Improvements in Trolling Spoons or Spoon Bait for Catching Fish.
Year: 1890

page_text: Improvements in Trolling Spoons or Spoon Bait for Catching Fish.
I, HENRY LOFTIE, of Syracuse, New York, United States of America, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention relates to trolling 'spoons or spoon bait for catching fish, and especially
to that class thereof which are composed of multiple flyers all revolving about a single
wire.
The object of my invention is to produce such a spoon bait of improved con-
struction, calculated to more readily deceive the fish and therefore be better adapted
to catch them.
My invention consists in the several novel features of construction and operation
bereinafter described and which are specifically set forth in the several clauses of
claims hereto annexed.
It is constructed as follows:-
Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a plan view showing by dotted lines the simulation of a fish created by
the revolution of the flyers.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are plan views showing different styles of flyers from that shown
in Figure 1.
Figure 5 shows, in detail, a side elevation and a top plan view of the flyer shown in
Figure 1.
Figure 6 shows plan views of a heart shaped, a kidney, and an oval flyer.
A is the main rod or wire provided with a line eye at one end, a hook eye 2 at the
other end and with the stops 3 thereon; 4, 5, 6 are the flyers or spoons mounted
upon the rod above each stop, either by the flyer being secured to a loose sleeve 7
fitting over the rod or by an ordinary eye secured to each flyer and fitting over the
rod or draw wire.
The flyers 4, 5 consist of a partially quadrant shaped piece of sheet metal bent at 8
to be secured to the barrel 9 and adjacent to the outer end bent with either a positive
angle or curve 10 on a line diagonally to the centre line of the flyer so as to present a
diagonal frictional surface to the water and cause the flyer to rotate through the diagonal
friction.
In Figure 1, I show the flyers 4, 5 as graduated in size, smaller at each end and
larger toward the centre, and also as provided with tail flyer of a larger size than the
body flyer adjacent to it, all of which together when rotating will approximate with
their outer ends substantially to the form of a fish minnow as shown by the dotted
lines; and I furthermore show the flyers 4 with their outer ends bent or twisted to
rotate in one direction and the flyer 5 so bent as to rotate in the opposite direction,
but I do not limit myself to either of these graduations in size of the flyers, for I may
make them all of uniform throw away from the wire or I may dispense with the tail
flyer 6, if. I desire, or I may arrange the flyers so that they will all rotato in one direction;
nor do I limit myself to the use of the barrel upon the wire to carry the flyer, for I
may dispense with the barrel entirely, simply putting a hole through the end of the
flyer to receive the wire.
Neither do I desire to limit myself to the form of the flyers shown in Figure 1, for
I may desire also to use either the kidneys, shown in Figure 2, or ovals, shown in
Figure 3, or the hearts, shown in Figure 4, or any other form of flyer known to fisher-
men, the principle of my invention being the use, in a spoon bait, of multiple flyers
arranged upon a single draw wire, and adapted to either all rotate in one direction
or alternately rotate in different directions, all being either of uniform size and throw
while rotating or of graduating size to form when rotating similitude to the body of a
minnow.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A spoon bait consisting of draw wire, the stops thereon and multiple flyers
rotating around the wire decreasingly graduated in size towards each end from the
centres, substantially as described.
2. In a spoon bait, flyer widened, rounded and bent at an angle to the body at its
outer end, thence tapered to the inner end and thence bent perforated to receive the
draw wire in combination with a draw wire, and a stop thereon, substantially as
described.
3. In a spoon bait, flyer widened, rounded and bent spirally to an angle to the body
at its outer end, thence tapered to the inner end and there secured to a barrel fitting
over the draw wire, in combination with the draw wire, and the stop thereon, substan-
tially as described.
4. A spoon bait consisting of a draw wire, multiple small flyers of uniform size and
mounted and rotating thereon and stops upon the wire for each flyer.
Dated this 6th day of January 1890.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.