Abstract:
Fish lure system includes a body and at least two diving and moving elements. One of the diving and moving elements is attached to said lure for causing said lure to exhibit a first diving and moving behavior when it is attached to said lure. The lure exhibits a second diving and moving behavior differing from the first diving and moving behavior, when the second diving and moving elements is attached to the lure in place of the first diving and moving elements.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/218,533, filed Jul. 17, 2000, and which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The invention relates to fishing equipment and methods of using such. More specifically, the invention relates to fishing lures and methods of using such lures. Even more specifically, the invention relates to fishing lures capable of exhibiting selectively variable movements while being used to attract fish, so as to enhance the attractiveness of the lure to the game fish, as well as to provide for a single lure, for example, capable of various behaviors depending on the fisher&#39;s or angler&#39;s requirements.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Fishing lures have been known for many generations.  
           [0004]    Known fishing lures includes lures having attractants including pieces of animal feathers and fur for exhibiting the appearance of insects, such as flies.  
           [0005]    There have also been lures previously made which include blades or spoons for causing the lure to dive or move deeper into the water as the lure is pulled along by the line to which it is attached and by which the lure is controlled by the fisher.  
           [0006]    However, the problem still remains that each known lure is dedicated to a particular purpose. For example, there are hundreds of known “flies” for attracting top-feeding or surface-feeding fish.  
           [0007]    Known diving lures dedicated to exhibiting a specific behavior have likewise been made.  
           [0008]    Accordingly, there is a need to provide a fishing lure which is more versatile than known lures.  
         OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art lures.  
           [0010]    Another object of the invention is to provide a lure which can provide one or more diving or “swimming” behaviors in the water, in use, without the need for a specific lure dedicated to each desired diving or swimming behavior.  
           [0011]    A further object of the invention is to provide a lure which may be readily converted from one type of diving or swimming behavior to another.  
           [0012]    Yet another object of the invention is to provide a lure system which either provides for two( 2 ) dedicated lures exhibiting predetermined characteristics or replaces the need for two( 2 ) or more dedicated lures, thereby increasing space available in a fisher&#39;s tackle box, as well as being more cost efficient and using fewer materials, and, hence, fewer natural resources.  
           [0013]    In summary, the invention is directed to a fishing lure system which provides lures that can exhibit multiple diving or swimming behaviors.  
           [0014]    The invention is likewise directed to a fishing lure or lure system which has two( 2 ) or more discrete diving or swimming behaviors, and which lure can be readily switched over or converted from a first diving behavior to a second diving behavior.  
           [0015]    The invention is likewise directed to a method of readily converting a fishing lure from a first diving behavior to a second diving behavior (e.g., by switching from a first blade to a second blade).  
           [0016]    It should be noted that relative terms such as up, down, left, and right are for convenience only and are not intended to be limiting.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a fishing lure according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is a lower perspective view of a portion of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a first preferred embodiment of a blade according to the invention that has been shown and installed in the lure of FIG. 1;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is a top plan view, similar to FIG. 3, of a further preferred embodiment of a blade according to the invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the blade of FIG. 4;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a fishing lure according to a further preferred embodiment of the invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 7 is a lower perspective view of a portion of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 6;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment of a blade according to the invention that has been shown and installed in the lure of FIG. 6;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 9 is a top plan view, similar to FIG. 8, of another preferred embodiment of a blade according to the invention; and  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the blade of FIG. 9.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]    FIGS.  1 - 5  illustrate a first preferred embodiment of a fish lure  10  according to the invention.  
         [0028]    Fish lure  10  includes a body  14  having a front portion  22  and a rear portion  24 . A forwardmost connector or eye  26  may be provided for receiving a fishing line attached thereto.  
         [0029]    Rear portion  24  may be movably connected to front portion  22  by a connector  28 , such as the illustrated swivel.  
         [0030]    A rear attachment element or eye  32  may be provided for securing a rear hook  34  to rear portion  24 .  
         [0031]    A forward connector or eye  36  may likewise be provided on front portion  22  for securing a forward hook  38  thereto.  
