AU2004100689A4 - A Fishing Bait Dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Title A Fishing Bait Dispenser Field of the Invention.

This invention is directed to a fishing bait dispenser, the bait typically comprising burley, and where the dispenser is of particular design and is positioned and arranged in a particular manner to attract fish.

Background Art.

It is well-known to use ground bait when fishing to attract or lure fish to an area of water whether salt or fresh to be fished. Such a method is often called 'chumming' where ground bait is dropped into the water. Ground bait originally comprised ground-up fish, but other attractants can also be used.

However, it is generally more advantageous if the fish attractant can be released below the surface of the water. Therefore, various devices are known that enable this to be achieved. There are many types of containers which contain fish attractant (burley).

These containers can be made of metal, plastic, and the like. These containers can be provided with small openings through which the burley can ooze over an extended period of time.

It is known to attach these containers to the fishing line and the fishing line may be provided with a stop to hold the container at a particular distance away from talk.

It is also known to attach the container to a rope and to simply throw the container into the water.

These containers can be weighted or otherwise configured to position them at a desired depth in the water.

It is also known to have single-use dissolvable bags or sachets containing burley which can be simply thrown into the water.

There is a great range of different types of fish attractants that can be used. These may comprise solids, liquids, gels, oils and the like. The burley can be made from many different types of materials including animal material, plant material, artificial chemicals etc. The animal material may comprise ground-up fish or other animal parts. The artificial chemicals may comprise thickening agents, attractants etc. The burley may comprise combinations of the above ingredients and/or different ingredients, and the particular invention is not limited to any particular type of fish attractant.

One disadvantage with existing systems is the correct positioning of the container containing the burley in the water. There is an advantage in making sure that the burley is positioned around the boat such that fishing from the boat can be more enjoyable. However, this can be quite complicated especially if there is a current.

Simply throwing burley into the water will result in the burley quickly moving downstream which means that the fish will not be attracted to around the boat, and it becomes necessary to cast far away from the boat. Attaching the container to a rope which is attached to the boat is not really an advantage as the container will move downstream. Making the rope shorter is not the solution as this will merely result in the container rising to the top of the water level which is not necessarily the best place for the burley to be released.

Another disadvantage with existing systems is that the burley container is quite complicated in design, relatively expensive to produce, and is sometimes quite difficult to clean between uses.

It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country.

Object of the Invention.

It is an object of the invention to provide a container for fish attractant that may overcome at least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages or provide a useful or commercial choice.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a container for fish attractant and that is positioned in a particular manner to enable fish to be attracted to the boat.

In one form, the invention resides in a method for attracting fish to a boat or similar vessel, the method comprising the steps of anchoring the boat in the water using an anchor and an anchor rope, providing a container containing burley or other fish attractant, the container able to release the burley or fish attractant, attaching the container to the anchor rope using attachment means, and dropping the anchor in the water such that the container is dragged under water by the anchor.

An advantage of this method is that the boat will always be downstream from the anchor and anchor rope which means that positioning the burley container on the anchor rope will result in the burley slowly being dispersed towards the boat. Also, the boat will always be positioned relative to the anchor rope such that the burley will always flow towards and around (or below) the boat making fishing from the boat (and especially the rear of the boat) ideal.

Thus, the burley container will be held in position by being attached to the anchor rope and will not simply float away. Also, it is not necessary to attach the burley container to the rear of the boat which could snag with fishing lines, etc. Most anglers would be well aware of the anchor rope and would take care not to snag against the anchor rope, and in any event this would be difficult as the boat will ultimately be downstream from the anchor rope and therefore fishing from the rear of the boat would be perfectly safe with very little likelihood of snagging the anchor rope (and therefore the burley container).

The container may be attached to the anchor rope by any suitable attachment means.

The attachment means may comprise a clip, a clamp, a hook, a loop, mechanical fasteners, adhesives, and the like. The attachment means may comprise a single attachment means, or a plurality of attachment means. The attachment means may attach the container to the rope in such a manner that the container cannot slide along the rope. Alternatively, the attachment means may slidably attach the container relative to the rope.

