WO2001062077A1

WO2001062077A1 - A fish-attractor/lure device

Info

Publication number: WO2001062077A1
Application number: PCT/GB2000/000614
Authority: WO
Inventors: Louis Pinter
Original assignee: Louis Pinter
Priority date: 2000-02-21
Filing date: 2000-02-21
Publication date: 2001-08-30

Abstract

A generally torpedo-like underwater fishing attractor (1), adapted for rotation to generate a continuously-intermittent ratting noise when drawn through water, by an angler's fishing line to which it is attached when in use, comprises a body (30) having fore-and-aft sections (31, 33) and intermediate therebetween a hollow mid-section (32), the latter including one or more generally-cylindrical internal cavities (39a, 39b) aligned co-axially with the fore-and-aft spin-axis (11) of the body (30) and one or more spherical ball-bearing (6a, 6b) loosely-housed within said cavities (39a, 39b) in rolling contact with the generally-cylindrical, circumferential walls (41a, 41b, 41c) thereof but with substantial freedom of movement between opposed circumferencial walls in the plane normal to its fore-and-aft spin-axis (11), as well as propeller-like screw-angled fins (38) external of the body (30) which cause it to spin about its fore-and-aft spin-axis (11), and a step-like ramp or other discontinuity (12) which interrupts rolling contact between the ball-bearings (6a, 6b) and the circumferential cavity-walls (41a, 41b, 41c) as the attractor (1) spins.

Description

A Fish-Attractor/Lure Device

This invention relates to a fish-attractor/lure device, that is to say an underwater fish-attractor either for use in conjunction with an underwater fishing lure or indeed forming part thereof. It is more particularly concerned with such a fish-attractor/lure device constructed to emit a regular or irregular rattling noise when drawn steadily through water.

Fishing lures have been used by anglers since time immemorial, and in modern times they are manufactured and used on a very large scale. They fall broadly into two categories, on the one hand those that simply imitate the appearance of small fish (which form the staple diet of predatory fish) and, on the other hand, those that are "attractors" and somehow attract the attention and trigger the hunting instinct of the predator. Some known lures are however difficult to classify in this way, and perhaps fall in both categories.... e.g. the so-called "rattler" lures, also known as "jerk baits". These may have roughly the shape of a small fish, but that aside (and more importantly) they also have a hollow compartment, extending fore-and-aft within the lure and housing one or more steel ball(s). After such a rattler lure has been cast into the water, during its retrieval the angler executes short, sharp "jerks" with his fishing rod (hence the name "jerk bait") thus causing the ball to "bounce" back and forth within its compartment in the fore-and-aft direction, in this way generating a rattling noise. For reasons unknown, this intermittent jerk- generated rattle seems to attract the attention and to stimulate the predatory activity of other fish.

Numerous kinds of "rattler" or "jerk bait" lures are already available, manufactured from various materials - usually plastic or metal - and they come in a considerable variety of shapes and sizes, and are finished in every conceivable colour scheme. The effectiveness and therefore the popularity of such lures is shown by the fact that millions of them are produced and sold annually - and yet, they have a common shortcoming.... that they have to be "jerked" through the water, so as to cause the steel ball to bounce back and forth in the hollow compartment and thus to generate the rattling noise.

Examples of these rattler lures are known, for example, from U.S. Patents Nos. 2,763,954 (Bunker) and 5, 121 ,568 (Lindmeyer). Both of these publications describe lures comprising percussion members within a hollow cavity. The lures are intended to be dragged through the water, with the propeller blades thereon causing rotation of the lure, and thus relative movement of the percussion members within, thereby generating the rattling sound. However, with these conventional rattling lures, there comes a point where the spinning of the lure reaches such a speed that the centripetal forces associated with its rotation, become greater than the gravitational forces which would otherwise cause the percussion members to fall from the walls of the cavity. At this point, the percussion members remain held by the centripetal forces against the walls of the cavity, and hence the rattling can then only be achieved by jerking the lure.

