1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to artificial lures and deals more particularly with a flexible artificial lure designed to take advantage of predator fish's recognized or perceived abilities to identify and key on preyfish that are injured or otherwise disoriented.
2. Description of Background Art
Conventional fishing lure designs usually incorporate shapes that use water resistance to impart some form of action or movement to the lure body. Example shapes are lips that cause the lures to descend as they are pulled through the water; blades that turn in reaction to the forward progress of the lure; curved or flattened tails that ripple when straightened out by water resistance, appendages, etc. Such design factors in the various shapes, while enhancing body movement, impart a rhythm that contrasts with the random, haphazard movements of injured baitfish. While the body of a typical fishing lure moves, bends, vibrates or ripples, the devices which create these movements also promote a degree of directional stability atypical of the movements of injured prey and to which random movements predatory fish respond most readily to.
The present invention utilizes a balanced, streamlined design purposely devoid of such stabilizing features or "action" producing, water resistance driven devices, to eliminate directional stability. This lack of stability allows the lure, as it is moved through or over the water, to move in an overall erratic path, as opposed to the directional path of conventional lures. This random movement more accurately mimics the movements of disoriented prey. The balance of the preferred configuration of the present invention is such that the lure is free to move in random directions, as opposed to the "nose first" motion of conventional lures.
Another general problem associated with the design of artificial plastic fishing lures is their inability to function both on and beneath the surface of the water. Thus, a fisherman generally will need to change lures to accommodate above or below surface fishing.
A yet further problem generally associated with many known artificial lures is their inability to avoid entanglement with vegetation in the water or with the bottom of a body of water.