In a particular form of the invention, the container is clipped to the anchor rope such that when the anchor is thrown in the water, the container will slide along the anchor rope and towards the anchor/anchor chain, etc. It is also envisaged that the anchor rope can be provided with a stop member and that the container can slide along the anchor rope until it hits the stop member.

Alternatively, the container is clipped to the anchor rope in a non-slidable manner and can then be clipped at a particular position on the rope such that when the anchor is thrown into the water, the container will be positioned at that particular place on the anchor rope.

The anchor may be of any suitable type and may comprise a single fluke anchor, a multiple fluke anchor, a folding anchor, a fixed anchor, and the like. The anchor may be formed from metal such as steel or aluminium, plastics materials, composite materials and the like. The anchor may have any suitable weight depending on the size of the boat etc. and may have a weight of between 1-50 kilograms. The anchor may have any suitable length and may have a length of between 20-150 centimetres.

The anchor may be fixed directly to the anchor rope or an anchor chain may be provided which is positioned between the anchor and the anchor rope. It is considered that no particular limitation should be placed on the invention by the type of anchor that is provided.

The anchor rope may be of any suitable design and construction and will typically comprise a plastic rope that is water (and particularly saltwater) resistant.

Alternatively, the anchor rope may comprise metal wires, composite materials and the like. The anchor rope may have any suitable length and will typically have a length of between 5-50 metres. The anchor rope may have any suitable diameter and will typically have a diameter of between 5-30 millimetres. It is considered that no particular limitation should be placed on the invention of the type of anchor rope that is provided.

The container to contain the fish attractant will typically be elongate and will typically have sufficient internal volume to accommodate sufficient fish attractant for the purpose required. The container may comprise an elongate container. The container may have a length of between 10-200 centimetres and typically a length of between 10-50 centimetres. The container may be circular, rectangular, triangular, polygonal oval, or have an irregular shape. Typically, the container will comprise a hollow cylindrical tube having an internal diameter of between 20-200 millimetres and typically between 50-90 millimetres. The container can be made of any suitable material and will preferably be made of corrosion resistant material. This typically leads to the container being made of plastic such as PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, homopolymers, copolymers, polymer composite materials and the like.

Alternatively, the container can be made of metal such as aluminium which is relatively corrosion resistant. Alternatively, the container can be made of painted or otherwise treated metals, alloys and the like. It is not considered that any particular limitation should be placed on the invention merely by the material from which the container is made.

It is preferred that when the container contains the fish attractant, it is sufficiently heavy to sink in the water. Mostly, the weight of the fish attractant will be sufficient; however if not, the container may be provided with a weight or a number of weights to assist in sinking the container. Alternatively, the container may be made of sufficiently heavy material. If a weight is provided, this can form part of the container or be attached to the container by any suitable means.

The container will be provided with at least one internal volume to accommodate the fish attractant. Typically, the container will be substantially hollow although it is envisaged that the container could also be provided with a number of separate areas that may be joined to each other or completely isolated from each other thereby allowing different types of fish attractants to be contained within the container. For instance, the container may comprise one area filled with a fish attractant that dissolves more quickly to provide "instant" fish attractant, and a second area filled with a fish attractant that dissolves more slowly to provide an "ongoing" fish attractant.

The container will typically comprise at least one and preferably a plurality of openings through which the fish attractant can pass. Typically, these openings will extend through at least part of a side wall of the container. It is considered expedient that the container is provided with an array of such openings. The or each opening may have any suitable size in configuration and may be round, rectangular, oval, elongate, triangular, or have an irregular shape. The size of each opening may be between 1-10 millimetres. If desired, a mesh, filter, etc. may be provided over the openings, or may be provided as openings through which the burley can pass.

