GB2194721A - Angler's fish feed dispensing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a body 10 accommodating a piston 22 biassed towards end 12. A shank 24 has bore 38 which engages with the fishing line 34. The device is loaded with bait 40 and held so loaded by a plug 42 of mud or bait. The loaded device enters the water and there the plug 42 softens, the spring 30 causes the piston 22 to push the bait out. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Angler's fish feed dispensing device This invention concerns an angler's fish feed dispensing device or feeder.

When fishing in fresh water, it is commonplace for anglers to attempt to lure fish towards their hooks by introducing edible material such as maggots, so-called groundbait, or the like into the water in the region of the line and hook. Where an angler is fishing close to the bank, this can be done by sprinkling or scattering the edible material into the water in the region where the line enters the water. If there should be any current, however, the material is rapidly swept away, and only very skilful anglers are able reliably to introduce the edible material into the water so as to sink down towards the position of the hook. In the event that the water is cloudy, it is virtually impossible to ensure that material sprinkled or scattered in approaches the location of the hook.

When fishing at a location remote from the bank, involving casting of the hook into the water some distance away from the position occupied by the angler, the difficulty discussed becomes much greater. Some fishermen attempt to get edible material into the water nearby to the hook by firing it by catapult, but of course such a solution lacks precision, and the chances of accurate introduction of the material in the location where it is required are very low. More recently, however resort has been made to so-called feeders which are relatively small containers adapted to be attached to the line near to the hook. Such a feeder usually comprises a hollow body, which may be open-ended, having a number of quite large openings distributed over its curved surface.The feeder is intended to be used simply by filling it with edible material, such as maggots, before casting or introducing the hook into the water,; once the feeder is in the water, it is expected that the current of the water, flowing past the feeder and through the holes in the body, will entrain the edible material and cause it to escape from the feeder and to sink down in the vicinity of the line and hook. The theory of such a device is, of course, quite sound. In practice, however, it is not very efficient. If it is used in relatively still water, there is no current or very little current through the device, and consequently such edible material as is present in the device when it enters the water tends to stay in place, and not to be released.If the angler attempts to encourage escape of the material, e.g. by drawing the device along in the water and thereby causing a flow of water through the device, the entire water in the region being fished is disturbed and the potential catch is frightened away. Inevitably, some of the filling of the device is lost between the loading of the hollow body and its introduction into the water, and where the line, with the device on it, is cast a substantial distance, the body's contents may be largely lost before the device reaches the water.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character above discussed which has the advantage that it will retain its edible material content filling intact until such time as the device is immersed in the water being fished, and which will reliably dispense or discharge such edible material in close proximity to the hook on the angler's line, thereby substantially to improve the chances of tempting a fish to the hook.

With this object in view, the present invention provides an angler's fish feed dispensing device or feeder comprising a hollow body, open at one end, and accommodating a piston which is biassed to an end position towards said open end, the device being constructed and adapted for engagement with an angler's fishing line to slide relative thereto.

Preferably the device has weight to sink in water. It may be constructed to include a weight for this purpose, e.g. a metal weight when the body is non-metallic.

For ease of manufacture, the body is conveniently generally of cylindrical configuration providing an interior space of circular crosssection for the piston to slide therein; the piston advantageously has an integral shank which extends through an aperture in an end wall of the body remote from the open end.

Then, the piston can be retained against separation from the body by means of an O-ring located in a groove around the shank outside the body.

The biassing of the piston towards its end position may conveniently be achieved by a light helical spring surrounding the shank and bearing by one end against the confronting face of the piston. The other end of such a spring may abut a weight of the device to hold such weight in place within the body.

Other forms of spring are possible. It would be feasible to use a spring on the exterior of the body, perhaps engaging lateral extensions from the shank mentioned above. The spring need not be metallic: rubber bands on the exterior of the body are a possibility.

In a preferred practical embodiment of the device of the invention, the piston is a clearance fit in the body, and holes are provided in the outer wall of the body so as to permit ingress of water when the device is in use.

The device may be adapted for engagement with an angler's fishing line by the provision of an axial opening through the shank and piston or a transverse opening through the shank, outside the body. Both of such openings may, if desired, be provided.