The act of jerking the lure through the water however frequently results in so-called "foul-hooking" of the fish. Foul-hooking is the term used when a hook forming part of the lure catches the fish by its body, rather than being properly set in the fish's mouth. This is frowned upon - even an accidentally foul-hooked fish must be immediately returned to the water, otherwise unharmed, and deliberate foul-hooking is illegal. Nevertheless, un-sportsmanlike anglers will deliberately jerk at all types of lures, in the hope of foul-hooking fish which are otherwise proving reluctant to respond to the proffered lure. The use of the conventional "rattler" and "jerk-bait" lures lends some sort of apparent justification for this kind of unsporting behaviour.

A fish-attractor has however now been devised which will generate a desired continuously-intermittent "rattling" noise as it is drawn steadily through the water, thus without any need for the lure to be jerked. So far as can be judged, this indeed seems to be perhaps even more effective in attracting attention and predation than the conventional rattler or jerk-bait lures, and certainly not less so. And while nothing can prevent an unsportsmanlike angler from trying to foul-hook fish if bent upon that, the use of the now-devised fish-attractor does eliminate any need and therefore justification for line-jerking, and thus makes it easier to detect illegal behaviour.

According to the invention there is provided a generally torpedo-like underwater fish-attractor, for attachment directly or indirectly to a fishing line and so arranged that in use it rotates about a fore-and-aft spin axis as it is drawn through water by the line, said attractor incorporating a cavity extending laterally of its spin axis, and loosely housed therewithin at least one percussion member, at least the cavity and optionally, also the percussion member(s) being so constructed that rotation of the attractor about its spin axis effects lateral displacement of the percussion member(s) from contact with the cavity wall to re-impact thereagainst under gravity elsewhere.

It will be appreciated that as the attractor rotates about its spin axis the loosely-housed percussion member will be regularly displaced from one point to another within the cavity, and as it repeatedly re-impacts against the inner walls thereof will generate a continuously-intermittent rattling noise which seems to attract the attention and/or provoke the attack of possible predators.

It is self-evident that, the stronger the impact the greater the noise. The strength of the impact must one assumes be dependent on the momentum of the percussion member when it re-impacts against the cavity wall, and thus a function of its weight and of the distance which it travels (against gravity) between one impact and the next. It does appear clear that there is an optimum noise-generating effect which is at least partly dependent on the inter-relationship between the possible lateral displacement (in the plane normal to the spin axis) between opposed walls of the cavity and the size of the percussion member(s).

Treating the latter as spherical (either actually or notionally) it was originally believed that the maximum possible displacement should normally be at least 2 times the diameter of the percussion member, and usually within the range of from 2 to 5 times that diameter, advantageously indeed within a preferred range of from 3 to 4 times the diameter of the percussion member. However further work has suggested that other factors must also be involved, because in some embodiments it has since been found that optimum noise-generation occurs when the maximum possible displacement is less than 2 times the diameter, say approximately 1.5 - 2 times the diameter of the percussion member(s), so that the spin-axis passes through (but of course not diametrically through) the spherical percussion member.

In view of these uncertainties, which are not yet fully understood, it is currently recommended that the optimum inter-relationship between the sizes of the percussion member and the cavity within which it is loosely housed should be determined for any given embodiment upon an empirical basis.

In one simple form of attractor, the cavity may be an elongate tube, the axis of said elongate tube extending either side of the spin axis so that a preferably spherical percussion member loosely housed therewithin will run and/or fall under gravity from one end of said tube to the other (and then back again) as the attractor rotates around its spin-axis. The axis of such an elongate tube may be inclined at an angle relative to the spin axis of from 45° upwards - but for simplicity of construction will usually best be set at an angle of 90° thereto, so that the percussion member falls (rather than rolls) from one end to the other. This arrangement however has the consequence that the percussion member is displaced by gravity from one end of the tube to the other only as the tube-axis rotates past the horizontal plane, and accordingly the rotation of the attractor "lurches" between a phase in which it is first retarded during one half-rotation and then another phase in which it is accelerated during the next half-rotation. Such a lurching motion is not characteristic fish-like behaviour, which is normally smoothly fluent, and therefore thought to be dis-advantageous. It is therefore generally preferred that the cavity housing the percussion member(s) should be a generally-cylindrical chamber substantially co-axial with the spin-axis, wherein the circumferential, otherwise cylindrical walls of said chamber are so constructed that they are interrupted by a least one discontinuity which when met by the tumbling percussion member(s) as the chamber rotates effects lateral displacement of the percussion member(s) to re-impact elsewhere.

