GB2241419A

GB2241419A - Attaching bait to fish hooks

Info

Publication number: GB2241419A
Application number: GB9004506A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter John Drennan
Original assignee: Drennan International Ltd
Current assignee: Drennan International Ltd
Priority date: 1990-02-28
Filing date: 1990-02-28
Publication date: 1991-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 2010-02-28
Also published as: GB9004506D0; GB2241419B

Abstract

A device for attaching fish bait to a fishing hook is provided with two dissimilar end parts (2, 3) integrally connected by a flexible link (7). At one end is a harpoon head (2) provided with barbs (5) to help retain the bait on the attachment device. At the other end is an eye connector (3). Either or both ends can be used to secure bait. The flexible link is extensible to allow the distance between the two ends to be permanently adjusted. <IMAGE>

Description

FISH BAIT ATTACHMENT DEVICE This invention relates to the field of angling. More specifically it relates to methods of fastening bait onto a fishing line.

Many different types of bait are available to anglers and they take many different shapes and forms. One type of bait currently in use is manufactured in the form of a cooked spherical mass, known as a "boilie". The boilie is not skewered on the fish hook but is attached just beside or above it, usually by means of a thread or the like fed through a boilie by means of a needle. Attaching a boilie to a fishing line in this way is an intricate operation and is an inconvenience to anglers.

The present invention addresses this problem and resides broadly in a fish bait attaching device having means to hold the bait and extending from said means an integral flexible link portion for attachment to the shank of a fish hook.

In a preferred construction there is provided a device comprising a flexible link integrally joining two dissimilar end parts, both end parts having bait attachment means, and wherein at one end there is a head adapted to penetrate the boilie, said head preferably being provided with barbs to assist retention of the boilie, and the other end part comprises an eye connector. Either or both ends of the device may be used to secure a boilie to a fish hook, giving three methods of use.

A preferred feature of the bait attaching device is that the flexible link is extensible allowing the distance between the two ends to be permanently adjustable.

To assist a clear understanding of the invention a more detailed description is given below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device; Figure 2 shows a first method of use wherein the boilie is connected to the device via the barbed head; Figure 3 shows a second method of use wherein the boilie is connected to the device via the eye connector; Figure 4 shows the device as moulded; and Figure 5 shows the device in a stretched condition.

Referring to Figure 1 there is shown an integrally moulded fish bait connector generally designated 1. At one end of the device is a substantially rigid harpoon head 2 which has a highly polished surface for easy insertion into a boilie 8.

For the same reason the head is formed with a sharp point 6 at its free end. Disposed on the head are two pairs of opposed barbs 5 spaced apart along the head 2 to help retain the boilie on the head. The rear end of the head is connected by a flexible link 7 to an eye 3 provided at the other end of the connector. The eye is formed to lie to one side of the link 7.

The device is preferably moulded from a ductile plastics material eg. nylon, which enables the link 7 to be permanently extended by stretching without deforming the ends 2,3. This allows the angler to adjust the length of the device which will influence the position and possible movement of the boilie with respect to the hook.

Figures 2 and 3 show the device in use; Fig.

2 with the harpoon head inserted; and, Fig. 3 with the boilie pierced by a fine thread and tied to the eye connector. The latter technique is used if the boilie has been cooked in a microwave oven and has a crisp outer coating, when the former attachment method cannot be used without breaking the coating. The end of the connector which is not attached to the boilie is severed, leaving a free end to the flexible link.

This free end is fixed to the hook 9 by one or more sections of silicone tubing 10. The tubing fits tightly to the shank of the hook and clamps the link 7 firmly in place. The free length of the link not gripped by the tubing also influences the amount of movement the boilie is permitted in relation to the hook 9. It is possible to attach respective boilies to both ends of the connector which is then fixed to the hook by the central link section of the connector and elastomeric tubing as described above.

Figures 4 and 5 respectively show the connector in its moulded condition and in an elongated condition.

When used to attach a boilie to a fish hook, e.g. as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the connector of the invention is able to position better the boilie in relation to the curved portion of the hook than is possible with a simple thread or filament as used hitherto. If it should be desired, the stretched connector can also be secured to the hook by severing the unwanted end of the connector and then tying the resulting free end of the filament link directly to the ring of the hook.

Claims

CLAIMS:-

1. A fish bait attachment device comprising a unitary member having bait attachment means provided by an end part of the member, and a flexible link portion of reduced cross section integral with the end part for connecting the end part to the shank of a fish hook.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the end part is shaped to penetrate the bait for attaching the bait thereto.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the end part is substantially cylindrical with a tapered free end and provided with barb means to assist retention of the bait.

4. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein integral end parts providing respective bait attachment means are provided at either end of the flexible link portion.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the two end parts are dissimilar.

6. A device as claimed in claims 1, 4 or 5 wherein an eye connector is integral with an end of the flexible link portion and constitutes a bait attachment means.

7. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the or each end part is substantially rigid.

8. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the flexible link portion is extensible.

9. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 in combination with a tubular element of elastomeric material for receiving and gripping the flexible link portion and the shank of a fish hook to secure the link portion to the hook.

10. A fish bait attachment device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.