Various forms of weight may be provided, in various positions, to ensure that the device will sink in water. Thus instead of a weight held by a spring, the device may be weighted by use of a lead or other metal weight in the form of a strip or the like adhered to the body in a suitable disposition, or weighting may be achieved by moulding one or more weighting elements into the wall of the body.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional side elevation illustrating a preferred embodiment of the angler's fish feed dispensing device of the invention in an empty condition and ready for loading; Fig. 2 is a view comparable with Fig. 1, but showing the device loaded and ready for use; and Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing a modification.

As shown in the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the angler's fish feed dispensing device conforming to the invention comprises a generally tubular hollow body 10, moulded preferably in a clear plastics material to enable its interior readily to be inspected.

This body is open at one end as indicated at 12 and is closed at its other end by an integral rounded end 14. Fitting snugly into the rounded end 14 of the body 10 is a weighting element 16 which is substantially of hemispherical form, e.g. of lead, having a central hole 18 which registers with a corresponding hole 20 in the rounded end 14 of the body 10.

Accommodated within the interior of the body 10 is a piston 22 which is not a tight fit in the body 10 but has quite a substantial clearance relative to the interior surface of the body 10 so that liquid can pass between the piston 22 and the wall of the body 10 as will be described later. The piston 22 is moulded integrally with a shank 24 which extends axially of the body 10 and through the registering holes 18,20 in the weighting element 16 and the rounded end 14. An O-ring 26 located in a circumferential groove 28 around the shank 24 holds the piston 22 captive in the body 10 by preventing full withdrawal of the shank 24 through the opening 20 in the body's end 14.

The piston 22 is biassed towards an end position in which it is substantially flush with the open end 12 of the body 10 as shown in Fig. 1, with the O-ring 26 abutting the outer surface of the rounded end wall 14 by means of a light helical spring 30 made of stainless steel. This spring 30 encircles the shank 24, is of a size and configuration such as to fit snugly within the body 10 but so as to be able to move freely, and abuts by one end against the piston 22 and by the other end against the weighting element 16 to hold the latter securely in place against the inner surface of the rounded end 14.

Hoies 32 are provided through the outer curved wall of the body 10 close to the rounded end 14 to permit ingress of water when the device is submerged. The device is adapted to be engaged with an angler's fishing line, such as the line indicated diagrammatically at 34 and having a weight 36 fixedly secured thereto, by the line 34 being threaded through a diametrical hole 38 provided through the shank 24 between the O-ring 26 and the adjacent end of the shank 24. The line 34 could, if desired, alternatively be threaded through an axial hole (not shown) extending through the shank 24 and piston 22. It will readily be understood that it is not essential for both the diametrical hole 38 and the axial hole to be provided and either the one or the other only can be embodied into the device.

Assuming the device to have been engaged with the line 34, e.g. as shown, the device is loaded, for example as has been shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. This is done by displacing the piston 22 inwards of the body 10 against the action of the spring 30, the protruding shank 24 then enabling the piston 22 to be held, in its position, compressing the spring 30, from outside the body.

Thereupon, with the open end 12 upwardlydirected, a filling of suitable edible material, likely to be attractive to fish being sought, for instance maggots or cereal-based material, such as that known as groundbait, is introduced as indicated at 40 so as to occupy about a third of the available space in the body 10. To complete the loading, a closure plug 42 is pressed into the open end 12 of the body 10. This plug 42 must be of a material which will remain coherent in the open end 12 of the body 10 for a short period of time, for instance of the order of a small number of minutes, and will not immediately slide out; on the other hand, it must be of a nature such that it will become softened, slowly, upon being exposed to water, and will gradually lose its coherence. It might, for instance, be a relatively plastic clay; however, breadbased groundbait, appropriately moistened and moulded by hand by the user, is likely to be particularly suitable, since it will supplement the filling 40.

The device having been loaded, as described, and hook 44 on the line 34 having been baited, the line 34 is appropriately let out or cast into the water to be fished, and of course the dispensing device, being engaged on the line 34, is brought to an appropriate position over the hook 44, sliding down the line 34 as necessary and being prevented from moving right down to the hook 44 by the weight 36. The weighting element 16 ensures, of course, that the device does not float, but sinks into the water.

