There have conventionally been provided as fishing gears fish collecting devices having a propeller that rotates in and on the water. The propeller rotating in the water produces a special sonic or visual stimulus that lures curious fishes.
Fish collecting devices having a propeller are represented by a buzz bait lure. A typical shape of a buzz bait lure includes a metal arm having a dogleg shape, a head portion shaped similar to a fish head provided on one end of the arm and a hook provided on the head portion, and a propeller portion provided on the other end of the arm (see FIGS. 12a and 12b).
Such a buzz bait lure is cast in a position with its propeller portion and its head portion (the rear side of the lure) oriented to the casting direction and, after the lure enters the water, the fish line is drawn (wound) while the lure moves in the water with its one end of the arm (the front side of the lure) on which the fish line is locked oriented forward. The propeller portion rotates by receiving resistance of water in the direction of movement, producing peculiar sound and appearance that lure curious fishes.
However, in casting the fish collecting device having the propeller, the propeller may rotate freely in the air and produce a large resistance, resulting in smaller casting distance. There have been provided fish collecting devices that prevent free rotation of the propeller in casting. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-289920 (the “'920 Publication”) discloses that, as shown in FIGS. 12a and 12b, a hemispheric adapter (11) is provided on an arm (1) in front of a propeller body (2) movable in the axial direction of the arm (1); and when the propeller body moves forward (to the left of the figure), a projection in the adapter (11) is engaged with a cavity in the propeller body, thereby preventing free rotation of the propeller with respect to the arm (1) in casting.
However, due to a large impact received when the lure enters the water, the technique disclosed in the '920 Publication suffers the problem of breakage of the adapter (11) caused by the impact. If the adapter (11) is formed of a robust metal member that is less vulnerable to breakage, increase of its weight reduces the casting distance.
The technique disclosed in the '920 Publication also suffers a problem that the adapter (11) tends to be caught on floating objects in and on the water.
Further, the '920 Publication also discloses a technique using no adapter, but the propeller body has a complex structure and suffers problems of manufacturing costs and fabrication labors.