US 9,615,553 B2 Apr. 11,2017

Transcription

1 US B2 (12) Unied Saes Paen Coniglio e al. (10) Paen No.: (45) Dae of Paen: US 9,615,553 B2 Apr. 11,2017 (54) ARTIFICIAL FISHING LURE (71) Applican: Dominion Lures, Inc., Mission Viejo, CA (US) (72) Invenors: George Coniglio, Mission Viejo, CA (US); Marc Esrada, Mission Viejo, CA (US) (73) Assignee: Dominion Lures, Inc., Mission Viejo, CA (US) ( *) Noice: Subjec o any disclaimer, he erm ofhis paen is exended or adjused under 35 U.S.c. 154(b) by 297 days. (21) Appl. No.: 14/451,285 (22) Filed: Aug. 4, 2014 (56) References Cied GB U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 843,256 A * 2/1907 Bowersox. A01K 85/10 1,101,223 A * 6/1914 Welles 43/42.14 A01K 85/16 1,177,281 A * 3/1916 Schweicker 43/42.47 A01K 85/16 1,188,583 A * 6/1916 Townsend. 43/42.05 A01K 85/16 43/42.16 (Coninued) FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS A * 4/1958 AO 1K 85/16 Primary Examiner - Kahleen Alker (74) Aorney, Agen, or Firm - K. David Crocke, Esq.; Paul J. Backofen, Esq.; Crocke & Crocke, PC (65) Prior Publicaion Daa (57) ABSTRACT (63) (51) (52) (58) US 2015/ Al Relaed U.S. Applicaion Daa Coninuaion-in-par of applicaion No. 14/244,699, filed on Apr. 3, 2014, which is a coninuaion-in-par ofapplicaion No. 14/166,742, filed on Jan. 28, 2014, now Pa. No. 9,179,656. In. Cl. A01K 85/16 A01K 85/00 U.S. Cl. CPC. Jul. 30, 2015 ( ) ( ) A01K 85/16 ( ); A01K 85/00 ( ) Field of Classificaion Search CPC AOIK 85/00; A01K 85/18; A01K 85/16; AOIK 83/00; AOIK 91/04 See applicaion file for complee search hisory. A muli-segmened, sof-bodied, arificial fishing lure or swim bai wih a naural profile includes plasic conrol planes in each body segmen o generae a lure ha is sable in he waer, and demonsraes realisic swimming moions in a range ofrerieve speeds and even when allowed o sink. A leas one clear, siff plasic conrol plane is insered in each body segmen o generae a lifelike swimming moion when he lure is rerieved. Each conrol plane may be moved wihin a range of posiions o provide realisic moions for specific fishing echniques. The conrol planes insered ino and someimes hrough he lure body are invisible in he waer and are adjusable o accommodae a range of waer condiions, densiies and emperaures. The placemen of conrol planes creae he abiliy o limi unnaural/undesirable movemens and expand or accenuae naural and desirable movemens in each segmen of he body of he lure. 8 Claims, 7 Drawing Shees 110 \

2 US 9,615,553 B2 Page 2 (56) References Cied U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 1,582,713 A * 4/1926 Welch. AOIK 85/18 1,737,683 A * 12/1929 Readman. 43/42.05 AOIK 85/12 2,539,234 A * Dobkowski. 43/42.32 AOIK ,557,516 A * 6/1951 Schipper. 24/136 R AOIK 85/16 4,214,396 A * 7/1980 Firmin 43/42.22 AOIK 85/16 4,653,212 A * 3/1987 Pixon. 43/42.1 AOIK 85/00 4,785,569 A * 11/1988 Thomas, Jr. 43/4.5 AOIK 85/00 5,142,811 A * 9/1992 Freeman. 43/42.22 AOIK 85/00 5,661,921 A * 9/1997 Mason 43/42.06 AOIK 85/16 5,926,993 A * 7/1999 Marusak. 43/42.06 AOIK 85/00 8,689,479 Bl * 4/2014 Smih 43/42.09 AOIK 85/02 8,904,700 Bl * 12/2014 Kacines 43/37 AOIK 85/ / Al * 8/2007 Wilson. 43/17.2 AOIK 85/ / Al * 12/2009 Hughes. 43/42.15 AOIK 85/ / Al * Briccei 43/42.15 AOIK 85/ / Al * 10/2015 Mancini. 43/17.6 AOIK 85/01 43/17.6 * cied by examiner

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10 1 ARTIFICIAL FISHING LURE RELATED APPLICATIONS This applicaion is a coninuaion-in-par of copending U.S. Uiliy applicaion Ser. No. 14/244,699 filed Apr. 3, 2014 which is a coninuaion-in-par of copending U.S. Uiliy applicaion Ser. No. 14/166,742 filed Jan. 28, FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS The invenions described below relae o he field of fishing lures and more specifically o realisic fishing lures ha accuraely simulae live, healhy, feeding baifish. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONS US 9,615,553 B2 Arificial fishing lures such as swim bais aemp o simulae baifish and o simulae a srike response from gamefish. The swim bai has become exremely popular wih game fisherman. These devices aemp o emulae he look and moion of smaller swimming fish and oher creaures, aracing larger game fish o he hook and capure. Swim bais ofen closely resemble a shad, minnow, bluegill or any fish in size, shape, and color. The body is segmened in secions o allow i o move back and forh hrough he waer. Convenional sof plasic swim bais do no perform naural swimming or feeding moions on heir own when compared o he live bai fish he lures are simulaing. The problems wih convenional swim bais are: I) an unnaural laeral, side o side head wobble producing a wide laeral arc in he fron of he lure, his moion is more of a snake like acion han of a naural baifish; 2) an exaggeraed head wobble produces he same snakelike, exaggeraed, laeral, side o side, wide laeral arc in he ail, similar o wha is seen in he head; 3) he swim bai rolls wih a longer/wider unnaural rocking abou he longiudinal axis, a naural baifish swims wih a sligh body roll; 4) he swim bai is unsable during faser rerieves or rolls spinning and roaing abou boh longiudinal and verical axis' due o he exaggeraed head arc, ail arc and body roll; 5) he swim bai does no swim down or dive downward naurally or glide wih an uprigh orienaion. In mos cases, when he rerieve or roll is sopped, a convenional swim bai's ail does no bea or move as he bai sinks down oward he boom, insead, he swim bai jus umbles and sinks. Many convenional swim bai lures modify he naural, organic look of baifish o provide wis, curl, paddle, or vorex ails and oher visible non-lifelike exensions o generae moion in he lure or o simulae organic fish fins. Ofen he generaed moion of hese exensions generae erraic and unnaural moions and hey do no look real. In addiion, here is some variaion in he weigh and balance of convenional lures leading o inconsisen performance beween wo swim bais from he same package. The fins and shape of living fish enable hem o move hrough he waer and feed wih very lile gross moion as is generaed when rerieving many convenional lures. In addiion, living baifish are generally sable in he waer and mainain an uprigh orienaion when moving slowly hrough he waer which is very differen from many convenional lures ha lean and bob in unnaural orienaions 60 when hey are no being acively rerieved or allowed o sink or res on he boom. SUMMARY The devices and mehods described below provide for an arificial fishing lure or swim bai wih a naural profile ha is sable in he waer, and demonsraes realisic moions in a range ofrerieve speeds and even when allowed o sink or work along he boom. For weighed and unweighed lures, a muli-segmen body is configured wih a firs segmen much longer han any oher segmen and he lengh of he firs segmen approaches he same lengh as he combined lengh of all oher segmens. When he arificial lure is used wihou a weigh, he fishing line is passed hrough a minimal weigh plasic ube which is insered in he lure 10 body. Afer passing hrough he ube or a suiable weigh, he fishing line is aached o a hook and he eye of he hook is secured o he lure body wih a breakable or separable rib which passes hrough or is aached o boh sides ofhe lure 15 2 body. For a weighed lure o mimic he feeding moion of a baifish, a leas one pair of clear, siff exended conrol planes are insered in he lure body keeping he cener of mass ofhe arificial lure beween he inserion poins ofhe exended conrol planes and one or more weighs insered in 20 he lure body. This configuraion generaes a lifelike feeding moion when he lure is dropped or worked on pilings, docks, rees, walls and over spawning beds. Each exended conrol plane may be moved wihin a range of posiions o provide more precise moions for specific fishing ech- 25 niques. The conrol planes and exended conrol planes ha are insered ino and someimes hrough he lure body are nearly invisible in he waer and are adjusable o accommodae a range of waer condiions, densiies and emperaures. The 30 siffness of he conrol planes and exended conrol planes also provides a very lifelike mouhfeel o a gamefish ha srikes he lure which simulaes he siff spines of a baifish which exend ou when hreaened or consumed. The sraegic placemen of conrol planes and exended conrol 35 planes creae he abiliy o limi unnaural/undesirable movemens and expand or accenuae naural and desirable movemens o specific segmens of he body of he swim bai. Adjusing and conrolling he forces applied o each body segmen and herefore he moion of each body segmen 40 enables fine uning adjusmen ofhe gross moion ofa swim bai lure and a feeding bai lure. The conrol plane configuraion disclosed here provides similar performance in a variey of fish body geomeries from he orpedo shape of shad and minnows o he uprigh 