Abstract:
A fishing lure attachment that includes (i) an elastic collar operable for fitted engagement and disengagement around a fishing lure body, and (ii) a flexible ball chain, having a plurality of spherical elements serially interconnected by rod members to form a chain of balls simulating a flow of blood droplets, attached to and extending from the collar.

Description:
This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/289,320, filed Oct. 24, 2008, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/996,582, filed Nov. 26, 2007 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/129,281, filed Jun. 16, 2008. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to fishing lures, and more particularly to a blood-simulating fishing lure that uses a float, plug, or other artificial lure body and a ball-chain to simulate a wounded and bleeding baitfish. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The use of fishing lures or other artificial devices that simulate the movement or appearance of natural or live bait is well known. Because game fish, like northern pike or walleyes, feed on insects, minnows, frogs, worms, and even small birds or mammals, it has been common to fish with live baits. Bloodworms and minnows have seen the most use, with varying degrees of success. The use of live bait does have drawbacks. Some live bait is not available in all areas or at certain times of the year. Some live bait may be expensive to purchase, and of course all live bait dies with use. Additionally, the use of certain types of bait and baitfish, such as frogs or minnows, can be restricted in certain areas, and in some areas it is illegal to fish with live bait. 
     Because game fish are predatory in nature, a variety of artificial lures have been developed over the years. Most commonly, these lures are designed to emulate as closely as possible the natural prey of the game fish. Many of these lures were designed to be pulled through the water, or bounced up and down in the water, to simulate the movements of injured or wounded prey, as it is presumed that injured or wounded prey appears more vulnerable and thus more attractive to the predatory game fish. In addition, spinners, propellers and other objects have been attached to lures to attract the attention of a hungry fish. Other lures have been designed to incorporate scents and aromas of various types. Scents lose potency with use, however, and many artificial lures are not natural in appearance. 
     Thus, a blood-simulating fishing lure solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The blood-simulating fishing lure has an artificial lure body, for example, a float, jig, or plug, with an attached fishhook and a length of ball chain made of aluminum or other similar lightweight material. The ball chain is painted a color, such as red, to simulate blood. A hole is drilled completely through the artificial lure body, and the length of ball chain is threaded through the artificial lure body, the two ends of the chain extending at approximately equal lengths on each side of the body. The blood-simulating fishing lure is then attached to a fishing line. 
     In one embodiment, the buoyancy of the float may impart a natural motion to the lure, and the lightness of the metal or other lightweight material from which the chain is made allows both ends of the chain, extending on each side of the float, to move naturally in the water and give the appearance of blood flowing from a wounded and bleeding baitfish. 
     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 
         FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the threading for the fishing line and ball chain. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the component parts of the lure. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a blood simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the ball chain threaded through a plug. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the ball chain threaded through two O-rings oppositely attached to a central O-ring residing on the body of an artificial lure. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of the blood-simulating fishing lure of  FIG. 5 , showing the component parts of the lure. 
         FIG. 7  is a view of a fourth embodiment of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the O-rings disposed on the lip of a plug. 
         FIG. 8  is a fifth embodiment of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the O-rings disposed on a jigging spoon. 
         FIG. 9  is a sixth embodiment of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the ball chain threaded through a soft plastic swim bait. 
         FIG. 10  disclose embodiments of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the ball chain threaded through football, prop tops and spin floats. 
         FIG. 11  discloses an embodiment of a blood-simulating fishing lure according to the present invention, showing the O-rings disposed on a spinnerbait. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention relates to a blood-simulating fishing lure, hereinafter designated as  10 , designed to simulate a wounded and bleeding baitfish as it moves through the water. As the embodiment illustrated by  FIG. 1  shows, the blood-simulating fishing lure  10  comprises a float  12 , a ball chain  14  (lightweight balls connected by a flexible element, such as string, wire, monofilament, leader line, etc.), a fishhook  16  and fishing line  18 .  FIG. 1  shows the blood-simulating fishing lure  10  being taken by a fish  20 . The balls or spherical elements of the ball chain  14  are preferably made of aluminum, plastic, or other lightweight material, and may be colored red to further simulate the appearance of blood droplets. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating how the fishing line  18  attaches to the fishhook  16  through a hole  22  in the body of the float  12 . The hole  22  that accommodates the fishing line  18  is drilled perpendicular to the hole  24  that accommodates the ball chain  14 . A bead  14   a  (approximately 4 mm in diameter) is disposed adjacent the eyelet of fishhook  16  to prevent the erosion of the float  12  against the metal fishhook.  FIG. 3  is an exploded view of the blood-simulating fishing lure  10  showing the relative positions of the hole  24  where the ball chain  14  is threaded, and the hole  22  where the fishing line  18  is threaded before attaching to the fishhook  16  (bead  14   a  not shown). 