Typically, the container will be provided with an inlet to enable the fish attractant to be added to the container. Any type of inlet may be provided. Suitably, some form of closure, such as a cap member is provided. This may be a threaded closure, a "push on" closure, a "bayonet" type mounting closure, a simple plug, or any other type of suitable closure. A number of inlets may be provided if considered to be desirable.

As mentioned above, the type of composition of the fish attractant can vary and will be up to the purchaser of the product to decide on the type of fish attractant (burley) to provide. The fish attractant may comprise fresh attractant, frozen attractant, dried attractant and the like.

In another form, the invention resides in a container for fish attractant, the container having a generally elongate hollow cylindrical body, a pair of end caps, a multiplicity of openings in a side wall of the body, and attachment means to enable the container to be attached to an anchor rope.

Brief Description of the Drawings.

An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a typical container attached to the anchor rope.

Figure 2 shows a similar (but smaller) container opened at one end.

Figure 3 illustrates diagrammatically use of the container.

Best Mode.

Referring to the illustrations and initially to figures 1-2, there is illustrated a container which in the particular embodiment comprises a cylindrical tube made of PVC plastic having a length of between 15-30 centimetres and a width of between 50-90 millimetres and a wall thickness of between 1-3 millimetres.

The cylindrical tube contains a pair of end caps 11, 12 which can be removed from the tube (see figure 2) to provide access. Both caps can be removed such that the tube can be easily cleaned using a hose.

The side wall of the cylindrical tube contains a multiplicity of drilled openings 13 which are typically round and have a diameter of between 3-5 millimetres.

The cylindrical tube contains a pair of attachment means 14 which comprise spaced apart clips which can be clipped to an anchor rope Figure 1 illustrates the container attached to the anchor rope 15 by clips 14 and figure 2 illustrates the container separate from the anchor rope and having one end cap 2 0 removed.

Figure 3 illustrates use of the invention. In figure 3 there is illustrated a boat 16 which is anchored by an anchor 17 and an anchor rope 18. Because of the direction of current (illustrated by arrow 19), boat 16 swings about such that the boat is in line with the anchor rope (when viewed from above) and the rear of the boat swung away from anchor rope 18.

Container 10 has been fastened to anchor rope 18 and is submerged towards anchor 17. The burley in container 10 passes through the openings (see figure 1-2) and passes underneath boat 16 in the general direction of current 19, the burley being generally represented by lines 20. Thus, it can be seen that container 10 will always be positioned in front of boat 16 by being attached to the anchor rope. Also, container will also be submerged. The burley oozing from the container will always pass below the boat (when viewed in plan) and therefore will attract fish around the boat.

By positioning container 10 in front of boat 16, the burley has a chance to disburse and to also be in the vicinity of the boat long enough to attract fish. People can then fish from the side and rear of the boat in a more enjoyable manner with little or no likelihood of the fish hooks snagging anchor line 18 or container Container 10 is lightweight and can be attached without difficulty. The container can be fitted with a weight if using frozen burley allowing the container to submerge with ease. The container 10 is quick and easy to clean simply by removing both caps on either side and rinsing with water.

Throughout the specification and the claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to apply the inclusion of the stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "substantially" or "about" will be understood to not be limited to the value for the range qualified by the terms.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (4)

1. A method for attracting fish to a boat or similar vessel, the method comprising the steps of anchoring the boat in the water using an anchor and an anchor rope, providing a container containing burley or other fish attractant, the container able to release the burley or fish attractant, attaching the container to the anchor rope using attachment means, and dropping the anchor in the water such that the container is dragged under the water by the anchor.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the container comprises a hollow elongate tube.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the container has a hollow cylindrical body, a pair of end caps, a multiplicity of openings in a side wall of the body, and attachment means to enable the container to be attached to an anchor rope.

4. A container for fish attractant, the container having a generally elongate hollow cylindrical body, a pair of end caps, a multiplicity of openings in a side wall of the body, and attachment means to enable the container to be attached to an anchor rope. The method of claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described. DATED this 13 th day of August 2004 Peter Terrence Abdul-Rahman By his Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.