Abstract:
The fishing lure is formed in a variety of configurations mimicking various prey animals to which game fish might be attracted. Each lure is formed of relatively soft plastic or rubber for flexibility, although the head or forward end of the lure may optionally be formed of harder material. The lure includes a pair of laterally opposed notches or grooves between the head and body, and a series of longitudinally staggered notches or grooves across the upper and lower body or tail portion. These notches or grooves provide even greater flexibility for the lure, allowing the lure to undulate due to hydrodynamic force when drawn through the water. The hook is installed in the forwardmost portion of the lure with the tip oriented above and/or forwardly of the remainder of the lure, to avoid reduction of body flexibility due to being penetrated by the relatively stiff shank of the hook.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to fishing tackle, and particularly to a fishing lure formed of a soft and flexible plastic material having a series of laterally narrowed portions, notches, or grooves along its length for added flexibility and movement. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Bait and lures have been used for centuries to attract game animals and fish. As the sport of fishing has become more sophisticated, an ever-increasing variety of lures has been developed for use in the sport and for commercial use as well. 
         [0005]    The development of relatively new materials has also been of benefit in the manufacture of lures, particularly fishing lures. It is well known that fish are generally attracted to a number of smaller animals, e.g., worms and insects, and frogs, lizards, eels and small snakes, etc. for somewhat larger game fish. Many of these animal varieties exhibit great flexibility, e.g., worms, eels, and snakes, and predator fish are thought to be instinctively predisposed to be attracted to objects exhibiting such movement. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, many lure manufacturers have attempted to produce lures mimicking such bodily movements. These efforts have generally met with limited success, primarily due to the relatively hard materials available in the past. More recently, softer plastic materials (e.g., plastisol, a soft silicone rubber resin material) have been developed for various purposes, and some of these have been adapted for use in the manufacture of fishing lures. Such softer materials provide the greater flexibility desired to mimic the movements of live prey animals, but efforts in this direction have not been entirely successful. 
         [0007]    Another problem with fishing lures developed in the past has been the placement and/or orientation of the hook. Generally, the hook(s) is/are placed somewhat rearwardly on the body of the lure, with it being assumed that the fish will strike the lure from behind. As the leader must extend from the forward end of the lure, this either leaves a relatively weakened area between the end of the leader and the hook in lures formed of softer materials, or requires the leader or a separate wire or the like to be run through the body of the lure, which changes the flexibility of the lure. 
         [0008]    An example of a lure from the related art is found in French Patent No. 2,672,773, published on Aug. 21, 1992. According to the drawings and English abstract, this reference describes a fishing lure with an elongated and angled shank. The hook extends from its eye at the nose of the lure, passing through the body to exit near the tail of the lure. The abstract indicates that only the tail of the lure, i.e., that portion of the lure rearward of the hook, is free to move due to hydrodynamic force as the lure is pulled through the water. 
         [0009]    None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a fishing lure solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The fishing lure may be formed in a number of different embodiments, each at least generally mimicking the shape or configuration of a prey animal to which a game fish might be attracted. The various lure embodiments are each formed with a pair of laterally opposed notches or grooves between the forward end or head of the lure and the lure body, and a series of longitudinally staggered upper and lower notches or grooves disposed along the body, tail, or portions thereof. The laterally opposed notches behind the head result in a thinner cross section of material connecting the head to the body, and this, along with the flexibility of the material from which the lure is formed, allows the head and body of the lure to move or flex relative to one another to provide realistic movement. The laterally oriented notches or grooves on the upper and lower sides of the body and/or tail also increase the flexibility of the lure, allowing the body and/or tail to undulate through the water in the vertical plane as the lure is trolled or reeled in. 
         [0011]    Each of the embodiments of the fishing lure also has the hook installed forwardly in the lure, with the curve of the hook positioned forwardly of the eye and the tip of the hook oriented above or forwardly of the shank. The angler may install the hook through the head of the lure where the head is formed of the same soft material as the body, or the shank of the hook may be encapsulated in the head at the time of manufacture, where harder compounds are used for forming the head of the lure. The lure may be manufactured with the head generally aligned with the body, or with the head angled downwardly relative to the body. In any event, the orientation of the hook and position of the hook eye relative to the head and body of the lure results in the head being forced down at an angle to the body due to hydrodynamic drag as the lure is drawn through the water. In this manner, the tip of the hook is positioned forwardly of the remainder of the hook and lure structure, with the possible exception of the hook eye. The tip of the hook may contact or slightly penetrate the material of the head of the lure, or the hook may include a weed guard, to reduce or prevent the hook from catching on weeds or other obstructions. 