         [0032]    Hooks  34  and  38  may be conventional three-prong hooks, for example.  
         [0033]    Lure  10  may include a pattern  42 , such as the illustrated eye, as well as coloration or camouflage, for example. The coloration may be selected depending on the type of fish for which one is fishing as will be readily appreciated.  
         [0034]    A diving control element  50 , such as a blade or spoon may be provided on front portion  22 .  
         [0035]    Good results have been achieved when blade  50  is detachably attached to front portion  22  by use of fasteners  54  and  56 . Fasteners  54  and  56  may be removable fasteners, such as the illustrated screws.  
         [0036]    Blade  50  may be substantially flat, as illustrated.  
         [0037]    Blade  50  will be used when the fisher wants to have the lure  10  run at a depth of about  2  — 5  feet below the surface of the water, when the user is trolling at the speed of about  3  — 4  miles per hour (m.p.h.).  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 2 illustrates that blade  50  may have a rounded configuration at a front portion  58 .  
         [0039]    One or both of illustrated sides  60  may be substantially straight and extend inwardly rearwardly toward a rear portion  62  of blade  50 . One or more holes  64  and  66  may be provided to receive respective fasteners  54  and  56 .  
         [0040]    [0040]FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a further preferred embodiment of a blade  80  according to the invention.  
         [0041]    Blade  80  may include a first hole  84  and a second hole  86 .  
         [0042]    A front  88  of blade  80  curves outwardly and downwardly, as illustrated, toward a middle region  89 .  
         [0043]    One or more sides  90  may likewise be somewhat curved.  
         [0044]    Middle region  89  terminates and extends in a flat region  91  extending between middle region  89  and a rear  92 .  
         [0045]    As will be readily appreciated, flat region  91  includes a portion which will be disposed within the blade receiving opening  70  of lure  10 .  
         [0046]    Thus, when installed, flat region  91  will be at least partially installed within blade receiving opening or recess  70 .  
         [0047]    In use, blade  80  will be installed so that the curved portion faces downwardly away from front fishing line connector  26 , for example.  
         [0048]    Blade  80  may be termed a scooped blade and has been engineered to run at a depth of about  4  — 10  feet when trolling at a speed of about  3  — 4  miles per hour (m.p.h.). Blade  80  has been developed to run among all types of structures.  
         [0049]    Scooped blade  80  is typically configured for running at a deeper depth than substantially flat blade  50 .  
         [0050]    An alignment element  96  or removed portion may be provided at rear  92  of blade  80 . One or more sides  98  of alignment element  96  may be configured to engage with substantially correspondingly shaped male portions of lure  10 . In that manner, blade  80  is further secured in place relative to front portion  22  of lure  10 .  
         [0051]    FIGS.  6 - 10  illustrate another preferred embodiment of a fish lure system  100  according to the invention.  
         [0052]    Fish lure system  100  has many components which are similar to fish lure  10  of FIGS.  1 - 5 .  
         [0053]    Fish lure system  100  includes, typically, two( 2 ) or more fish lures having blades which are fixed blades.  
         [0054]    The like components of the embodiments of FIGS.  6 - 10  have like reference numerals as in the embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 5 . Different components are represented by different reference numerals, needless to say.  
         [0055]    In short, fish lure system  100  includes two( 2 ) fish lures, each having fixed blades. A first fish lure  110  is shown in FIGS.  6 - 8 . Fish lure  110  includes a flat blade or diving control element  150  that may be fixedly attached to fish lure  110 .  
         [0056]    In a manner similar to diving control element  50  of fish lure  10  of FIGS.  1 - 5 , blade  150  is used for causing the fish lure  110  to run at a first depth of about  4 - 10  feet when trolling at a speed of about  3 - 4  miles per hour (m.p.h.).  
         [0057]    Flat blade  150  may be provided with regions  154  and  156  adjacent a rear portion  162  of blade  50 . Regions  154  and  156  are used for securing blade  150  to fish lure  110 .  