45 planar shape ofcrappie and bluegill. Conrol planes may be formed ofany suiable clear, generally siff maerial such as plasics, polymers and even ceramics such as glass. The conrol planes in a muli-segmen swim bai allow an angler o aler he way he swim bai moves hrough he 50 waer expanding he range of poenial swimming moions/ acions wihou changing he appearance ofhe lure because he aleraions are made by adjusing he low visibiliy, clear plasic conrol planes. The forces generaed by he conrol planes damp ou unwaned moions and accenuae desired 55 moions o more accuraely simulae he moions of a live and swimming baifish. The abiliy o adjus one or more conrol planes on each lure enables muliple lures o be adjused o perform consisenly if ha is desired. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a muli-segmen sof-bodied fishing lure wih conrol planes insered. FIG. 2 is a side view of a muli-segmen sof-bodied 65 fishing lure illusraing he conrol planes and weigh and hook. FIG. 3 is a op view of he fishing lure of FIG. 2.

11 US 9,615,553 B2 3 4 FIG. 4 is a boom view of he fishing lure of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a fron view of he fishing lure of FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a cross secion view of he firs segmen of he fishing lure of FIG. 2 aken along A-A. FIG. 7 is a cross secion view ofhe second segmen ofhe 5 fishing lure of FIG. 2 aken along B-B. FIG. 8 is a cross secion view of he ail segmen of he fishing lure of FIG. 2 aken along C-c. FIG. 9 is a op view of a fishing lure wih conrol planes configured for jerkbaiing. FIG. 10 is a side view of he fishing lure of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a side view ofa fishing lure wih conrol planes configured for high speed rerieves and rolling. FIG. 12 is a op view of he fishing lure of FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a op view of a fishing lure wih exended 15 conrol planes configured mimic feeding baifish. FIG. 14 is a side view of he fishing lure of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is an illusraion of exended conrol planes wih a sabilizing componen. FIG. 16 is an illusraion of exended conrol planes for 20 inserion hrough he lure. FIG. 17 is an illusraion of exended conrol planes wih barbed bases for inserion in he lure. FIG. 18 is a close-up of he disal end of an exended conrol plane of FIG. 17 aken along FIG. 19 is a side view of a feeding baifish lure wih exended conrol planes facing a verical srucure. FIG. 20 is a op view of a feeding baifish lure wih exended conrol planes facing a round srucure. FIG. 21 is a side view of he feeding baifish lure of FIG FIG. 22 is a op view of an alernae muli-segmen sof-bodied fishing lure wih conrol planes. FIG. 23 is a side view of he feeding baifish lure of FIG. 22. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONS FIG. 1 illusraes lure or swim bai 10 wih realisic and adjusable swimming performance generaed by he ineracion of he muli-segmen, sof body 12 and he one or more clear and generally siff conrol planes in each body segmen. Lure or swim bai 10 of FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 has a sof, muli-segmened body 12 having firs, head or fron segmen 13, second or middle segmen 14 and a hird or ail segmen 15 wih a realisic ail 12T. One or more conrol planes are fricionally secured in each body segmen such as segmens 13, 14 or 15 wih all he conrol planes generally coplanar wih horizonal axis 23C. For example, firs body segmen 13 includes fron verical conrol plane 16 and fron horizonal conrol plane 17. Conrol planes such as conrol planes 16 and 17 are generally siff, clear plasic and may exend from one surface of body 12 or hey may exend compleely hrough he body as shown. Any suiable plasic may be seleced for conrol planes, however hey should be seleced ofa maerial ha is generally invisible o fish in he waer. Any suiable ool such as a narrow blade knife, razor blade or sharpened piece of plasic may be used o creae a slo or opening o accommodae a conrol plane. The conrol planes are no sized, shaped or locaed o simulae he appearance ofany naural appendages ofany waer creaure. Second or middle body segmen 14 includes a middle, dorsal conrol plane 18 which generally exends from op or 65 dorsal surface 12D of he body alhough any oher suiable orienaion may be used. Third or ail segmen 15 includes firs and