The cavity housing the percussion member(s) is preferably located in the mid-section substantially mid-way between the fore and aft sections. The mid-section of the attractor will often desirably include several cavities, preferably two or three of them, arranged successively along its fore-and-aft axis. Some but not necessarily all of them must of course house percussion member(s). Empty cavities in the mid-section and/or empty cavities in the fore-section and/or aft-section serve an useful purpose as resonance chambers which amplify the rattling noise generated within the cavities armed with ball-bearing(s).

It is for the same reason advantageous if some or preferably all of the cavities, whether armed with ball-bearing(s) or empty, are arranged to communicate with each other via small, axially-aligned apertures which facilitate noise-transmission between cavities but do not permit escape of the percussion member(s) therethrough. While the hollow fore-section and aft-section of the attractor body may be armed with ball-bearings, they are desirably left empty to serve as resonance chambers, and then only the mid-section houses the percussion member(s). The tumbling percussion member(s) will advantageously be truly spherical, and normally held under gravity in rolling contact with the generally-cylindrical housing cavity walls. It is currently believed that any such percussion member(s) will best be one or more steel ball-bearing(s).

More particularly, the currently-preferred construction of torpedo- like underwater fish-attractor provided by this invention, of course for attachment directly or indirectly to a fishing line so that it may be drawn through water thereby, comprises: - a body having closed fore and aft sections and intermediate therebetween an hollow mid-section;

- said hollow mid-section consisting of or including at least one generally-cylindrical internal cavity aligned co-axially with the fore-and-aft axis of said body and having its generally-cylindrical peripheral walls disposed substantially symmetrically about said axis;

- at least one percussion member loosely housed within said cavity, and normally held under gravity in tumbling contact with said peripheral walls, but having substantial freedom of movement between opposed peripheral walls of the cavity in the plane normal to its fore-and-aft axis;

- fin means provided externally of said body which are adapted to cause it spin about its fore-and-aft axis as the attractor is drawn through water; and

- at least one step-like discontinuity in the peripheral walls of the cavity which interrupts tumbling contact between the percussion member and said walls as the attractor spins about its fore-and-aft axis.

The fins on the attractor device will usually take the form of a twin- bladed screw or propeller device, conveniently mounted externally of either the fore section or the aft section of the attractor device. The fins of the screw device (whether it has two, three or four blades) may be made of rigid material integrated with the external casing of the attractor device. Such an arrangement however has the disadvantage that the more swiftly the attractor device is drawn through the water the faster it will spin about its axis - and it is thought preferable that the rate of spin should not vary too much from an optimum. It will be appreciated that as the rate of spin becomes greater the centripetal forces will hold the tumbling percussion member(s) more and more firmly against the periphery of the cavity housing the percussion member(s), and ultimately even to the extent that the frequency of rattling may decrease or in an extreme situation could actually be stifled more or less completely.

It is therefore much preferred that the fins of the screw device should be so constructed that the spin-rate of the device is (at least to some extent) self-regulating. This may be achieved by making the blades of rigid material but mounting them upon the attractor device casing so that they are able to swivel thereon against spring-bias to reduce the angle of incidence between the blade and the water through which it is drawn, so that the faster the device travels through the water and thus the greater the water-pressure on the blade the more it will swivel to reduce the angle of incidence and to that extent thereby restrict the spin-rate.

The same effect may however also be achieved in a similar manner by an alternative, less mechanically-complex and therefore currently- preferred arrangement, in which the fins of the screw device are formed at least partly but to a major extent of a flexibly-resilient material (e.g. rubber, synthetic rubber or plastics) which under increased water-pressure generated by passage through the water will progressively flex to reduce the angle of incidence between that part of the fin and the water and therefore, as before, thus serve to restrict the spin rate.

The discontinuity can take the form of one or more studs, but is most conveniently provided by a continuous, upstanding ramp traversing the otherwise cylindrical wall of the housing cavity and running parallel to its fore-and-aft axis. As so far described the fish-attractor is a stand-alone device, but of course it may often be incorporated advantageously with some other useful angling adjunct, and perhaps most conveniently with a kink- eliminator.

In a further aspect, this invention therefore also extends to a fishing-line kink-eliminator, comprising swivel-means mounted fore and aft of an intermediate line-section, and displaced to one side of said line- section a lateral plate-member which under gravity and/or water- resistance inhibits rotation of said intermediate line-section, and a finned fish-attractor as herein disclosed, mounted rotatably in or closely adjacent the plane of said laterally-offset plate-member and in parallel with but offset from said line-section. Furthermore, from an angler's viewpoint the mere attraction of fish is pointless unless one can hope to catch them - and for that one needs a lure, that is to say something armed with at least one fish-hook that predator fish may be expected to take. The fish-attractor therefore will one supposes always be used in conjunction with a lure, and this invention includes a kit of parts, either assembled or disassembled, comprising both a fish-attractor (including kink-eliminator or not, as the case may be) and also at least one hooked lure. These may be assembled "in-line" by the angler, for use as and when required.

It is however generally convenient if both fish-attractor and lure are manufactured and sold as a single unit.

Accordingly, this invention in still another aspect also extends to a fishing lure comprising a fish attractor as herein disclosed in combination with one or more fish-hook(s).

To provide a range of options to suit all predatory fish species, these new-concept lures should be made in various lengths, diameters, paint finishes and so on. The attractor may be manufactured from the usual variety of materials, i.e. plastic, metal or wood. The use of different materials for the attractor body in conjunction with the steel ball(s) will generate different frequency noises, which in turn suits different applications, therefore making it possible to provide the most suitable lure for all fish species. As will appear hereinafter, the lures may be constructed to have section(s) that do not rotate and thus provide a platform for additional hook(s).

In order that the invention may be well understood various preferred embodiments thereof will now be described in more detail, though only by way of illustration, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a side-elevation, partly in a vertical cross-section taken along the fore-and-aft axis, of one basic embodiment of fish-attractor device; and Figure 2 is a transverse cross-section through the embodiment of Figure 1 , taken on the line ll-ll there shown;

Figure 3 is a side-elevation of a conventional kink-eliminator;

Figure 4 is a side-elevation, similar to Figure 3 but of a modified kink-eliminator fitted with a fish-attractor in accordance with this invention;

Figure 5 is a side-elevation, partly in vertical cross-section taken along the fore-and-aft axis, of one embodiment of a combined fish- attractor and lure; and

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 of another, slightly-different embodiment of combined fish attractor and lure; and

Figure 7 is a side-elevation, partly in vertical cross-section taken along its fore-and-aft axis, of an improved, multi-hooked combined fish- attractor device and lure.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that the attractor proper, generally indicated 1 , comprises a closed fore-section 2, an hollow mid-section 3 and a closed aft-section 4, these being notionally (as shown - but perhaps actually) distinguished from each other as indicated by the respective dotted lines a and b. The hollow mid-section 3, closed off by the fore-section 2 and aft-section 4, provides a generally-cylindrical cavity 5 (see also Figure 2) within which there are loosely-housed one or more (as here shown, in fact three) spherical ball-bearings 6. The maximum- possible lateral displacement of the individual ball-bearings 6 is set by the internal diameter of the generally-cylindrical cavity 5, which is here shown (if only for ease of depiction) as being approximately 2-times the diameter of the individual ball-bearings 6. However, as previously herein explained, the optimum inter-relationship (for noise-generation purposes) between the size of the ball-bearings and the size of the cavity is best-determined empirically for any given embodiment.

The fore-section 2 of the attractor body 1 is attached via a split-ring 7 equipped with a swivel 8 and via the latter to a fishing line (not shown) by means of which it is retrieved by the angler by dragging it through the water. Conversely, the aft-section 4 of the attractor body 1 is attached to a snap-action quick-release fitting 9 via which other desired items of fishing tackle, above all a lure, may be directly or indirectly assembled onto the line. The aft-section 4 of the attractor body 1 is also provided externally with oppositely-angled fins 10a and 10b. As the attractor 1 is drawn through the water by the angler's fishing line via swivel 8 and split-ring 9 it is caused by angled-fins 10a and 10b to rotate about its spin-axis indicated by dashed line 1 1. As the attractor 1 rotates, the ball-bearings 6 are normally held by gravity in running contact with the instantaneously-lowermost portion of the circumferential wall of the generally-cylindrical cavity 5. However the cavity 5 also includes an upstanding ramp 12, disposed longitudinally along the circumferential wall of the otherwise cylindrical mid-section 3 and running parallel to but off-set from the spin-axis 1 1. As each ballbearing 6 running in contact with the wall meets the ramp 12 rotating about the spin-axis 11 it is thrown upwards, perhaps (dependent on the speed of rotation and the relative dimensions of ball and cavity) to impact the opposite circumferential wall but in any event to fall back under gravity and thus re-impact against the cavity wall elsewhere. In this way the angler, by drawing the attractor steadily through the water, without jerking, will generate a continuously- intermittent rattling noise, which has proved effective in attracting the attention and provoking the attack of predatory fish. In Figure 3 there is shown a conventional kink-eliminator, which comprises a generally-linear multi-strand wire trace 20, for assembly in "line" in a train of fishing tackle via crimped loops 21a and 21 b at each end thereof, the loop 21 a being attached via a split ring 22 to a swivel 23, and the loop 21 b being attached to a snap-action, quick-release fitting 24. Intermediate the loops 21 a and 21 b the wire trace 20 is threaded through apertures (not referenced) in a laterally-extending plate 25 of lazy-D shape, formed preferably of clear, transparent plastics material. The weight of the plate 25 and more importantly the resistance of the surrounding water combine to inhibit it from rotating, and thus effectively to prevent the wire trace 20 from doing so. Consequently, during use no matter what twists may be imparted to the fishing line and other fishing tackle, either ahead of or behind the wire trace 20, these should be effectively prevented from being transmitted from one to the other, and in this way it should be possible wholly or at least largely to eliminate kinking in the line.

The conventional kink-eliminator of Figure 3 is modified in accordance with this invention by incorporating a fish-attractor device therein as shown in Figure 4. There, the D-shaped, laterally-extending plate 25 has a torpedo-outline cutaway portion 26, which surrounds a fish- attractor body 1 essentially identical to that already described with references to Figures 1 and 2, but which is rotatably mounted fore and aft in respective journals 27a and 27b, provided on plate 25 in alignment with the fore-and-aft spin axis of the fish-attractor 1.

Various embodiments of fishing lures which incorporate a fish- attractor in accordance with this invention are shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. In Figures 5 and 6, the lure generally indicated 30 comprises a fishlike, torpedo-shaped lure body having a closed but hollow fore-section 31 , a generally-cylindrical, hollow mid-section 32 and a closed but hollow aft- section 33 - these again being distinguished (at least notionally, but perhaps in fact) from one another at or adjacent the dotted lines a and b respectively. The fore-section 31 is secured via a split-ring 34 to a swivel 35 and then to the angler's fishing line (not shown) while the aft-section 33 is attached via split-ring 36 to a fish-hook - or rather (as actually here shown) to a triple-hook 37.

In all these lure-embodiments, it is the fore-section 31 which is provided externally with angled fins, or as actually here shown with the blades of a twin-bladed propeller 38. The lure-body 30 is thereby caused to rotate about its spin-axis 1 1 , as the attractor/lure device is dragged through the water. These propeller blades are preferably formed of resiliently-flexible rubber or plastics material, so that they will flex under increased water-pressure, and thus tend to make the spin-rate self- regulating. In the embodiment of Figure 5, the hollow mid-section 32 is subdivided into two separate (though inter-communicating) compartments, 39a and 39b, each of them loosely-housing a single spherical steel ballbearing, respectively 6a and 6b. The maximum-possible lateral displacement in both these compartments is here shown as approximately 3-times the diameter of the ball-bearings 6, which makes for ease of depiction in the drawing - but one should in practice choose an optimum size, which may for some purposes be less than 2-times the ball-bearing diameter.

The adjacent compartments 39a and 39b are separated from each other and from respective adjacent chambers 40a and 40b in the hollow respective fore-section 31 and aft-section 33 by circumferentially- upstanding partition walls 41a, 41 b and 41c, but all of them intercommunicate with one another through centrally-disposed apertures (not referenced) in said partition walls 41 a_- 41 c, aligned with each other co-axially along the spin-axis. It will be noted that these apertures are too small to permit passage of the ball-bearings 6 therethrough - but they do permit and indeed promote reverberation of sound generated by the ball(s) within each compartment throughout all the compartments including the hollow fore-section and aft-section, which serve as resonance chambers to amplify the rattling noise thus generated.

The pairs of partition walls 41 a and 41 b as well as respectively 41 b and 41c are so located relative to each other that although each of the ball-bearings 6 is loosely-housed within its compartment it is nevertheless restrained by the partition walls of its compartment against any substantial movement in the fore-and-aft direction. With this construction, the fact that the steel balls have less freedom of movement in the axial direction than in the lateral direction effectively denies the angler any possibility of legitimately using the lure as a jerk-bait.

However there may be times when the angler has reason to employ jerk-bait techniques, without any unsportsmanlike intention. This becomes possible with the slightly-modified lure of Figure 6 - which is otherwise identical to that of Figure 5, but in which the intermediate partition wall 41 b is omitted, thus increasing the freedom of movement of the two commonly-housed ball-bearings 6 in the fore-and-aft, axial direction so that it is here greater than their freedom of movement in the lateral direction.

At this point it will be noted that the lures of Figures 5 and 6 include the fish-hook 37 trailing along at the back of the lure, behind the spin axis 1 1. In this construction the fish-hook 37 will tend to spin with the lure, which may not be altogether desirable - while anyway the rotation of the lure-body detracts from the ability to attach one or more further or alternative fish-hook(s) elsewhere on the lure-body.

Finally therefore, in order to overcome these shortcomings, there can be provided the further-modified fishing-lure illustrated in Figure 7. Here the attractor/lure body 30 proper has a non-hollow, truncated aft- section 33, which however is attached via a swivel 42 to an additional, hollow tail-section 43 upon which are mounted not only the axially-aligned fish-hook 37 (as in Figures 5 and 6) but also an additional, transversely- offset triple fish-hook 44.

Claims

1. A generally torpedo-like underwater fish-attractor, for attachment directly or indirectly to a fishing line and so arranged that in use it rotates about a fore-and-aft spin axis as it is drawn through water by the line, said attractor incorporating a cavity extending laterally of its spin axis, and loosely-housed therewithin at least one percussion member, at least the cavity and optionally, also the percussion member(s) being so constructed that rotation of the attractor about its spin axis effects lateral displacement of the percussion member(s) from contact with the cavity wall to re-impact thereagainst under gravity elsewhere.

2. A fish-attractor as claimed in claim 1 , in which the cavity housing the percussion member(s) is a generally-cylindrical chamber substantially co-axial with the spin axis, wherein the circumferential, otherwise cylindrical walls of said chamber are so constructed that they are interrupted by at least one discontinuity which when met by a percussion member tumbling within said chamber normally in contact with its circumferential walls effects lateral displacement thereof to re-impact elsewhere.

3. An attractor device as claimed in claim 2, in which the discontinuity is provided by a ramp extending longitudinally of the otherwise cylindrical wall of the housing cavity parallel to the fore-and-aft spin axis.

4. An attractor as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the cavity housing the percussion member(s) is located in a mid-section of the attractor, substantially mid-way between its fore and aft sections.

5. An attractor as claimed in claim 3, in which the mid-section includes three cavities arranged successively along its fore-and-aft axis, said cavities communicating with each other via small, axially-aligned apertures which facilitate noise-transmission between cavities but do not permit escape of the percussion member(s) therethrough.

6. An attractor as claimed in claim 5, in which the foremost and aftermost cavities are left empty to serve as resonance chambers, and only the middle cavity houses the percussion member(s).

7. An attractor device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which the percussion member(s) is/are spherical, and normally held under gravity in rolling contact with the cavity walls.

8. An attractor device as claimed in claim 7, in which any percussion member is a steel ball-bearing.

9. A torpedo-like underwater fishing attractor, adapted for rotation when drawn through water by a fishing line to which it is in use attached, said attractor comprising:

- a body having closed fore and aft sections and intermediate therebetween an hollow mid-section;

- said hollow mid-section consisting of or including at least one generally-cylindrical internal cavity aligned co-axially with a fore-and-aft spin axis of said body and having its generally-cylindrical peripheral walls disposed substantially symmetrically about said axis;

- at least one percussion member loosely housed within said cavity, and normally held under gravity in tumbling contact with said peripheral walls, but having substantial freedom of movement between opposed peripheral walls of the cavity in the plane normal to its fore-and-aft spin axis;

- fin means provided externally of said body which are adapted to cause it spin about its fore-and-aft spin axis as the attractor is drawn through water; and

- at least one step-like discontinuity in the peripheral walls of the cavity which interrupts tumbling contact between the percussion member and said walls as the attractor spins about its fore-and-aft spin axis.

10. An attractor device as claimed in claim 9, in which the fins take the form of a twin-bladed screw or propeller device, preferably mounted externally of the fore or aft section.

11. An attractor device as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10, in which the fins of the screw device are so constructed that the spin-rate of the attractor is at least to some extent self-regulating.

12. An attractor device as claimed in claim 1 1 , in which the fins of the screw device are formed at least partly but to a major extent of a flexibly- resilient material which under increased water-pressure generated by passage through the water will progressively flex to reduce the angle of incidence between that part of the fin and the water and thus serve to restrict the spin rate.

13. A torpedo-like underwater fish-attractor as claimed in any of the preceding claims and substantially as herein described.

14. A torpedo-like underwater fish-attractor substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings and/or as shown therein.

15. A kit of parts, either assembled or disassembled, comprising a torpedo-like fish-attractor as claimed in any of the preceding claims in conjunction with other fishing tackle.

16. Fishing tackle which includes a torpedo-like fish-attractor as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14 integrated therewith.

17. Fishing tackle as claimed in claim 16, in the form of a fishing-line kink-eliminator, comprising swivel-means mounted fore and aft of an intermediate line-section, and displaced to one side of said line-section a lateral plate-member which under gravity and water-resistance inhibits rotation of said intermediate line-section, and integrated therewith a fish- attractor as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14, rotatably mounted on said lateral plate member with its spin axis within the plane of said lateral plate-member and disposed parallel with but offset from said line-section.

18. Fishing tackle as claimed in claim 16, in the form of a fishing lure comprising a fish-attractor as claimed in any of claims 1 to 14 and mounted thereon or otherwise associated therewith one or more fishhooks).

19. A fishing lure as claimed in claim 18, in which the aft-section of which includes a separate tail-portion interlinked therewith via swivel means which permit rotational spinning of the attractor proper without corresponding rotation of said tail-portion.