Abstract:
A fishing lure which includes a crankbait body has a cavity in the lower surface of the body. An elongated insert (which may be a chemiluminescent tube or a colored tube) is positioned in the cavity so that the element is exposed below and on both sides of the crankbait body. The chemiluminescent element is releaseably held in place by a bias spring, a loop located near the forward end of the cavity, or by flexing the element so that it is captured by recesses at the front and rear ends of the cavity.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This is a Divisional Application claiming priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 09/169,880 filed Oct. 12, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No 6,108,960 entitled “Fishing Lure” by Brian P. Sylla and Randy A. Larson. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a fishing lure. In particular, the present invention is a crankbait which carries a tubular insert (such as a chemiluminescent or colored tube) element which is exposed below and on both sides of the crankbait body. 
     Fishing is among the most popular recreational sports. Anglers are of all ages and from virtually all walks of life. In the United States, it is estimated that between 40 and 60 million people go fishing every year. 
     There is a never ending quest for more effective fishing lures. Lures of all shapes, colors, and sizes have been used in attempts to attract fish and increase fishing success. Fish can be attracted by the sight, sound, and smell of lures. 
     In the past, various attempts have been made to develop a lighted lure which would be useful in attracting fish during low-light conditions. These conditions may occur during evening hours, during overcast days, and even on brightly lit days when water clarity is low. Examples of lighted fishing lures include the following patents: Bercz, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,903; Murphy U.S. Pat. No. Des. 381,734; Northcutt U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,868; Kulak U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,256; Malphrus U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,350; Cota, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,120; Douglas, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,904; Kaplan U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,851; Ladyjensky U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,051; Livingston U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,857; Troescher U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,266; Giglia U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,405; Steiger, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,629; Hunt U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,690; and Ladyjensky U.S. Pat. No. 5,552,968. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The fishing lure of the present invention is a crankbait which includes a crankbait body having a cavity in its lower surface. A elongated insert (such as a chemiluminescent element or a colored tube) is positioned in the cavity so that the insert is exposed below it on both sides of the crankbait body. 
     The insert is releaseably held in place in the cavity. In preferred embodiments, the element is held in place by a bias spring, by a loop located near a forward end of the cavity, or by flexing the element so that it is captured by recesses at the front and rear ends of the cavity. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the fishing lure is part of a kit which includes a crankbait body and a set of inserts. The inserts can include chemiluminescent tubes, as well as inserts which are not light emitting, but which have different colors. As a result, the same crankbait body can be modified to present different appearances, including those which are light emitting in order to attract fish or trigger striking of the lure under a variety of different conditions. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the fishing lure of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the fishing lure of FIG. 1 taken along section  2 — 2  of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the fishing lure of FIGS. 1 and 2 taken along section  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of the fishing lure of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the fishing lure of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a third embodiment of the fishing lure of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a fishing lure kit which includes a crankbait and a set of tubular inserts. 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded view of another embodiment of the fishing lure of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is an assembled view of the fishing lure of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIGS. 1-3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. Fishing lure  10  includes crankbait body  12 , treble hooks  14  and  16 , and chemiluminescent light source tube  18 . Crankbait body  12  includes bill  20 , front eyelet  22 , bottom eyelet  24 , and rear eyelet  26 . On the underside or belly of crankbait body  12  is a longitudinal cavity  28 . Bias spring  30  is positioned in forward end pocket  28 F of cavity  28 . 
     When chemiluminescent tube  18  is positioned within cavity  28 , the rear end of tube  18  is received in rear end pocket  28 R of cavity  28 . The front end of tube  18  presses against bias spring  30 , and is captured within forward end pocket  28 F of cavity  28 . Cavity  28  is shaped so that tube  18  is exposed on both sides and the bottom of crankbait body  12 . 
     Front eyelet  22  is connected to a fishing line either directly by tying, or through a connector such as a snap or snap swivel. 
     Treble hook  14  is connected to lower eyelet  24  by split ring  32 . Similarly, rear treble hook  16  is connected to rear eyelet  26  by split ring  34 . 
     Chemiluminescent tubes are available from several sources and are available in different sizes and different colors. Typically, the chemiluminescent tube is activated by bending the tube until a snapping sound is heard, which breaks a seal separating two substances within the tube. The chemicals within the tube are then mixed by shaking the tube. Once activated, tube  18  is inserted within cavity  28 . One form of chemiluminescent tube which has been used with the present invention is Cyalume® lightstick from Omniglow Corporation. Cyalume® is a registered trademark of American Cynamid Company. Cyalume® lightsticks are available in 1.5 inch (0.25 ml fluid) sizes in a number of different colors (including red and yellow). They are also available in a larger 7.5 mm×75 mm size, which is used with larger crankbaits. 
     Another chemiluminescent tube which can be used with the present invention is the Firefly Lightstick from Bandi Co., Ltd. Seoul, Korea. 
     Light emitted from chemiluminescent tube  18  provides additional color or flash to the lure, and is particularly advantageous in low light conditions caused either by lack of water clarity, weather conditions, or the time of day. 