second conrol planes 19 and 20 and collinear ail conrol plane 21 which is parallel o longiudinal axis 23C, and generally coplanar wih verical axis 23A and exends back, away from ail 12T. Horizonal orienaion of ail conrol plane 21 in which he conrol plane is coplanar wih horizonal axis 23C may also be used. Radial orienaions of ail conrol plane 21 beween verical and horizonal may be used o generae swimming moions of a crippled baifish. Properly placed and aligned conrol planes such as planes 10 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 funcion o change he dynamic forces exered on a swim bai by he waer and he fishing line enabling he lure o achieve desirable, naural swimming moions. To generae naural swimming moions a a range of rerieve speeds as well as when sinking, a segmened, sraigh ailed, sof polymer or plasic swim bai needs one or more conrol surfaces o limi uillwural movemen in is fron and middle segmen/secions(s) and one or more conrol surfaces o enhance and conrol he movemen in is ail segmen/secion(s). The generally siff and clear conrol planes such as planes 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 provide conrolled force o he lure body wheher he conrol plane ends are rounded, squared, diamond, rhombus shaped or even forked as illusraed. Rounded conrol planes such as conrol planes 19 and 20 are preferred because here is no 25 a corner or sharp edge o cu or nick he line during he cas or rerieve and rounded conrol planes shed weeds bes. Posiioning ofhook 5 and any suiable weigh such as weigh 2 in fron segmen 13 mainains a forward cener of graviy o aid in sabilizing he enire lure. Generally, conrol planes 16, 17, 18 limi back and forh, laeral head wobble, limi verical roll, wis and rocking, and provide overall sabiliy. Tail conrol surfaces 19 and 20, and proruding ail plane 21 conrols movemen o he ail segmen/secion and add sabiliy. Ofen, addiional ail 35 movemen simulaion is required due o he limiing of forces/movemens by conrol planes 16, 17, 18 in he fron and middle secions which end o reduce desired ail movemens. Tail conrol surfaces 19 and 20 are oriened a abou 45 degrees from verical and horizonal axes 23A and 40 23B respecively. Conrol planes such as conrol planes 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 may be oriened a any suiable angle relaive o body axes 23A, 23B and 23C. An angler may adjus or une he performance of an individual lure or swim bai a he ime ofuse o opimize he 45 desired moions according o he exising waer condiions. For example, small changes can be made o he posiions of he conrol planes as well as he size and locaion ofweighs and hook placemen and orienaion ha will enable he angler o fine-une he lure o achieve he desired swimming 50 moions. These fine adjusmens can easily be made by adjusing he lengh ofhe conrol planes by pulling hem ou or pushing hem in furher ino he body, or pushing hem hrough farher o he opposie side of he bai. For example, as placemen of conrol planes 16, 17, moves back oward he ail, he side-o-side moion!acion! wobblellaeral arc ofhe fron head porion ofhe swim bai become more limied. Addiionally, conrol plane widh 28 and lengh 30 of conrol plane 16 facor in limiing head movemen, a wider and longer conrol plane 16 will limi 60 movemen more han a hin, shor conrol plane. Exending he lengh of conrol plane 16 o prorude farher from boom 12B of lure 10 will also limi head movemen. Addiionally, exending his conrol plane 16 o prorude from he boom will limi verical roll of body 12. Conrol planes may be locaed in a range of posiions wihin each segmen ofhe lure body. Referring now o FIG. 3, range 34 is he range of posiions available for conrol

12 US 9,615,553 B2 5 planes 16 and 17. Horizonal conrol plane 17 generally limis he roll/rocking or wis along horizonal axis 23C. A hin, generally shor conrol plane is generally sufficien o accomplish his for mos waer condiions. The combined effec of he fron verical and fron horizonal conrol planes, planes 16 and 17, is o creae sabilizaion a a higher hreshold rerieve speeds. Addiionally, he combinaion provides sabilizaion when he swim bai is diving or coasing afer a rerieve or roll is sopped. All moions discussed for lure 10 are based on rerieve force 6 applied 10 hrough fishing line 1 along longiudinal axis 23C. Range 36 is he range of suiable posiions for conrol planes in he second or cener segmen ofa swim