         [0058]    In the case where blade  150  is to be fixedly attached to the remainder of fish lure  110 , an adhesive may be provided in a vicinity of regions  154  and  156 . For example, adhesive may be inserted into or provided in the counterpart opening  170  which receives regions  154  and  156 . The glue or adhesive will be spread and will contact regions  154  and  156 , based on the selected tolerances between the size of blade receiving opening  170 .  
         [0059]    In a like manner, adhesive receiving portions  184  and  186  may be provided on a blade  180  that has a rounded configuration.  
         [0060]    Blade  180  may be configured substantially the same as blade  80  of FIGS.  1 - 5 , yet without the provision of holes  84  and  86  therein.  162  refers to the end of blade  150  which is inserted into blade receiving hole  170 .  
         [0061]    Of course, as will be readily appreciated, regions  184  and  186  may be adhered to a respective unillustrated fish lure instead of regions  154  and  156  when blade  180  is used for controlling the trolling depths of the associated lure.  
         [0062]    It will be appreciated that, instead of adhering a blade to the body of a fish lure with an adhesive, such as epoxy, glue, and the like, the blades may be fixedly attached to the body by use of rivets, or  1 -way fasteners that can only be installed and cannot be removed, instead of the fasteners  54  and  56  of the embodiment of FIGS.  1 - 5 , for example.  
         [0063]    The use of adhesives and non-removable fasteners are but two( 2 ) examples of the manner in which the blades may be attached to the remainder of the fish lure.  
         [0064]    The entire fish lure may be made as an integral whole.  
       OPERATION  
       [0065]    In use, the fisher ties the fishing line to front connector  26 .  
         [0066]    In the case where the desired one of blade  50  and  80  is already installed on lure  10 , the user simply begins to fish drawing the lure  10  through the water at the desired speed to achieve the desired depth.  
         [0067]    If blade  50  had been installed, and the user wants to switch to blade  80 , for example, the user removes fasteners  54  and  56 , such as by unscrewing the fasteners in the case where screws are used.  
         [0068]    After fasteners  54  and  56  have been removed, blade  50  is moved outwardly away from body  22 . Blade  80  is then inserted with the rounded portion at front  80  installed facing downwardly. When holes  84  and  86  are aligned with the respective corresponding holes in lure  10 , fasteners  54  and  56  are inserted into their respective holes and secured.  
         [0069]    The fisher may then fish again at the desired speed and depth.  
         [0070]    It is expected that any conventional materials be used for making the lure, the blades, the hooks, and the like.  
         [0071]    Preferably, the blades are made of clear colorless material, such as transparent plastic free of colorants.  
         [0072]    As to coloration or camouflage of lure  10 , typical colorations may include a lure being substantially all orange, substantially green with or without patterns to make the lure appear to be a fish, and a white-orange lure with yellow stripes on the side.  
         [0073]    Preferred number of hooks is two( 2 ).  
         [0074]    The jointed design; i.e., the jointing or swivel connector being front and rear portions  22  and  24  of lure  10  is preferred.  
         [0075]    The lure is particularly suited for attracting Big Northern Pike and Muskellunge. Good results have been achieved in fishing for these two( 2 ) fish species during secret tests performed in the Great Lakes region of the United States.  
         [0076]    The lures may be made of any length. Good results have been achieved when the length of the lures are nine(9) inches (about 23 centimeters) and twelve(12) inches (about 30 centimeters) in length.  
         [0077]    Good results have been achieved when lures of the illustrated type have been made jointed when both flat and scooped (outwardly curved) blades have been used.  
         [0078]    The illustrated convertible blade option offers one basic action with two( 2 ) possible depth levels. Other options of lure movements and depth levels are contemplated.  
         [0079]    Good results have been achieved when relatively large hooks, such as standard #5 or #6 hooks have been used, as opposed to the conventionally provided #3 #4 hooks sold on the majority of Muskellunge lures sold in the United States.  
         [0080]    While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, and uses and/or adaptations of the invention and following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention or limits of the claims appended hereto.