         [0012]    These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a right side perspective view of a first embodiment of a fishing lure according to the present invention, showing various features thereof. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a right side elevation view of the lure of  FIG. 1 , illustrating the motion of the head of the lure. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a right side elevation view of the lure of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , illustrating the motion of the body of the lure. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the forward end of a second embodiment of a fishing lure according to the present invention, illustrating its head and laterally notched neck. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the forward end of a third embodiment of a fishing lure according to the present invention, illustrating its head and laterally notched neck. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the forward end of a fourth embodiment of a fishing lure according to the present invention, illustrating its head and laterally notched neck. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a front elevation view of the fishing lure of  FIG. 6 , showing the axial motion of the lowered head as the lure is advanced through the water. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  is a top plan view of a fifth embodiment of a fishing lure according to the present invention, the lure having a lizard-like configuration. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a side elevation view of a sixth embodiment of a fishing lure according to the present invention, the lure having a sinusoidal body configuration. 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is a section view of an exemplary body section of a fishing lure according to the present invention, the body having an oval cross section. 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  is a section view of an alternative body section of a fishing lure according to the present invention, the body having a generally triangular cross section. 
           [0024]      FIG. 12  is a section view of another alternative body section of a fishing lure according to the present invention, the body having a circular cross section. 
           [0025]      FIG. 13  is a section view of a fourth body section of a fishing lure according to the present invention, the body having a flattened oval cross section. 
       
    
    
       [0026]    Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    The fishing lure is formed of a soft, resilient plastic material (e.g., plastisol or other suitable material). The density of the plastisol or other material may be adjusted as desired during manufacture to provide greater or lesser specific gravity than water for the desired effect. A lure having a specific gravity or density greater than water will sink, while a lure with a density less than that of water will float. These different densities may be selected by the angler, as desired, depending upon his or her sense of the likelihood of the subject fish taking a lure on the surface or at some depth below the surface. 
         [0028]    Each of the embodiments of the lure includes mutually opposed, laterally spaced vertical notches or grooves between the head portion and neck portion, and a plurality of longitudinally staggered, laterally disposed grooves or notches along the upper and lower surfaces of the body and/or tail portion(s). The hook extends forwardly from the head portion of the lure in each of the embodiments. 
         [0029]      FIGS. 1 through 3  of the drawings illustrate a first embodiment  10  of the fishing lure. The lure  10  includes a head portion  12 , a body portion  14 , and a relatively narrow neck portion  16  connecting the head and body portions  12  and  14 . The relatively wider head and body portions  12  and  14  define a pair of laterally opposed, vertically oriented first and second grooves, respectively  18   a  and  18   b,  therebetween, with the resulting narrow neck portion  16  providing relatively great lateral and torsional flexibility between the head and body at this point. Preferably, another laterally disposed notch or groove  20   a  extends across the width of the juncture of the head, body, and neck and generally coplanar with the first and second grooves  18   a  and  18   b,  with this lower groove  20   a  resulting in a reduction of the depth of the neck portion  16  (as can be seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ) for even greater flexibility at the juncture of the head and body portions  12  and  14 . 
         [0030]    The body portion  14  includes a lower surface or side  22  and an opposite upper surface or side  24 . Each side includes a series of laterally oriented body flexure notches or grooves thereacross, i.e., the lower side  22  includes lower transverse grooves  20   a,    20   b,  etc., while the opposite upper side  24  includes upper transverse grooves  26   a,    26   b,  etc. The first or forwardmost lower transverse groove  20   a  also serves to reduce the vertical depth of the neck portion  18 , as described above. 
         [0031]    The corresponding upper and lower lateral or transverse grooves, notches or indentations e.g., the second lower groove  20   b  and the second upper groove  26   b,  are not directly above and below one another, but are staggered or offset longitudinally along the length of the body  14 . Thus, none of the upper grooves are located directly above or opposite to a lower groove. This provides some additional strength to the body  14 , and allows the grooves to extend somewhat more than halfway through the thickness of the body  14 , if so desired. The body portion  14  may thus flex more readily about any of the various grooves or notches, but extreme flexibility concentrated at a single point, as in the case of the vertically disposed first and second grooves  18   a,    18   b,  is not required at any one point along the length of the body portion  14 . 
         [0032]    The location of the upper and lower notches  20   a,  etc. and  26   a,  etc. across the upper and lower sides or surfaces of the body  14  allows the body to undulate in the vertical plane when the lure  10  is drawn through the water, generally as shown in  FIG. 3  of the drawings. This action is a result of varying hydrodynamic pressure on the very flexible and unstable body portion  14 . The action of the body  14  through the water is somewhat analogous to the fluttering of a non-rigid flag in a breeze, but rather than being aerodynamic flutter, as in the case of a flag, the lure  10  is subject to hydrodynamic flutter when moved through the water, causing it to undulate in the vertical plane due to the positioning of the upper and lower grooves. 