bai or lure such as lure 10. Conrol plane 18 funcions o limi he moions of he middle segmen/secion of he swim bai. 15 Limiing movemen in he middle secion of he swim bai facors in limiing exaggeraed head and ail movemens when he lure is moving relaive o he waer. Conrol plane 18 also helps middle segmen 14 say aligned wih fron segmen 13 and ail segmen 15 which aids he bais speed 20 and diving sabilizaion. Moving conrol plane 18 oward ail 12T has a limiing effec on he ail's moions as does increasing he widh and lengh of conrol plane 18. Range 37 is he range of suiable posiions along horizonal axis 23C for conrol planes such as conrol planes and 20 in hird or ail segmen 15 ofa swim bai or lure such as lure 10. Conrol planes 19 and 20 are used ogeher o creae overall sabiliy and conrol he movemen in he ail secion. Conrol planes 19 and 20 may be used in any suiable radial orienaion abou longiudinal axis 23C as 30 illusraed by radial range 35 of FIG. 8. If conrol planes 19 and 20 are oriened in line wih verical and horizonal axes 23A and 23B, hey hinder he abiliy ofhe lure o dive wih is ail beaing or appear o swim down when coasing or sinking a slow speed. When conrol planes 19 and 20 are 35 aligned wih he verical and horizonal axes wihou a proruding ail conrol plane, he lure is very sable when sinking wih very lile movemen in he ail secion and provides suble and subdued ail movemens during a wide range of rerieve speeds. The addiion of a proruding ail 40 conrol plane provides he magniude and direcion offorce necessary o make he lure appear o swim down when combined wih he sabilizing verical and horizonal ail conrol planes. Proruding ail conrol plane 21 provides overall sabiliy 45 o he swim bai by increasing he overall lure lengh 38. Proruding ail conrol plane 21 also adds enough laeral resisance o allow ail 12T o move back and forh and simulae swimming, when he fron secions of he lures movemens are limied by he oher conrol planes. Tail 50 conrol plane 21 enables he naural moion ofa moving ail when he rerieve is sopped and he swim bai is drifing or sinking. Adjusing he size, orienaion and lengh of prorusion 39 provides a way for an angler o aler he ail bea frequency and arc. A longer proruding ail conrol plane 55 slows he ail bea frequency and limis he laeral, side o side arc, more han a shorer and or narrower conrol plane. Oriening conrol plane 21 coplanar wih horizonal axis 23B enables a slow ail bea a lower speed han when oriened coplanar wih verical axis 23A. In a horizonal orienaion, 60 conrol plane 21 enables swim bai 10 o glide horizonally wih less verical drop bu, wihou he swim down acion or moion. Referring now o FIGS. 9 and 10, increasing he lengh and widh offron horizonal conrol plane 41 oflure 40 will 65 induce an increased horizonal glide bu limi he lure's abiliy o swim sraigh down or dive under i's own weigh. 6 A more forward orienaion of conrol plane 41 will also induce more ofa glide and less overall sabiliy a speed and dive. This moion may be enhanced by oriening conrol planes 42 and 43 parallel o fron horizonal conrol plane 41 and fron verical conrol plane 44 respecively. A skilled and knowledgeable angler may recognize ha he forward placemen and increased size ofhe fron horizonal conrol plane creaes a desirable swim moion for an angling echnique called "jerk baiing" (as i is commonly referred o by professional anglers and described in fishing journals). This echnique involves a cadence of sharp pulls and pauses of a lure, (no coninuous reeling or roll) in which he angler ries o mimic he moion of a wounded or sruggling bai fish. When fished in his mauner; fron horizonal conrol plane 41 produces a wide, side o side daring acion, wih a relaively small amoun of forward progress of he lure, boh characerisics of a good jerkbai. Wih fron verical conrol plane 44 and middle/dorsal conrol plane 45 posiioned on he op side of lure 40, hese conrol planes would exend above a hook locaed on he op of a swim bai, impeding he hooks abiliy o penerae a fishes mouh. Also, a hook ha comes ou he op of he swim bai can impede he placemen offron verical conrol plane 44, herefore a boom hook arrangemen is preferred as illusraed in FIGS. 2 and 10. Lures or swim bais 10, 40, 50, 60, 90 and 100 may be used wihou any weigh or any suiable weigh may be used, however, as illusraed in FIGS. 2 and 10, lures 10 and 40 use cylindrical or oblong shaped weighs 2 and 3 respecively, wih a pass hrough in is cener for fishing line 1. This configuraion lowers he cener of graviy and provide keel weighing for added sabilizaion. Any suiable weigh such as weigh 3 is posiioned wihin he nose 40N and angles down oward he ail generally exending from lure boom 46. Any suiably sized weigh or weighs can be insered ino he lure body. Afer he weigh is insered, fishing line 1 is insered hrough he fron/nose of he lure hrough he weigh and hen any suiable hook, such as single hook 5 of FIG. 2, or a reble hook such as hook 4 offig. 