The present disclosure relates generally to a fishing lure, and more particularly, to a fishing lure with a fishing line attachment structure for providing a user with the ability to relatively easily and quickly attach the fishing line to the lure without having to tie a knot, and without additional or intermediate structures.
Fishing is a worldwide recreational and sustenance activity, with professional and amateur competitions quite common. Many anglers prefer to use artificial lures versus live bait. Consequently, countless artificial bait lures and attachments have been developed to attract and catch fish, and numerous lures and attachments have been adapted to mimic the appearance and movement of common fish prey.
All these attachments are required to connect to a fishing line, which is in turn connected to a fishing pole used for casting and retrieving the lure and fish. One conventional method of connecting fishing line to a fishing lure for example, involves utilization of one or more intermediate connectors. One method of connecting lures involves providing a lure body with an eyelet. The free end of the fishing line is passed through the eyelet and a knot is manually tied using a variety of fishing knots, some of which are very complicated, time consuming and inefficient, and especially so if an angler is aging, young, inexperienced, has poor dexterity or diminished eyesight, and especially in low light conditions or during unstable situations that are typical when fishing, kayaking, and boating.
During fish retrieval, it is common for fishing line to break or come untied at the point of attachment to the lure, thereby losing the fish. So, it is further desirable to have an attachment means that is capable of reliably holding the fighting fish without losing it due to those reasons.
Further, during many competitive fishing events, the speed of attaching lures is important, as is the security of the attachment means.
Therefore, there exists a need for a fishing lure with a fishing line attachment structure for providing a user with the ability to relatively easily and quickly attach the fishing line to the lure without having to tie a knot and without extraneous intermediate structures.
Also, when fishing in many venues, vegetation, rocks, logs and other debris are present in the water, which also provides cover for the hiding fish, and entices anglers to fish there. However, the vegetation also causes a snag potential during lure retrieval, which poses a hazard for losing lures due to snags, and adding time to unsnag the lure, ultimately resulting in fewer fish catches.
Therefore, there also exists a need for a deflection guard to prevent hooks from snagging vegetation, rocks, and other debris in the water, to enable smooth trouble-free retrieval without delays and lost lures. Yet this weed and debris guard must not inhibit the hook from catching a fish’s mouth.
During fishing, it is also common for some fish to swallow the hook too deeply, thereby making removal difficult without harming the fish, and/or taking a long time to remove the hook from deep inside a fish’s mouth, gills, or gut.
Therefore, it is also desirable to provide a means on the lure to prevent the fish from swallowing the hook too deeply, such that removal of the hook is difficult or harmful to the fish, both in terms of damage to the fish’s mouth and internal organs and reducing the duration of time the fish must be kept out of the water during hook removal, especially if releasing the fish to the water when practicing “catch and release”.
The present invention discloses a fishing lure and a fishing line attachment structure. The fishing lure comprises a fishing hook structure and a body structure mounted on the fishing hook structure, with the body structure having a fishing line attachment structure. Alternatively, the fishing hook structure can comprise an adapter for attaching existing fishing lures already in the possession of anglers. The fishing line attachment structure includes a first connector adapted to receive a fishing line, and a second connector configured to lock with the first connector while clenching the fishing line therebetween. The body structure includes a body and a neck defining the first connector. The neck has a cylindrical portion extending from the body and a slot or port extending angularly along a proximal length of axis of the cylindrical portion.
Further, the neck has a top side, a bottom side and a sidewall extending between the top and bottom side. The port extends from the top side of the neck and opens at an exterior side of sidewall of the neck. The neck further includes external circumferential screw threads configured on at least a portion of a longitudinal extent of the neck. The body structure further comprises a head defining the second connector. The head includes an aperture at a proximal portion, and internal screw threads. Further, the head internal threads are adapted to screw onto and lock with the external circumferential threads on the neck.
The fishing line is adapted to pass through the aperture of the head and the port of the neck, and then rest on a gripping surface from where the neck integrally mounts to the body, and the head is snugged tightly to the opposing clenching surface by rotating the head around the neck to clench the fishing line between the gripping surface of the body and the head. The gripping surface radiates generally outward at angle from the axis of the neck. The lure further may comprise at least two non-metallic polymer, soft material, or metal members disposed over the neck and between the surface and the head so that the fishing line may be safely clenched without damage. The fishing lure further comprises a weed guard and bite depth control mounted proximal to the fishhook. The weed guard and bite depth control comprise a central mount and a plurality of legs or finger like projections extending radially or angularly from the axis of the body.
In another embodiment, the body structure comprises a body, a shaft extending from the body and a head adapted to lock with the shaft. The shaft defines the first connector and the head defines the second connector. The body further comprises a ring member disposed over the shaft. The ring member includes a second eyelet adapted for fastening an additional second hook structure or alternatively to attach the fishing line, also wrapping the fishing line around the neck of the body and subsequently clenching the line between the head and gripping surfaces, in a jig configuration. The second eyelet may also be positioned at an angle from the axis of the body to create an alternative swim behavior. The body further comprises at least two non-metallic members disposed above the ring member. Further, the head includes a proximal eyelet to allow passage of the fishing line and loop around the shaft of the body and between the non-metallic members before wrapping the fishing line between the clenching surfaces, locking the head with the neck, and with the fishing line securely attached therebetween.
Example embodiments of the disclosure now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments are shown. The concepts discussed herein may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope to those of ordinary skill in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements but not necessarily the same or identical elements throughout.
The present invention discloses a fishing lure with a fishing line attachment structure for providing a user with the ability to relatively easily and quickly attach the fishing line to the lure without having to tie a knot and without having to utilize additional or intermediate structures.
