AU2007100880A4 - Berley bag - Google Patents

Description

11/09 2007-17:03 FAX COLLISON CO IP AUST CANBERRA @018/071 58463 DIA:VM P/00/009 Regulation 3.2

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION FOR AN INVENTION

ENTITLED

Invention Title: Name of Applicant: Address for Service: BERLEY BAG SHAUN McGEEVER COLLISON CO. 117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/09 2007 17'.03 FAX COLLISON CO IP AUST CANBERRA 12019/071 0 0 2 FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to bait or berley bags and in particular to berley l bags that can be opened remotely.

00 0O o DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART o 5 When fishing, it is often desirable, apart from simply baiting a hook, to place a 0 suitable fish attractant at a predetermined or set depth in order to attract fish to the baited hook. The fish attractant is often referred to as berley and can comprise a number of separate constituents, such as fish offal, oils, pelletised fish food, cockles etc. The fish attractant is typically placed into a container with a number of holes punched through the outer wall and the container is then lowered into the water, the water then mixes with the fish attractant to create a scent trail in the water that attracts fish in the area and encourages the fish to take a baited hook that has also been lowered to the same destination as the berley container. One of the more useful techniques in fishing is to be able to have the option of placing the entire contents of the berley bag on the bottom of the ocean floor in order to attract a particular type of species that frequents these depths, such as Whiting.

Presently, hard-walled plastic containers or steel ridged containers are utilised that have specialised and elaborate openings at one end and berley and other suitable fish attractant material is placed inside the hard container, which is then lowered down to the ocean floor by a first rope and then once at the ocean floor the trapdoor on the container is remotely opened by pulling a second release rope or the inefficient means of a clasp holding shut a weighted trapdoor. Often such systems can be problematic to open, especially when the trapdoor fails to open if it becomes lodged on an obstruction or even if the trapdoor does open, often, due to the jerking of the second rope or the failure of the clasp to dislodge COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/08 2007 17:03 FAX COLLISON CO 1 IP AUST CANBERRA 1a020/071 0 0 3 or dislodged prematurely, the contents of the berley container are spilt c/O haphazardly and its effectiveness in attracting fish to a localised area is dramatical y reduced.

0 The practice of simply placing the berley in a bag, such as a Hessian bag or 00 5 similar and placing that in the water, is also not as effective as the bag is unable o to effectively deposit the berley on the ocean floor, and with the berley remaining n the bag, then the fish that are attracted to it are not as likely to get Sas excited as the actual food or fish attractant is retained in the bag and largely inaccessible.

A further problem with the use of rigid berley containers, as mentioned previously, is that they do not have a natural feel about them in that the fish that are attracted by the berley contained therein are often discouraged from remaining in the area, as the rigid berley container would be considered to be an unusual object that effectively frightens off the timid fish in search of more realistic food sources.

Accordingly, in a professional fishing situation, where a person's livelihood depends on the quantity of their catch, effective fish attracting measures are seen as being particularly important, more so than in recreational fishing situations.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a berley bag for attracting fish that is less obtrusive to the fish's environment than those that are currently available.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a berley bag that is able to deposit the berley contained therein on the ocean floor in an accurate manner.

COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/09 2007 17:04 FAX COLLISON CO 1 IP AUST CANBERRA 1021/071 r- 0 0 4 1It is a further object of the invention to deposit the contents of the container at a

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predetermined depth in the water column.

It is yet a fjrther object of the invention to be able to indicate the position of the 0 berley container on the seafloor and indicate the tidal movement laterally 00 00 5 through the water column.

0 0 It is an object of the present invention to overcome, or at least substantially O ameliorate, the disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taking in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, although this should not be seen as limiting the invention in any way, there is provided an apparatus for attracting fish comprising a main rope, a secondary rope and a body for containing berley; the main rope being attached to the body at an upper end, the body having a closable aperture at a lower-most end, the main rope further including a moveable f oat attached to it; the secondary rope moveably secured at a first end above the moveable float and the second end attached to an opening means capable of opening the closable aperture such that in use, with the closable aperture in a closed position, the secondary rope being held under tension by the moveable float urging upwards against it when in the water, and by sharply pulling upwards on the main rope, slack is introduced to the secondary rope, thus removing the tension and allowing the closable aperture to move into an open position, thus releasing the contents of the bag.

In preference, the body further includes a weight attached at its lower end.

COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/09 2007 17:04 FAX COLLISON CO 1 IP AUST CANBERRA Z022/071 In prefererce, the body is a mesh bag.

In prefererce, the secondary rope includes a means for controlling the opening of the closable aperture.

0 0o In prefererce, the means includes a rope section integrated or attached to the 0 secondary rope with a releasable tension means attached thereon, capable of releasably holding the rope section in a first closed position and then, after Sactivation of the secondary rope, the tensioning means releasing tension on the

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rope section and moving to a secondary position to open an aperture on the container.

In preference, there is a secondary float moveably secured to the main rope, above the first float, and capable of floating on the surface of the water to provide an approximate position of the apparatus when in the water.

In preference, the weight is a donut-shaped weight.

In preference, the secondary rope is attached at its second end to a moveable door positicned at the bottom of the body of the apparatus.