Upon becoming submerged, water is able to enter the device by way of the holes 32 and to pass the piston 22 to reach the filling 40 and the plug 42 from inside the body 10, whilst the water is able, also, to contact the plug 42 directly. The effect of the contact with the water is, naturally, to cause the plug 42 gradually to soften and lose its coherence, with the result that after a few minutes the bias of the spring 30 is sufficient gently to eject both the plug 42 and the filling 40 which is able to settle slowly down in the water, passing the hook 44 as it does so, and providing an appropriate lure for any nearby fish.

Practical tests indicate that the device can be extremely effective in attracting fish and contributes substantially towards improving one's catch.

The invention is not confined to the precise details given above. For instance, in relation to the device as described, it is not 100% essential to use both an edible filling 40 and a separate plug 42 of different material, and the device could, if desired, be used with a filling of a single material, such as groundbait, of which the last-introduced portion is relatively tightly packed into the device to form a plug comparable with the plug 42 or retain the piston 22 in the displaced position, such as is shown in Fig. 2, for a few minutes, sufficient for the device to be introduced into the water and to become relatively still before discharging its contents. As will be understood, the device could be engaged with the line 34 by the latter being threaded through an axial hole through the piston 22 and shank 24 in which case the plug will need to be packed tightly around the line 34.As another alternative, a tie (not shown) could be provided through the hole 38 and this tie may have a loop or eye engaged with the line 34, or one or more integral eyes (not shown) may be moulded on the body 10 for the line 34 to extend therethrough.

The device of Fig. 3 is similar to that of Figs. 1 and 2. The same reference numerals have been used so far as appropriate.

In place of the weight 16, the body is shaped to receive a metal hemispherical cap 50 as shown. This could be omitted if the body 10 is heavy enough to sink when filled with bait. Bore 1 8 passes through the closed end of the body.

A metal loop 52 is fitted to the bore 38, for the fishing line 34 to pass through this loop. Fins 54 are moulded integrally with the body 10, as shown.

The device of the invention can be produced in a range of sizes from which an angler may select according to the amount of edible material he may wish to discharge or dispense after each cast. The shape of the device is not limited to those illustrated and described, and it can comprise any hollow body whose interior can contain material which can be discharged by movement of a piston, e.g. under spring bias, upon softening of a closure plug, which may be, e.g. of edible material or a pasty material, as a result of contact with the water.

Claims (15)

1. An angler's fish feed dispensing device or feeder comprising a hollow body, open at one end, and accommodating a piston which is biassed to an end position towards said open end, the device having weight to sink in water and being adapted for engagement with an angler's fishing line to slide relative thereto.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein the body is of cylindrical configuration providing an interior space of circular cross-section for the piston to slide therein.

3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the piston has a shank which extends through an aperture in an end wall of the body remote from the open end.

4. A device according to claim 3 having an O-ring located in a groove around the shank outside the body, to retain the piston against separation from the body.

5. A device according to claim 3 or claim 4 having a helical spring surrounding the shank and bearing by one end against the face of the piston remote from the open end of the body.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein the other end of the spring presses a weight against the end wall of the body remote from the open end.

7. A device according to any one of claims 3 to 6 having an axial opening through the shank and piston.

8. A device according to any one of claims 3 to 7 having a transverse opening through the shank, outside the body.

9. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the piston is a clearance fit in the body, and holes are provided in the outer wall of the body so as to permit ingress of water when the device is in use.

10. A device according to any one of the preceding claims which includes a metal weight.

11. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the body is moulded from plastics material and the device includes a metallic weight.

12. A device according to any one of the preceding claims defining an aperture opening outside the body for engagement with a fishing line.

13. A device according to any one of the preceding claims having one or more fins on the exterior of the body.

14. An angler's fish feed dispensing device or feeder substantially as any herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A method of fishing with rod and line, characterised by engaging the line with a device according to any one of the preceding claims, and while so engaged allowing the device to enter the water from which it is de sired to catch fish.