         [0033]    The head portion  12  of the lure  10  includes a fishhook installed therein, as most clearly shown in  FIG. 2  of the drawings. The hook has a shank  28  embedded through or in the head  12 , with an eye  30  extending therefrom and the curved bight  32  and tip  34  of the hook extending opposite the eye  30 . The eye  30  and bight  32  are disposed externally to the head  12 , with the positioning of the eye  30  facilitated due to the preferably bent or offset shank  28 . The tip  34  of the hook may be spaced apart from the material of the head  12  of the lure, or may contact the soft material of the head to preclude the entrance of weeds and other foreign matter into the bight  32  of the hook until a fish strikes the lure and compresses the soft lure material, i.e., a “weedless” hook, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  of the drawings. Alternatively, a weed guard  36  may be provided, as shown in  FIG. 1 , to close the bight  32  of the hook until a fish strikes the lure. 
         [0034]    The hook is preferably installed in the head  12  with the eye  30  positioned slightly forward and above the vertical first and second neck grooves  18   a  and  18   b.  Thus, when the lure  10  is drawn through the water, as in trolling or reeling the lure in after a cast, the hydrodynamic drag restrains the body portion  14 , with the head  12  being drawn somewhat away from the body. As the eye  30  is generally opposite the forwardmost lower groove or notch  20   a,  the pull of the fishing line or leader draws the higher mounted eye  30  forward, thereby causing the head  12  to fold downwardly, generally as shown in broken lines in  FIG. 2  of the drawings. 
         [0035]    The fishing lure may be formed or manufactured to have any of a number of different embodiments that mimic the appearance and/or dynamic action of a number of different animals to which fish might be attracted. The lure  10  of  FIGS. 1 through 3  has a relatively thin, elongate body portion  14  with a generally triangular head  12  extending forwardly therefrom, with the body portion tapering to a tail  38 . The triangular head  12  is intended to represent the general shape of the heads of certain lizards as well as members of the pit viper family of snakes, to which certain types of larger and/or more aggressive fish have been known to be attracted. 
         [0036]      FIG. 4  illustrates a top plan view of the forward portion of a lure  110  having a generally trapezoidal head  112  extending from the body  114 . It will be noted that the two laterally separated grooves or notches  118   a,    118   b  to each side of the head-to-body joint or neck  116  have an inwardly tapered or triangular shape with a rounded interior apex. The hook is installed much like the hook of the lure  10  of  FIGS. 1 through 3 , i.e., with the tip  36  extending over the head  112  and forwardly of the eye  30 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  provides a top plan view of the forward portion of another fishing lure  210 , in which the head  212  has a tapered configuration with a diameter or width about the same as that of the body portion  214 . Certain snakes, eels, worms, etc. may have head shapes that are essentially the same width or thickness as the body. The laterally spaced grooves or notches at the neck area  216  are substantially rectangular in shape, with squared bottom or inner apices. 
         [0038]    The lure  310  of  FIGS. 6 and 7  has a generally triangular head  312  shape that is essentially the same as the lure  10  of  FIGS. 1 through 3 . The top plan view of the forward portion of the lure  310  in  FIG. 6 , however, shows a slightly different lateral notch configuration, with the two grooves  318   a  and  318   b  having rounded bottoms or apices. The use of relatively rounded inner corners or apices for the various grooves or notches, e.g.,  318   a  and  318   b,  as well as for the lower and upper body grooves, avoids “stress risers” that might concentrate stresses at otherwise sharp crevices and the like, thereby prolonging the life of the lure. The avoidance of stress risers is more of a concern with rigid materials, e.g., metals, but it can be a factor in softer materials as well. 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  is a forward elevation view of the lure head of  FIG. 6  as it would be oriented while being drawn through the water. The head  312  is lowered due to the tensile pull of the leader (not shown) on the eye  30  of the hook, much as the head  12  is shown in  FIG. 3  of the drawings and representing the same conditions. While the pull of the leader on the eye  30  of the hook will tend to prevent the head  312  from swaying laterally, the relatively narrow thickness of the neck portion  316  provides excellent flexibility at that point along the lure and allows the head  312  to move axially through a limited arc, generally as shown by the broken line positions of the head  312  in  FIG. 7 . Some limited motion in other axes or directions may be achievable as well, but the forward pull of the fishing line or leader on the eye  30  of the hook will tend to limit head motion in the lateral or vertical planes. 