The fishing lure 100 may be made of any suitable material or composition such as wood, plastic, silicone, rubber, metal, cork, carbon fiber, and other suitable materials. The fishing lure shown in the figures is meant to be an example of a fishing accessory and does not limit the fishing lure to that specifically shown fishing accessory. For example, a fishing lure shown could be replaced with a lure or bobber of different sizes, shapes (e.g. spherical, oblong, teardrop, football, or irregular), or materials (balloon, hollow spherical plastic, polystyrene, cork, foam, yarn, neoprene, silicone, or other floating material). Alternatively, the fishing lure could be replaced by a weight. Weights may be, for example, magnets, metal (e.g. lead), sand, or any material that would sink in water.
The lure 100 further comprises a first eyelet 122 fixedly coupled to a bottom portion of the body 110 for attaching the fishing hook structure 102 including a hook 140. In one embodiment, a ring 124 is connected to the eyelet 122 such that the ring 124 hangs freely from the eyelet 122. The fishing hook structure 102 is attached to the ring 124 such that the fishing hook structure 102 hangs freely from the ring 124. In one embodiment, the fishing hook structure 102 is a treble hook having at least three legs. The lure 100 further comprises the weed guard and bite depth control 106 mounted between the fishing hook structure 102 and the body structure 104. The weed guard and the bite depth control 106 includes a central mount 126 and a plurality of legs or finger like projections 126 extending radially or angularly from the central mount 126. In one embodiment, the body 110 may be a neutral or negative buoyancy so as to allow the entire assembly to be fully submerged in the water.
In one embodiment, the fishing lure may be configured so that the weed guard and bite depth control 106 can move, rotate, or flex between a relaxed configuration and a tensioned configuration. The weed guard and bite depth control 106 may be configured, or its attachment to the body may be configured, such that the end of the weed guard not connected to the body does not fully enter into the at least partially open volume when the weed guard is in the relaxed configuration. In one embodiment, that end of the weed guard and bite depth control 106 may optionally be able to enter into the open volume when the weed guard is in a tensioned configuration, though it may also be prevented from being able to enter into that volume, such as by limitations in its own flexion, rotation, connection to the head, or by features which prevent such movement, such as by the hook itself. The weed guard member may be unitary, may be made of multiple components, may be entirely flexible, or may contain at least one flexible component. The weed guard and bite depth control 106 may be made of a variety of different sheet materials rolled or formed into a cone or may be injection molded as a thin-walled plastic element. In a preferred embodiment, the weed guard and bite depth control 106 is made of a plastic or plastic film. Other suitable materials include silicone alloys, magnesium alloys, coated paper products, lead, iron, steel, and brass. Ideally this material will be water resistant. The body 110 may be smooth or textured and may be plain or contain a design.
Referring to
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The fishing lure 100 with the fishing line attachment structure 108 of
The lure 1000 comprises a first eyelet 1012 fixedly coupled to a bottom portion of the body 1006 for attaching a fishing hook structure 1004. The fishing hook structure 1004 includes a hook 1032. The fishing hook structure 1004 is attached to the first eyelet 1012 such that the fishing hook structure 1004 hangs freely from the first eyelet 1012. In one embodiment, the fishing hook structure 1004 is a treble hook having at least three legs. The lure 1000 further comprises a weed guard and bite depth control 1016 mounted between the fishing hook structure 1004 and the body structure 1002. The weed guard and bite depth control 1016 includes a central mount 1018 and a plurality of legs or fingerlike projections 1020 extend radially or angularly from the axis of the body 1006. The bottom portion of the body 1006 includes an elongated member 1022 to which the central mount 1018 is slid and secured in position by fastening a nut 1024 over the elongated member 1022. The top portion of the body 1006 further comprises a ring member 1026 disposed over the shaft includes a second eyelet 1028, and the second eyelet 1028 is adapted for fastening an additional second hook structure (not shown). The second eyelet 1028 is positioned at an angle from the axis of the body 1006 and adapted for fastening a fishing line in a jig format to create an alternative swim behavior. The body 1006 further comprises at least two non-metallic members (1030a, 1030b) disposed above the ring member 1026. In one embodiment, the non-metallic members (1030a, 1030b) may be made of material including, but not limited to, rubber and polymer.
Further, a proximal eyelet 1008a is disposed at a top portion of the head 1008. During installation, the fishing line 136 is passed through the proximal eyelet 1008a and loop around the shaft of the body 1006 and between the non-metallic members (1030a, 1030b) before tightening and locking the head 1008 to the shaft. Thereby, the fishing line 136 is clenched between the non-metallic members (1030a, 1030b) on locking the head 1008 to the shaft of the body 1006. In one embodiment, the shaft may include external screw threads and the head 1008 may include internal threads. The internal threads of the head 1008 may screw and lock with the external threads over the shaft.
The fishing lure 1000 with the fishing line attachment structure of
The lure 1100 comprises a first eyelet 1012 fixedly coupled to a bottom portion of the body 1006 for attaching the fishing hook structure 1004. In one embodiment, a ring 1014 is connected to the first eyelet 1012 such that the ring 1014 hangs freely from the first eyelet 1012. The fishing hook structure 1004 is attached to the ring 1014 such that the fishing hook structure 1004 hangs freely from the ring 1014. The fishing hook structure 1004 includes a hook 1032. In one embodiment, the fishing hook structure 1004 is a treble hook having at least three legs.
Although the features, functions, components, and parts have been described herein in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all embodiments of the teachings of the disclosure that fairly fall within the scope of permissible equivalents.
Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20230049724 A1 | Feb 2023 | US |