10 is aached o line 1. One hook ofa reble hook such as hook 4A can be insered ino he underbelly ofhe lure or permied o dangle from lure boom 46. There are a muliude of poenial posiions ha differenly sized and shaped conrol planes can be insered in he body of a segmened, secioned, sraigh ailed, sof plasic swim bai. Any conrol plane insered ino he body of a swim bai or lure changes he way ha he bai moves hrough he waer. Referring now o FIGS. 11 and 12, swim bai lure 50 is configured for high speed rerieves and rolling. A higher speeds drag and fricional forces applied on he conrol planes can make a lure unsable. Oriening conrol planes 51, 52, 53, 54 and 55 a angles such as angles 60 ofless han 90 relaive o longiudinal axis 56 oflure 50 improves he sabiliy ofhe lure during high speed rerieves and rolling. A low angle orienaion of conrol planes may also be used where larger conrol planes are used o dampen he effecs of he large conrol planes. Addiionally, he orienaion of he line ie locaion will have an effec on he lure moion and will change he size and orienaion of conrol planes required. For example, line ie locaion 58 necessiaes he use fron horizonal conrol planes such as conrol planes 17, 41, 54 and 55. For lures wih ie locaions higher on he lure op such as locaions 58A and 58B, he size of he fron horizonal conrol plane can be made smaller and for a line ie locaion such as 58C he fron horizonal conrol plane may be omied.

13 US 9,615,553 B2 7 Ifhe conrol planes are placed incorrecly or misaligned, hey can generally be re-insered ino he body of a sof, plasic swim bai muliple imes unil placed o achieve he desired moion or acion. Two or more clear, generally invisible, adjusable plasic conrol planes may be added o any convenional sof bodied bais such as ube bais, worms, salamanders, crawfish and hollow bodied shad bais o conrol he moion of he lure when sinking, drifing or during acive rerieves and may be used in an angling echnique called "dropshoing." 10 Referring now o FIGS. 13 and 14, fishing lure 60 mimics he moions of feeding baifish as lure 60 is allowed o sink along any suiable verical srucure. Lure 60 may also be wiched along he boom in a nose down aiude, mim- 15 icking he feeding acion of a baifish on he boom. Movemen of lure 60 mimicking a feeding baifish is produced by he combinaion ofexended conrol planes 62 and 63 as well as having cener of mass 64 forward of inserion poins 67. One or more oher conrol planes may also be used 20 as discussed above. Any suiable arificial lure body may be used as feeding baifish lure 60. A suiable lure body has a endency o glide forward due o he weighing, such as wih he cener ofmass 64 near fron or nose 60N. Exended conrol planes 62 and ac o resric movemen away from he verical srucure afer iniial conac, keeping he lure repeaedly gliding ino he verical srucure. Suiable inserion posiions for he exended conrol planes range from he nose o he ail, ifhe lure's movemen is forward on a slack, ension free line. 30 Irregular feaures on he verical srucure inerac wih he flexibiliy of he exended conrol planes o bounce or push he sinking lure away. As long as he lure does no ge bumped or pushed away from he verical srucure a greaer 35 disance han he lengh of he shores of he exended conrol planes, he exended conrol planes re-engage he srucure and coninue o mainain he lure's descending, nose-in orienaion Exended conrol planes 62 and 63 are insered ino lure as discussed above and he exended conrol planes operae as discussed above wih respec o verical and horizonal conrol planes insered in a wide range of posiions wihin he lure body. Tips 62T and 63T of exended conrol planes 62 and 63 may also be oriened o exend 45 beyond nose 60N of he lure body by any suiable offse disance such as disance 66. Offse disance 66 may be adjused o accommodae