Patent Application
20110219663
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing tackle and, more specifically, to an artificial weed system for attracting fish.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fishing is a popular activity throughout the world. Avid anglers frequently seek to fish in areas having weed growth because fish are frequently found in such areas. Typically, small bait fish go into the weeds to hide from larger game fish. The game fish are attracted to such areas because they are more likely to find the bait fish there.
Many artificial lakes and lakes in rocky environments lack large scale weed growth. To compensate for this, anglers will sometimes cut branches off of trees, add weights to them and place them into the water to create an artificial environment to attract fish. This practice results in damage to the trees at the shoreline and the results are temporary since the tree branches tend to decay over time. It is also time consuming for the angler.
In the context of ocean fishing, many littoral areas with sandy bottoms lack substantial weed growth. Also, in the context of deep sea fishing, there tend not to be any weeds at the depths where desired game fish inhabit.
Therefore, there is a need for portable system for introducing artificial weeds to a body of water to attract fish.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention which, in one aspect, is an artificial weed system for attracting fish that includes a circular hoop and a plurality of spaced apart artificial weed bundles. The circular hoop has a first end and a opposite second end. Each of the plurality of spaced apart artificial weed bundles is affixed to the hoop. Each weed bundle includes a first end that is affixed to the hoop, each of the plurality of artificial weed bundles includes a plurality of strands extending from the first end. Each strand has a specific gravity that is no greater than 1.0 and each strand includes a synthetic filament. A first attachment device is affixed to the first end of the hoop and a second attachment device is affixed to the second end of the hoop.
In another aspect, the invention is a synthetic weed system that includes a frame, at least one artificial weed bundle, a float and an anchor. The frame has a first end and a opposite second end. The at least one artificial weed bundle has a first end affixed to the frame and a plurality of strands extending from the first end. Each of the plurality of strands has a specific gravity that is no greater than 1.0 and includes a synthetic artificial turf filament. The float is coupled to the first end of the frame. The anchor is coupled to the second end of the frame.
In yet another aspect, the invention is an artificial fish cover system in which at least one first frame is disposed in a body of water at a depth corresponding to a habitat zone. Each of a plurality of bundles of synthetic grass blade strands is spaced apart and attached to the first frame at a first end. A float, a portion of which is disposed in the body of water, is coupled to the first frame so as to suspend the frame in an upright position. A weight is coupled to the first frame and is disposed in the body of water.
These and other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings. As would be obvious to one skilled in the art, many variations and modifications of the invention may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like parts throughout the views. Unless otherwise specifically indicated in the disclosure that follows, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise: the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”
U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,828, issued to Faria et al., discloses a monofilament ribbon pile product used in artificial turf applications and is incorporated herein by reference for the purpose of disclosing grass-like filaments.
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Each weed bundle 120 includes plurality of synthetic filament strands (which in one embodiment can include fine crinkled strands 124 and grass blade shaped strands 126, other shapes of strands could also be employed to simulate other weed configurations) that extend from the first end 122. In one embodiment, the strands have a color (such as green or brown) that corresponds to the color of natural weeds found in the body of water in which the device is intended to be used. In one embodiment, the strands 124 and 126 have a specific gravity that is no greater than 1.0 so that when the bundle 120 is placed in a body of water, the strands 124 and 126 either tend to float or are neutrally buoyant so as to appear like natural weeds or algae. In one embodiment, the strands could have a specific gravity of greater than 1.0 where it is desirable for the strands to hang down from the frame, such as in certain deep sea fishing applications. In one embodiment, the plurality of strands includes an extruded monofilament material including a polymer such as: a nylon; a polyester, a polypropylene and copolymers thereof. The strands can be made from the type of fiber generally employed in artificial turf surfaces.
A first attachment device 112 may be affixed to a first end of the frame 110 and a second attachment device 114 may be affixed to a second end of the hoop 110. These attachment devices 112 and 114 could include ring-shaped structures that are integrated with the frame 110, loose rings that encircle a portion of the frame 110, a plastic connector (such as a cable clamp or a nylon cable tie or a piece) that encircles a portion of the frame, or even a short piece of flexible line or non-corrosive wire that is tied or wrapped about a portion of the frame. The attachment devices 112 and 114 can be used for attaching floats, weights, retrieval lines and other frames to the frame 110.
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It will be understood that the frame can have one of many shapes. For example, a collapsible spiral frame 210 is shown in
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An alternate method of attaching the weed bundles 120 to the frame 110 is shown in
The above described embodiments, while including the preferred embodiment and the best mode of the invention known to the inventor at the time of filing, are given as illustrative examples only. It will be readily appreciated that many deviations may be made from the specific embodiments disclosed in this specification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be determined by the claims below rather than being limited to the specifically described embodiments above.