In preference, there are a plurality of threads attached at one and free at the other, below the first float to indicate the tide flow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS By way of example, an employment of the invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention in a secured position; COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/09 2007 17:04 FAX COLLISON 8 CO IP AUST CANBERRA I023/071 6 SFigure 2, shows the apparatus of Figure 1 with the secondary line in an active position; Figure 3 shows a close up view of the bag containing the fish attractant of 0 Figure 1 and the opening at the bottom in a closed position; 0O oO o 5 Figure 4 shows the opening in an open position; SFigure 5A shows an embodiment of the current invention, the use in the water C< within an active position with the aperture at the bottom closed; Figure 5B shows the release of tension on the secondary rope via a sharp upwards pull of the main rope that activates opening of the closable aperture to lo release the contents of the berley bag at the desired location.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows the apparatus 2 of the present invention, including a main or first rope 4, a container or bag 6 capable of carrying fish attractant such as berley with'n it, the bag having an upper end 8 and a lower end 9. The main rope 4 attaches to the bag 6 via a tie-in loop 10 at the upper end 8. As would be known to those skilled in this particular field, any number of ways of attaching the bag 6 to the main rope 4 could be utilised, such as by Clips, knots, or other suitable method.

The main r3pe 4 has a stop-knot 12 with a clip 14 and a secondary rope 16 attached to the clip 14 at a first end 18. The second end 20 of the secondary rope 16 is attached to a closable aperture 22 on the lower surface 24 at the lower end 9 of the container 6.

A securable clip 26 at the first end 18 of the second rope 16 secures to the clip 14 on the main rope 4.

COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/08 2007 17:04 FAX COLLISON CO IP AUST CANBERRA IR024/071 0 0 7 SThe container 6 further includes a weighted section 28 at its lower end 9 to drive c /V the container 6 through the water.

The main rope 4 further includes a first moveable float positioned on it, below O the stop-knot 12, the moveable float 30 capable of being able to slide up and 00 00 5 down the main rope.

SThe container 6 may be any container capable of retaining berley within it, such Sas a mesh bag, which is found to be most suited for this purpose, although

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other types of containers may also be utilised without departing from the scope of the invention.

Whilst reference is made to the closable aperture in the present invention to that being of an aperture formed by a rope section 32 passing through section 34 of the closable aperture 22, other opening means are also envisaged, such as weighted attachable doors to more rigid containers and other similar opening means and the current embodiment should not be seen as being the only way in which the container or bag may be opened by the opening means.

In use, the closable aperture 22 is opened and the appropriate fish attractant or berley is p:aced within it and then secured in a closed position, and in this particular embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the aperture 22 is closed by movement of the clip 38 from position 40 to the closed position 42. Tension is then applied to the secondary rope 16, which forces the rope section 32 onto the clip 38, restricting movement of clip 38 back into position 40, thus holding the contents within the bag. By the securing of clip 26 to clip 14 on the main rope 4, thei the bag or container 6 can be lifted by the main rope 4, without opening aperture 22.

When appropriate, the clip 26 is removed from clip 14 and clipped onto the main rope 4 between the first moveable float 30 and the stop-knot 12, as shown in COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/09 2007 17:05 FAX COLLISON CO IP AUST CANBERRA la025/071

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8 Figure 2. When lowered into the water, the urging of the float 30 upwards against the clip 26, in direct opposition to the movement of the weighted lower end 9 creates tension on the secondary rope 16, again ensuring that the aperture 22 remains in a closed position as the apparatus 2 is lowered through 5 the water.

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0 CO o In addition, there is a secondary float 46 on the main rope 4 that is capable of floating on the water surface 44, which gives the operator an approximation of o where the container or bag 6 is located. Additionally, positioned below the float 46 are a number of tide flow indicators 50 at spaced apart intervals. As only the head of the tide flow indicators 50 are attached to the main rope 4 then the tails will point in the direction of the tide. As fish feed/swim up tide then by positioning a baited hook immediately down tide of the float, thus the berley bag below the surface of the water 44, so as to greatly increase the likelihood of attracted fish striking the baited hook At the appropriate depth, or even on the ocean floor, when it is desirable by the operator to release the contents of the container 6, then the main rope 4 is sharply pulled, which momentarily causes the secondary rope 16 to go slack, which in turn opens the aperture 22 by allowing the clip 38 to move from position 42 to position 40, as it is no longer held under tension, which in turns allows the contents of the container or bag 6 to be released from within.

This then enables the invention to be provide controlled release of the containers contents at depths decided by the user, for example up through a column of water to entice or encourage fish at a lower depth to rise closer to the surface where they can more efficiently and successfully caught.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures can be made within the scope of the invention, which is not to COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11 11/09 2007 17:05 FAX COLLISON CO IP AUST CANBERRA 1028/071 0 0 9 u be limited to the details described herein but it is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.

0 00 00 0O 0O 0 0 ci COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11

Claims (4)

1. An apparatus for attracting fish comprising a main rope, a secondary rope and a body for containing berley; the main rope being attached to the body 0 at an upper end, the body having a closable aperture at a lower-most end, 0 0 5 the main rope further including a moveable float attached to it; the o secondary rope moveably secured at a first end above the moveable float and the second end attached to an opening means capable of opening the Sclosable aperture such that in use, with the closable aperture in a closed position, the secondary rope being held under tension by the moveable float urging upwards against it when in the water, and by sharply pulling upwards on the main rope, slack is introduced to the secondary rope, thus removing the tension and allowing the closable aperture to move into an open oosition, thus releasing the contents of the bag.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body further includes a weight attached at its lower end.

3. The aoparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the body is a mesh bag

4. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-3, wherein there is a secondary float moveably secured to the main rope, above the first float, and capable of floating on the surface of the water to provide an approximate position of the apparatus when in the water. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the secondary rope is attached at its second end to a moveable door positioned at the bottom of the body of the apparatus. COMS ID No: ARCS-160532 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:47 Date 2007-09-11