rounded or irregular srucures. Wih he relaive orienaion of he exended conrol plane inserion poins 67 and a forward cener of mass 64, any 50 conac beween ips 62T and 63T and fishing srucure in he waer will apply a correcive force o lure 60 and mainain nose 60N adjacen o he verical srucure. When a feeding baifish lure such as lure 60 is presened or fished along he boom of a body of waer, lure 60 is 55 allowed o sink under he force of graviy. Owing o he conrol planes and or exended conrol planes in he lure, lure 60 will sink wih a consisen nose-down orienaion and sligh movemen ofhe ail. Upon conac beween exended conrol plane ips 62T and 63T and he surface ofhe boom, 60 lure 60 will mainain a sable nose down aiude similar o a feeding baifish wih sligh movemens of he ail from vibraions and currens in he waer. Any sligh force applied o a fishing line aached o he lure will cause he lure o bounce slighly up from he boom and move slighly across 65 he boom, again mimicking he feeding moion of a baifish. 8 For he feeding baifish configuraion illusraed in FIGS. 13 and 14, he poin ofaachmen ofhe fishing line and he hooks may have any suiable posiion. FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 illusrae several differen exended conrol plane profiles in hree differen configuraions. Sraigh profiles 70 are very similar o he verical and horizonal conrol planes previously disclosed wih a greaer lengh. Curved profiles 71 are apered o minimize weigh, drag as well as minimize unnaural mouhfeel when swallowed by a feeding gamefish. Chevron profiles 72 may be used o maximize offse disance 66 while minimizing weigh and drag. Tapered profiles 73 provide increased gliding force o he lure for use working under overhangs and dropping off ledges. Omega profiles 74 include fee 75 o maximize conac beween an exended conrol plane and he srucure he lure is working agains. All he profiles in FIG. 15 include a sabiliy pad such as sabiliy pads 77. The sabiliy pad of each exended conrol plane is insered ino he lure body o preven he exended conrol plane from roaing wihin he lure body when he lure encouners obsacles such a weeds and oher debris in he waer. The exended conrol planes of FIG. 17 may be used in any suiable combinaion and each conrol plane includes reenion barbs 78 on each inserion base such as inserion base 79. Each inserion base is pushed ino he lure body o secure he exended conrol plane o he lure. Loss or desrucion ofa single exended conrol plane may be easily correced and differen combinaions of exended conrol planes and differen orienaions ofhe conrol planes may be used. Any ofhe exended conrol planes offigs. 15, 16 and 17 may be used in any suiable combinaion o achieve an arificial lure ha accuraely mimics a feeding baifish. Exended conrol plane foo 75 of FIG. 18 includes one or more fine srucures such as eeh 80 o increase or conrol he amoun of fricion beween he exended conrol plane and he srucure he exended conrol plane is conacing during fishing. Any suiable srucure such as eeh, brisles, hairs or oher exensions may be used. Increasing fricion beween he exended conrol planes and any encounered srucure slows he decen ofhe lure and improves posiion mainenance of he lure. An alernaive lure o simulae a feeding baifish such as lure 90 of FIG. 19 may be cas or dropped ono or adjacen o srucure 91 having a we, verical surface 92 and a we or dry porion such as surface 93 which exends ou ofwaer 94. Lure 90 may be any suiable one-piece, sof bodied swim bai and includes verical exended conrol plane 96 and horizonal exended conrol plane 97. Feeding baifish lures such as lure 90 may include one or more hooks 98 aached in any suiable porion of he lure body as illusraed. The lengh and siffness of exended conrol planes mus be balanced agains he size, weigh and composiion ofhe lure body seleced. When lure 90 is pulled over or is bounced agains dry porion 93, exended conrol planes 96 and 97 operae wih he mass of he lure and he cener of mass o orien lure 90 uprigh wih nose 90N as close o surface 92 as he exended conrol planes will permi. As lure 90 sinks along surface 92, exended conrol planes 96 and 97 operae o mainain he uprigh, nose-in orienaion as illusraed. In some circumsances, i may be useful o have eiher he verical or horizonal exended conrol planes exending furher ha he oher. For example, feeding baifish lure 100 of FIGS. 20 and 21 is configures o opimize he feeding moion of he lure agains round srucures such a poss, pilings and submerged ree runks such as piling 101. In his configuraion, he ips ofhorizonal conrol plane 102 exend