     Other colored tubes, which are not chemiluminescent, can also be inserted into cavity  28 . For example, under certain conditions a red, orange, chartreuse, silver, or copper colored tube can provide additional color to lure  10  which may attract fish or trigger strikes. The present invention provides the flexibility of presenting different appearances with the same lure. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 show another embodiment of the present invention. Lure  50  includes crankbait body  52 , treble hooks  54  and  56 , and tube  58  (which may be chemiluminescent or plain colored, as desired by the angler. 
     Crankbait body  52  includes bill  60 , front eyelet  62 , bottom eyelet  64 , and rear eyelet  66 . Longitudinal cavity  68  has a rear end  68 R for capturing the rear end of tube  58 . The forward end of tube  58  is captured and held in place by eyelet  70 . 
     FIG. 5 shows cavity  68  with tube  58  removed. Treble hook  54  is also not shown in FIG. 5 for clarity. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, tube  58  is slightly flexed as it is held in place. The Firefly Lightstick from Bandi Co., Ltd. has been found to have sufficient flexibility to allow it to perform while in a slightly flexed condition. 
     FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. Lure  80  is shown in an exploded view. Crankbait  82  carries a pair of treble hooks  84  and  86 . A tubular insert  88 , which may be a chemiluminescent tube or a tube of a selected color, is carried within crankbait body  82 , with the sides and bottom of tube  88  exposed. 
     Crankbait body  82  has bill  90 , front eyelet  92 , lower eyelet  94 , rear eyelet  96 , and cavity  98 . Positioned within cavity  98  are cavity liner  100  and bias spring  102 . Liner  100  is preferably formed from a metal or plastic tube which is shaped to match the contour of the outer edge of cavity  98 . Tube  88  is inserted into cavity  98  and into liner  100 . Bias spring  102  acts on the forward end of tube  88  to hold the rear end of tube  88  within the rear portion of liner  100 . In embodiments where crankbait body  82  is molded plastic, liner  100  is preferably inserted in a mold and crankbait body  82  is molded around it. 
     FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention which is in the form of a fishing lure kit  120 . The kit includes container  122  with foam liner  124 , which has cutout sections  126 ,  128 , and  130 . 
     Crankbait  140 , which for example may be any one of the forms illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 (or the form illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9) is positioned within cutout  126 . Cutout  128  contains a number of different colored tubes  150 . The tubes may be, for example, chartreuse, copper, red, yellow, and silver, as illustrated in FIG. 7, or may be a wide variety of other colors. Cutout  130  provides a storage space for sealed packages  160  which contain chemiluminescent tubes. 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 show another embodiment of the present invention. Lure  170  is shown in an exploded view in FIG.  8  and an assembled view in FIG.  9 . 
     Lure  170  includes crankbait body  172 , which carries a pair of treble hooks  174  and  176 . Insert  178 , which may be a chemiluminescent tube or a tube of a selected color, is carried within crankbait body  172 , with the sides and bottom of insert  178  exposed. 
     Crankbait body  172  has bill  180 , front eyelet  182 , lower eyelet  184 , and rear eyelet  186 . Cavity  188 , with front end pocket  188 F and rear end pocket  188 R, is located in the bottom surface of crankbait body  172 . Insert  178  is inserted into cavity  188  by flexing tube  178  slightly so that it is arched as shown in FIG.  9 . The forward end of insert  178  is located in and captured by front end pocket  188 F. The rear end of insert  178  is located in and captured by rear end pocket  188 R. 
     In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the natural resiliency of tubular insert  178  facilitates its insertion into cavity  188 , and its retention within cavity  188 , during use of lure  170 . Insert  178  can be removed simply by pulling downward on it so that one or both ends pop out of pockets  188 F and  188 R. 
     In each of the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, the crankbait body has had the same general shape and hook configuration. It is well known that crankbaits come in a wide variety of different sizes and shapes, with varying numbers of hooks. Some crankbaits have bills and others do not. The location of the front eyelet can vary considerably. In some lures, the eyelet is located on the bill, while in others the eyelet is located on a top surface of the crankbait body. 
     The present invention is applicable to any of these crankbait configurations. The location of the insert may differ depending upon the specific shape of the crankbait. Although all of the embodiments illustrated have shown the cavity located in a lower surface of the crankbait body, the cavity can, alternatively, be located in an upper surface. In still other embodiments, more than one cavity can be located in the crankbait, such as on each side or on both top and bottom. 
     The present invention provides a simple and effective way to vary the appearance of a crankbait as needed and dictated by different fishing conditions. Different colors of inserts can provide a different appearance which may more closely match the appearance of bait fish in the body of water being fished, or may provide a color which triggers a strike because of lighting and water clarity conditions. The color choices can include an insert which is the same as the crankbait body. Similarly, the use of chemiluminescent tube inserts can provide for an increased visibility or flash to the crankbait in low light or poor water clarity conditions. Changes to the crankbait are made quickly and easily using the inserts, without the need to retie a new lure. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.