     The embodiment of the fishing lure  10  illustrated by  FIGS. 1-3  contemplates the use of the blood-simulating fishing lure with live bait, such as worms, minnows or frogs. 
       FIG. 4  shows a second embodiment of a blood-simulating fishing lure in which the aluminum ball chain  14  is threaded through a plug  24  of a type commonly referred to as a crankbait. This type of plug is characterized by two treble hooks  28  and a lip  26  that causes the plug  24  to dive as it is pulled through the water. The lure illustrated by  FIG. 4  is particularly useful for catching walleye and northern pike, as anglers when fishing for walleye and northern pike commonly use the plug  24  of the type shown in  FIG. 4 . The blood-simulating fishing lure may be used with different sizes and configurations of plugs or other types of artificial baits, depending on the type or size of the fish to be caught. 
     Although  FIGS. 1-4  show the ball chain  14  extending through the body of a float or lure, the ball chain  14  may be attached to the float or lure in any convenient manner.  FIGS. 5 and 6  show a jig head  30  having a shaft  32  extending therefrom. A chain mount  34  is formed from a central annular ring  36 , preferably made from a resilient material, such as natural or artificial rubber. Auxiliary annular chain mounting rings  38  are joined to the outer surface of the central ring  36  by adhesive, by ultrasonic welding, by being molded in one piece, by thermal welding, or by any other technique for joining rings together. The rings  36  and  38  are arranged with the annulus of each auxiliary ring  38  parallel to the annulus of the central ring  36 , and may be arranged in collinear or triangular configuration. The diameter of the central ring  36  is slightly smaller that the diameter of shaft  32 , being dimensioned and configured for resiliently gripping the shaft  32  of the jig head  30 . The auxiliary chain mounting rings  36  are dimensioned and configured for at least guiding opposite ends of the ball chain  14  so that the ends of the chain  14  trail away separately from the jig head  30  on generally opposite sides of the jig head  30 , and may have a diameter slightly smaller, than the diameter of the balls, being dimensioned and configured for resiliently gripping one of the balls of the chain  14 . A barb  32   a  may be disposed on the shaft  32  of jig head  30  as an additional aid to prevent the ring from slipping off the shaft  32 . 
     Although the chain mount  34  has been described as being made of resilient material, it need not be, and may be made from a material having a coefficient of friction sufficient to frictionally retain the shaft  32  and chain  14 . The chain mount  34  may have only a single auxiliary ring  38 , and may grip or retain the ball chain  14  by a single end of the chain  14 , if desired. Finally, the ball chain  14  may be attached to the float or lure by any other convenient means, e.g., by tying the ball chain  14  to the float or lure by flexible line, etc. 
     In particular, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the chain mount  34  may be attached to a crankbait by looping the central ring  36  over the lip of the crankbait and sliding the mount  34  up to the mouth or gills of the lure. In another embodiment, shown in  FIG. 8 , the central ring  36  is mounted over a popular plug  40  called a jigging spoon (also known in the trade as a slab spoon that can be jigged). Instead of using the mount  34 , a hole may be punctured through an artificial lure, such as a plastic minnow  42  (known in the trade as soft plastic swim baits), as shown in  FIG. 9 , and the ball chain may be pulled partially through the lure so that a portion of the ball chain extends from each side of the lure.  FIG. 10  is illustrative of other embodiments that show the ball chain utilized with a football float  44 , a spin float  46  and a prop tops float  48 .  FIG. 11  shows the chain mount assembly mounted on a spinnerbait. Further, the lure may be marketed as a kit by simply packaging the chain mount  34  with a ball chain so that the components that simulate the trail of blood may be attached to any desired lure using the mount. Alternatively, the ball chain may be marketed as a kit by packaging a ball chain with an implement for piercing a plastic minnow or other artificial lure, or packaged with an implement for piercing a plug, so that the ball chain may be extended through the body of any desired lure. 
     Although the blood-simulating fishing lure has been illustrated with certain floats and lures, it will be understood that the blood-simulating fishing lure is not limited thereto, but may comprise the ball chain in combination with any type of float or artificial lure body. 
     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.