to be retrieved in numerous manners. For instance, the head  10 , in at least one embodiment, makes the lure  12  about neutrally buoyant. Retrieving the lure  12  causes the lure to rise in the water column while the lure  12  is retrieved. The lure  12  may be retrieved at a steady rate or the rate of retrieval may be varied. Pausing the retrieval causes the lure to sink slowly, and retrieving the lure  12  causes the lure  12  to rise in the water column. Such action may provoke a strike from a nearby fish. 
   The head  10  having the configuration shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , may also be inserted onto a lure  12  in an upside down manner. This configuration causes the lure  12  to dive when retrieved. The depth to which the lure  12  may dive depends on numerous factors, such as, but not limited to, the size and angle of the front face  22 , the position of the rod tip relative to the water surface during retrieval, and others. A diving lure  12  may be advantageous under some conditions. 
   The head  10  may also be used as a popping head  10 . The lure  12  may be retrieved so that the lure  12  remains in close proximity to the water surface. The lure  12  may be jerked at various intervals producing a popping sound that attracts fish and draws strikes. 
   It should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be obvious to persons skilled in the art, and that such modifications or changes are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application. Moreover, the invention can take other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof.