WO1988009120A1

WO1988009120A1 - Fishing implement with luminous bait

Info

Publication number: WO1988009120A1
Application number: PCT/FR1987/000176
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jacques Surbeck
Original assignee: Asaver Handels Und Finanz Anstalt
Priority date: 1987-05-21
Filing date: 1987-05-21
Publication date: 1988-12-01

Abstract

The invention relates to fishing. The problem is the making of a fishing implement comprising a luminous bait associated with the immersed portion of the implement used to hook the fish. The solution proposed by the invention is to make the fishing implement with at least one optical fiber element (7) which receives light from a non immersed light source in order to restore such lighth at the immediate vicinity of the immersed part (10) of the implement used to hook the fish.

Description

Luminous lure fishing utensil.

The present invention relates to fishing utensils and more particularly to such utensils with incorporated lure

It has long been observed that fish are attracted to light, but until now, users have never been offered fishing utensils, whether intended for industrial or angling fishing, designed to take advantage of this phenomenon.

The inventor had the original idea of proposing to make fishing utensils using optical fiber, the latter then having over its length or at one of its ends a non-submerged part which receives an illumination, natural or artificial , and a submerged part designed to restore this illumination in the area in the immediate vicinity of the part of the fishing utensil which is used more particularly for catching fish.

The fishing gear according to the invention can be a net at the bottom of which is associated a network of optical fibers connected at least at one end, by a light-conducting cable, to a source of illumination such as a lamp placed on the deck of the boat to which the net is suspended. In this case, it is advantageously chosen to use transparent plastic fibers that are not sheathed, diffusing over their entire length the light brought to their end by the light cable. We understand that, the net being immersed, when we illuminate by lamps from the boat the non-submerged end of the light cables this illumination is transmitted to the optical fibers lining the bottom of the net, which diffuse at this place a luminous halo playing a role of lure to attract fish inside the fileto

The fishing utensil according to the invention can also be in the form of a line associated with a support such as a fishing rod, the line then being constituted at least partially in optical fiber by having its part or its end. not submerged intended to receive natural or artificial light, while its submerged end is associated with the hook hooked at the end of the line, being in the immediate vicinity of the active end of the hook, to achieve a light point which acts as a lure to attract the fish to the point of the hook.

For this application, any type of optical fiber can be used, but it is considered to be particularly advantageous to use plastic optical fibers which, compared to silica optical fibers, have the advantage of being solid, inexpensive, very easy of implementation and of presenting certain specific properties, in particular in the field of fluorescence. Among the plastic optical fibers, it is possible to use the transparent plastic optical fibers constituted by a core made of a material of high purity (for example made of polystyrene or polymethyl methacrylate) disposed inside a plastic optical sheath of great transparency. These transparent plastic optical fibers are designed to be lit at one end and restore white light at the other end and they can, according to the invention, be used as a line with their ends wound on the reel of the fishing rod lit by a lamp incorporated into this reel, while the other end of the optical fiber is associated with the hook of the line as explained above. In certain cases, natural daylight illuminating the non-submerged end of the fiber may be sufficient to give satisfactory illumination to the other immersed end of the fiber. Alternatively, the sheathed transparent plastic optical fiber can be used without illumination of its end associated with the reel, the illumination then being carried out transversely by daylight, through the transparent optical sheath covering the non-submerged part of the fiber. According to yet another variant, transparent sheathed plastic optical fiber nos is used, which has the advantage of increasing the number of photons absorbed by the non-submerged part of the fiber while water (of optical index more weak than that of the core of the fiber) plays the role of optical sheath for the submerged part of the fiber while conserving the light inside it.

As plastic optical fibers, it is also possible to use advantageously, still according to the invention, fluorescent plastic optical fibers, that is to say containing one or more dopants in the form of fluorescent material. These latter fibers obey, as is known, the phenomenon by which the energy absorbed in these optical fibers by the fluorescent material during the passage of an incident light radiation of given wavelength is converted into photons of length upper wave, which are transmitted to the two ends of the optical fiber subjected to transverse external light radiation. It is thus understood that, as a function of the fluorescent material contained in the illuminated fiber, a point luminosity of a determined color is obtained at the end of this fiber. This property is particularly advantageous if, as the hypothesis has been put forward, fish according to their species are sensitive to different lights, the fisherman can then for example choose as line a plastic optical fiber with fluorescent dopant adapted either to the species of predominant fish in the places where he fishes, that is to say the species of fish which he wishes more particularly to catch.

It will be understood that, according to the invention, the fishing line can be constituted by an optical fiber alone, or by several assembled optical fibers, for example braided, or even that the optical fiber can only be associated with a conventional fishing line. To clearly understand the invention, several preferred embodiments will be described below, by way of examples without limitation, with reference to the appended schematic drawing in which: FIG. 1 is a plan view of a net fishing whose bottom is equipped according to the invention with a light lure system; Figure 2 is a very schematic elevational view of a rod for casting fishing equipped according to the invention with a line made of transparent optical fiber; Figure 3 shows on a larger scale a preferred method of fixing the hook to the end of the fishing line made of plastic optical fiber; and FIG. 4 shows on a large scale and in partial view a fishing line according to the invention constituted by three twisted fluorescent plastic optical fibers ending in three hooks each associated with a luminous lure of different color.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown in 1 a fishing net and in 2 the ropes intended to suspend and raise the net from a boat. To the meshes of the central part of the bottom of the net is fixed a network of unsheathed transparent plastic optical fibers 3 which are connected to the submerged lower end of light cables 4. These light cables are each associated with a rope 2 and have their upper end, not shown in the drawing, which leads to the deck of the boat, By directing a light source, such as a lamp carried by the boat, on the upper end of the cables 4, these then transmit the illumination at the end of the transparent fibers 3 so that the latter diffuse over their entire length a luminous halo. It is thus understood that, when the net is lowered and the light cables 4 are lit from the boat, the central area of the net 1 then has a luminous appearance adapted to act as a decoy by attracting the fish to this area .

In FIG. 2, there is shown diagrammatically at 5 a fishing rod on the handle of which a reel 6 is mounted and which is equipped with a line 7 having a non-submerged part 8 and a submerged part 9 at the end of which is fixed a hook 10. The line 7 is constituted by a sheathed transparent plastic optical fiber whose end wound on the reel 6 is lit or not by a lamp (not shown) equipping this reel. At the submerged end of the optical fiber is fixed the hook 10 and for this purpose, as seen in FIG. 3, this end of the optical fiber is heated to receive a curvature corresponding to that of the hook 10, so that the optical fiber follows the outline of the hook to end in 11 in the most immediate vicinity of the point of the hook.

It is understood that, during fishing, the illumination of the end of the optical fiber wound on the reel ensures the transmission of a light point at the other end 11 of this fiber. The location of this light point 11, which attracts the fish by acting as a lure, in the immediate vicinity of the point of the hook 10 significantly promotes the catch of the fish.

It has been hypothesized that, depending on the species, fish are more particularly sensitive to a particular area of the light spectrum. It is then possible, for fishing for a particular species, to adapt to the end 11 of the optical fiber an optical filter (not shown) allowing only the light rays included in the region of the light spectrum to which the fish of this species are susceptible.

Alternatively, provision may be made to remove the lighting device from the non-submerged end of the optical fiber incorporated in the reel, only the transverse illumination of the non-submerged part of the transparent plastic optical fiber remaining. According to another variant, the optical sheath of the fiber is also removed, which improves the transverse photonic absorption of the non-submerged part of it, while water, with an optical index lower than that of the core of the optical fiber, acts as an optical sheath for the submerged part of the fiber by preventing the diffusion of light along this submerged part.

According to yet another variant, a fluorescent plastic optical fiber is used to make the fishing line. whose illumination is carried out transversely, on its non-submerged part, by ambient light and which restores at its immersed end a light of a particular color depending on the doping in fluorescent material of the optical fiber. It is again understood that, depending on the species of fish sought by the fisherman, the latter will choose as line an optical fiber comprising a doping in fluorescent material adapted to this species.

As is known, the fluorescent plastic optical fiber transmits to each of its two ends the transverse illumination received along its length. As, according to the invention, obtaining a light point is only sought after at the submerged end of the optical fiber, to improve the efficiency, provision is made to equip the non-submerged end of the optical fiber. '' a reflecting surface reflecting the light towards the other end of the fiber. This reflecting surface can advantageously be constituted by a simple metallization of the end of the fiber.

In Figure 4, there is shown schematically a line consisting of three twisted fluorescent plastic optical fibers 12, 13, 14 all having different characteristics in terms of their doping in fluorescent material. In the submerged part of the fishing line formed by these three optical fibers, these separate to end each with a hook 15, 16, 17. As the three optical fibers have different characteristics, we understand that each of the three hooks 15, 16, 17 will be associated with point lighting of different color with the advantage of being able to fish, with the same line, fish of three different species.

It will be understood that the above description has been given by way of non-limiting example and that additions or constructive modifications could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims. It will be noted in particular that the fishing line according to the invention, instead of being constituted only by one or more optical fibers, could be constituted by a conventional line to which the optical fiber or fibers considered will be added. We will also understand that the hook could be incorporated, for example in molding, at the submerged end of the optical fiber constituting the line, or it could be made of a fluorescent plastic material supplied with photons by the optical fiber at the submerged end of which it is attached.

Claims

RE VE ND ICATION S.

1. Luminous lure fishing utensil, characterized by at least one optical fiber element (3, 7) receiving an illumination from a non-submerged light source to restore it in the immediate vicinity of a submerged part (10 ) utensil used to catch the fish.

2. Fishing utensil according to claim 1, in the form of a net, characterized in that optical fiber elements (3) diffusing the light constitute the meshes of the net (1), these optical fiber elements being connected by light-transmitting fiber optic cables (4), which can be associated with the net suspension lines (2), to light sources such as lamps arranged on the boat to which the net (1) is suspended.

3. Fishing utensil according to claim 1, constituted in the form of a line (7) associated with a support such as a fishing rod (5), characterized in that said line (7) is made at least partially in optical fiber, such as transparent optical fiber, the submerged end (11) of the optical fiber being disposed in the immediate vicinity of the hook (10) hooked to the line.

4. Fishing utensil according to claim 3, characterized in that the transparent plastic optical fiber (7) is lit, at its end cooperating with the fishing rod (5), by a light source such as a lamp associated with the fishing rod.

5. Fishing utensil according to any one of claims 3 and 4, characterized in that a suitable filter is associated with the submerged end (11) of the optical fiber (7) to provide light of an appropriate color to the species of sinful fish.

6. Fishing utensil according to claim 3, characterized in that the optical fiber constituting at least partially the line (7) is fluorescent plastic optical fiber restoring under a suitable predetermined color, at its immersed end (11), the light absorbed over the length of its non-submerged part (8),

7, Fishing utensil according to any one of Claims 3 to 6, characterized in that said line (7) consists of at least one optical fiber.

8. Fishing utensil according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises conventional fishing line with which is associated at least one optical fiber.

9. Fishing utensil according to claim 6, characterized in that a reflecting means, which may consist of a metallization, is associated with the non-submerged end of the fluorescent optical fiber in order to increase the intensity of light returned to the submerged end of it.

10. Fishing utensil according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that the optical fiber constituting the fishing line is extended by several optical fiber elements (12, 13, 14), identical or different from each other, arranged in a bundle, the free end of each optical fiber element (12, 13, 14) being associated with a hook (15, 16, 17) and capable of emitting light of a color different from that emitted by the end of the others fiber optic elements.

11, Fishing utensil according to claim 6 with reel (6) associated with the fishing rod (5) and around which is intended to wind said fluorescent optical fiber constituting the fishing line (7), characterized in that said reel (6) has a large width drum and includes a reflective system below such as a mirror intended to ensure good transverse lighting of the coiled part of the optical fiber, 12. Fishing utensil according to claim 3, characterized in that the hook is made at least partially of fluorescent plastic, being either supplied with photons by the optical fiber constituting the line at the end of which it is attached, or by being incorporated at said end of the fiber.