         [0040]    The use of cast or molded soft plastics for the head and body portions of the lure in its various embodiments permits various portions of the lure to be formed of somewhat different materials, or densities and hardnesses of materials, from one another. For example, the head portion may be formed of a harder and/or more dense plastic than the relatively flexible body portion, with the head and body being fused together at the neck portion when the plastic is still in a fluid state during the molding or casting process. The use of a relatively hard or firm plastic material for the head is not critical, as the head per se does not require flexibility, as do the neck and body portions of the lure. The use of a harder or more firm material also allows the hook to be molded or encapsulated in place within the head portion at the time of manufacture of the lure, thereby freeing the angler from the requirement to install the hook through the head portion before using the lure. 
         [0041]      FIG. 8  is a top plan view of still another embodiment of the fishing lure  410 , having a lizard-like configuration. The lure  410  includes a head portion  412  (hook not shown, but essentially as shown in other embodiments), body portion  414 , and a relatively narrow neck portion  416  joining the head and body portions  412  and  414 . The relatively wider body and head portions  412  and  414  and narrower neck portion  416  define laterally opposed first and second grooves or notches, respectively  418   a  and  418   b,  as in the cases of the other embodiments described herein. The body portion  414  includes laterally opposed forelegs  440   a  and  440   b  and laterally opposed hind legs  442   a,    442   b  extending therefrom. In addition, the body portion  414  may include rearwardly disposed laterally separated notches or grooves  444   a,    444   b  in front of the rear legs  442   a,    442   b,  and/or additional laterally separated notches or grooves  446   a,    446   b  behind the rear legs and in front of the tail  438 , if so desired, to provide greater lateral flexibility for the lure  410 . The body portion  414  and tail  438  preferably include a series of lateral lower grooves  420   a,    420   b,  etc., and opposite upper grooves  426   a,    426   b,  etc., as in the cases of other embodiments. 
         [0042]    Thus the lure  410  may simulate a swimming lizard, with the flexibility provided by the soft plastic material and the various grooves serving to provide a most lifelike action for the lure when it is drawn through the water. It should be noted that the provision of additional or supplemental lateral grooves or notches, or the relocation of such a pair of notches to a different area of the body or tail, may be provided on other embodiments as well, if so desired. 
         [0043]    The lure  510  of  FIG. 9  demonstrates yet another embodiment, with the lure  510  having a somewhat sinusoidal body portion  514 . The head  512  is formed to have a somewhat lowered or downward position at the time of manufacture; this may be incorporated with any of the other lures as desired. The first or forwardmost lower body groove  520   a  defines a relatively narrow (in the vertical plane) neck portion  516 , with the laterally opposed grooves (the right groove  518   b  being shown in  FIG. 9 ) being displaced somewhat behind the first lower body groove  520   a,  rather than being coplanar with that groove  520   a.  This longitudinal displacement of the forwardmost lower body groove and the two laterally opposed grooves may be formed with any of the other embodiments as desired. The body  514  and tail  538  include a series of longitudinally staggered or offset lower and upper body grooves, e.g.,  520   a,    520   b,    520   c,  and  526   a  for the upper body groove. These grooves provide greater flexibility in the vertical plane for the body  514  and tail  538 . Moreover, the sinusoidal shape of the body  514  as cast or molded tends to simulate a crippled or malformed prey animal, with predators generally pursuing and striking such prey due to their relatively limited ability to flee or fight. The hook may include a bent shank  28  with a portion of the shank extending from the eye  30  through the head  512 , and another shank portion exposed behind or below the head, with the bight  32  curving around the forwardmost portion or nose of the head  512 . This hook configuration may be incorporated with other lure embodiments, as desired. 
         [0044]      FIGS. 10 through 13  are cross-sectional views of various body shapes or configurations that might be incorporated with the lure.  FIG. 10  illustrates an oval body cross section  614  with its major axis oriented vertically.  FIG. 11  shows a body cross section  714  having a generally triangular configuration.  FIG. 12  is a substantially circular cross section body configuration  814 , while  FIG. 13  shows another oval body configuration  914  similar to the configuration  614  of  FIG. 10 , but having its major axis oriented laterally to provide a thinner and more flexible body in the vertical plane. It will be seen that any of the body shapes or configurations of  FIGS. 10 through 13  may be incorporated with any of the lure configurations of  FIGS. 1 through 9  as desired, and that the cross sectional shapes shown in  FIGS. 10 through 13  are exemplary and that many other cross sectional shapes may be incorporated with the lure as desired. 
         [0045]    It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.