BAIT CARRIER

SEAU POUR LE TRANSPORT D'ALEVINS D'APPAT

English Abstract

Abstract of the Disclosure
A container for live bait such as minnows has a
perforated side wall and a closure at its bottom end.
During the transport, it can be placed into a
complementary bucket to keep the bait in water. The top
of the container is provided with a suspension chain and
is conical to facilitate withdrawal of the container
through a hole in ice when ice fishing.

Claims

The embodiment of the invention in which an
exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as
follows:
1. A container for live bait, said container
having a generally cylindric perforated side wall, an
upper and lower end, an upwardly converging conical tip
secured to the upper end of said container and closure
means, said conical tip having an apex to which is
secured attachment means for a suspension chain, cord or
the like and a base coincident with said upper end and
having the same or a greater diameter than that of the
said container.
2. The container structure of claim 1 wherein the
closure means are located at the lower end of the
container.
3. The container structure of claim 1 wherein the
upwardly converging conical tip is fixedly secured to the
upper end of the container.
4. The container of claim 1 wherein the exterior
surface of the side wall is smooth and generally devoid
of any protrusions, whereby the pulling of the container
from water covered by a layer of ice is facilitated.
5. For use with the container structure of claim
1 or claim 4, a bucket adapted to receive said container,
said bucket having a cross-sectional configuration
complementary to that of said container and being of such
a size as to provide a relatively small clearance between
the exterior of the side walls of the container and the
interior of the bucket so as to allow removal of the
container from the bucket while preventing the container

from tipping inside said bucket.
6. In combination with the container structure of
claim 1 or claim 4, a bucket adapted to receive said
container, said bucket having a cross-sectional
configuration complementary to that of said container and
being of such a size as to provide a relatively small
clearance between the exterior of the side walls of the
container and the interior of the bucket so as to allow
removal of the container from the bucket while preventing
the container from tipping inside said bucket.

Description

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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carrier for
live bait such as minnows and more particularly to a
carrier suitable for use in ice fishing.
3ackground of the Invention
Bait carriers comprising an outer bucket and an
inner perforated container are known. When used for ice
fishing, the outer bucket is filled with water and the
bait placed in the inner container. The carrier is
brought to the fishing site and kept on the ice surface.
Problems can be encountered in that the water in the
bucket can freeze after the carrier has been outside for a
certain period of -time resulting in loss of the bait. The
carrier can also be used, as it usually is, for summer
fishing, i.e. by immersing the perforated container in the
water. However, the containers tend to give rise to
difficulties in pulling them out of the water to retrieve
the bait. The upper end portion of the known container
can get caught under the ice layer making it necessary to
move the container about in the water until it is aligned
with the hole in the ice before being able to pull it out~
An object of the present invention is to provide
a bait carrier which can be used for ice fishing.
Summar of the Invention
Y
In general terms, according to the invention,
there is provided a container structure for live bait.
The structure comprises a container having side walls and
an upper and lower end. An upwardly converging conical tip is
secured to the upper end. The structure further comprises
closure means and attachment means for a suspension chain,
~ord or tha lii~a secured to the apex of the conical tip.
At least the side walls are perforated.
Descri~tion of the Drawings
The present invention will be better understood
through the following detailed description of the
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. . .
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pre~erred embodiment in conjunction with simplified,
diagrammatic drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of the perforated container
according to the present invention;
S FIG, 2 is a side view of the outer bucket
according to the present invention.
Detailed Descri~tion of the Preferred Embodiment
,.
As shown in Fig. 1, a container referred to
generally as 10 has an open-ended cylindrical body 12.
The upper end 14 of the body 12 is closed by a cone-shaped
tip 16 fixedly secured to the body 12. Various
modification~ will occur to those skilled in the art. For
example, the upper end 14 of the container could be closed
and a plurality of upwardly converging rods having their
lower end~ secured to the upper end 14 of the body 12 and
their upper ends secured together could be used instead of
the tip 16. The lower end 18 of the body 12 is closed by
a door 20. The door 20 is secured to the body 12 by a
hinge and is maintained in a closed state by a spring 22.
An eye 24 is attached to the cone-shaped tip 16. A chain,
cord or the like 26 is secured to the eye 24. The
container 10 has perforations 28 thereto.
As shown in Fig. 2, an outer bucket 30 has a
shape complementary to the container 10 and is adapted to
receive the said container 10. The bucket has a
cylindrical body having a closed lower end 32 and an open
upper end 34. A bail handle 36 is secured to the upper
end 34 of the bucke~ 30.
In use, the bait is carried in the container 10
which has been placed in the bucket 30, the latter having
been filled with water. Having reached the fishing site,
the container 10 is remo~ed from the bucket 30 and placed
in the water. If ice fishing, the container 10 is placed
in a hole made in the ice. When bait is required, the
container 10 is removed from the water by pulling on the
chain 26. The cone-shaped tip 16 makes it easier to

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remove the container 10 from the water, especially where
the container is under the ice layer. The container 10 is
then inverted and the door 20 is opened and the bait
retrieved. The door 20 is then closed and the container
10 returned in the water.
While the present invention has been described in
conjunction with a specific embodiment thereof and in a
specific use, various modification will appear to those
skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
:~'

Representative Drawing