14 US 9,615,553 B2 9 beyond he ips of verical conrol plane 104. Disance 105 is seleced o correspond o he diameer or oher characerisic of he srucure such as piling 101. Referring now o FIGS. 22 and 23, lure or swim bai 110 is configured wih wo or more body segmens such as firs 5 or head segmen 111 having a lengh 112 which is longer han any oher segmens such as second body segmen 113 wh!ch has a lengh 114 or hird or ail body segmen 115 which has a lengh 116. Lengh 111 may also be approximaely as long as lengh 117 which is he combined lengh 10 of segmens 113 and 115. Any oflures or swim bais ,60,90,100 or 110 may be used wihou any meal w~igh~ or weighs being added o he lure. When being used wihou meal weigh, a nose channel or ube such as ube 118 is insered ino body segmen 111 o form a channel118x for 15 fishing line 1 hrough body segmen 111. Fishing line 1 passes hrough ube 118 and is conneced o any suiable ho.ok suc~ as h~ok 120. Tube 118 may be formed of any suiable hghwelgh maerial. Hook 120 is secured o lure 110 wih a breakable or separable rib 122 which passes 20 hrough eye 120B. If rib 122 is a breakable single piece i may be insered hrough lure body 110B and hrough hook eye 120B o secure he hook o he lure body and provide a ~oin a ~hich rerieve force is applied o he lure by fishing lme 1. RIb 122 may also be a breakable rib formed ino lure 25 body 110B. Rib 122 is sized and dimensioned o absorb rerieve force 123 and o break, separae or oherwise release hook 120 when he hook engages a gamefish. While he preferred embodimens of he devices and mehods have been described in reference o he environ- 30 men in which hey were developed, hey are merely illusraive of he principles of he invenions. The elemens of he various embodimens may be incorporaed ino each of he oher species o obain he benefis of hose elemens in combinaion wih such oher species, and he various ben- 35 eficial feaures may be employed in embodimens alone or in combinaion wih each oher. Oher embodimens and configuraions may be devised wihou deparing from he spiri ofhe invenions and he scope ofhe appended claims. We claim: 1. An arificial fishing lure comprising: a sof lure body having a lifelike profile and longiudinal, verical and horizonal axes, he lure body comprising: a firs body segmen having a lengh; a second body segmen having a lengh; and a ail segmen having a lengh; wherein he firs body segmen lengh is greaer han he second body segmen lengh or he ail segmen lengh; a firs conrol plane removably secured hrough he firs body segmen, he firs conrol plane oriened coplanar o he longiudinal axis and he verical axis ofhe lure body; a second conrol plane removably secured hrough he firs body segmen, he second conrol plane oriened coplanar o he longiudinal axis and he horizonal axis of he lure body; a hird conrol plane removably secured ino he second body segmen, he hird conrol plane oriened coplanar o he longiudinal axis ofhe lure body and he verical axis of he lure body; a fourh conrol plane removably secured hrough he ail segmen, he fourh conrol plane oriened coplanar o he longiudinal and verical axes of he lure body; a fifh conrol plane removably secured hrough he ail segmen, he fifh conrol plane oriened coplanar o he longi~dinal and horizonal axes of he lure body; a prorudmg conrol plane removably secured ino he ail segmen, he proruding conrol plane oriened along and coplanar o he longiudinal axis of he lure body' and ' a rib for securing a fishing hook in he firs body segmen. 2. The arificial lure of claim 1 furher comprising a ube insered in he firs body segmen o form a channel for a fishing line. 3. The arificial lure ofclaim 2 wherein he ube is formed of meal o weigh he lure. 4. The arificial lure ofclaim 2 wherein he ube is formed of lighweigh maerial. 5. The arificial lure of claim 1 wherein he rib is breakable. 6. The arificial lure ofclaim 1 wherein he rib is separable and formed as par of he firs body segmen. 7. The arificial lure of claim 1 wherein he firs and second conrol planes are exended conrol planes. 8. The arificial lure of claim 1 wherein he lengh of he firs body segmen is approximaely equal o he combined lenghs of he second and ail segmens. * * * * *