Crawfish trap bait guard system and method

Abstract

A crawfish trap bait guard which, in use, is mounted upon the staking rod of a crawfish trap, inside the mesh of the crawfish trap, above the floor of the trap, and below the water line. The crawfish trap bait guard encloses the bait in such a way as to prevent the access of birds and fish to the bait, while allowing crawfish within the trap to obtain managed portions of the bait by reaching through calibrated open areas distributed around the crawfish trap bait guard so as to allow a large number of crawfish to feed at the same time.

Claims

1. A crawfish trap bait guard for a crawfish trap having mesh sides and a staking rod adapted for extending in the crawfish trap, the crawfish trap bait guard comprising: (i) a top collar defining a top opening of a predetermined size; (ii) a bottom piece having a predetermined size that is smaller than the size of the top opening; (iii) a plurality of spaced-apart longitudinal struts secured to and extending between the top collar and the bottom piece; (iv) a plurality of spaced-apart latitudinal struts extending between the top collar and the bottom piece, each of the latitudinal struts having an exterior surface and being connected to each of said longitudinal struts; (v) a mounting panel connected to an exterior surface of each of said latitudinal struts and extending vertically between said top collar and said bottom piece, said mounting panel having a longitudinal axis and being adapted to provide a surface to support mounting of the bait guard to the staking rod of the crawfish trap; and (vi) at least one rod-mount member affixed to said mounting panel and extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the mounting panel, the at least one rod-mount member being adapted to mount the crawfish trap bait guard to the staking rod of the crawfish trap and to hold said crawfish trap bait guard above the bottom of the crawfish trap.

2. A crawfish trap bait guard for a crawfish trap having a bottom underwater to top above water orientation, a top trap opening, mesh sides and bottom, and a staking rod, the crawfish trap bait guard comprising: (i) a top collar defining an inner opening having a top perimeter; (ii) a bottom piece having a perimeter smaller than that of said top collar; (iii) longitudinal struts arrayed around the top perimeter of said top collar with a spacing between adjacent longitudinal struts of the longitudinal struts not exceeding one inch, and extending downward to said bottom piece; (iv) latitudinal struts arrayed between said longitudinal struts with a spacing between adjacent latitudinal struts of the latitudinal struts not exceeding one-half inch, each of said latitudinal struts having an exterior surface; where said longitudinal struts and latitudinal struts define a tapered basket having openings, each opening not exceeding one inch by one-half inch in size; (v) a mounting panel connected to an exterior surface of each of said latitudinal struts and extending between said top collar and said bottom piece, said mounting panel being adapted to provide a surface to support mounting of the bait guard to the staking rod of the crawfish trap; and (vi) at least one rod-mount member arrayed upon said mounting panel, adapted to mount to the staking rod of the crawfish trap, holding said crawfish trap bait guard above the bottom of the crawfish trap; where said crawfish trap bait guard, in use, allows controlled access to the bait by crawfish inside the trap while preventing access by birds, fish, and crawfish outside the trap.

3. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where the inner opening defined by said top collar has a diameter of from four to six inches inclusive.

4. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where the inner opening defined by said top collar has an area of from nineteen to twenty inclusive square inches.

5. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where the inner opening defined by said top collar has an area of substantially twenty square inches.

6. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where said bottom piece has a diameter of from two to three inches inclusive.

7. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where said bottom piece has an area of from twelve to twenty inclusive square inches.

8. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where said bottom piece has an area of substantially twelve square inches.

9. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where the distance between said top collar and said bottom piece is from ten to fourteen inches inclusive.

10. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where the distance between said top collar and said bottom piece is substantially twelve inches.

11. The crawfish trap bait guard of claim 2, where the number of said longitudinal struts is twelve.

12. A crawfish trap bait guard method for use with a crawfish trap having a bottom underwater to top above water orientation, a top trap opening, mesh sides and bottom, and a staking rod, the crawfish trap bait guard method comprising: (i) providing a crawfish trap bait guard apparatus, comprising: (a) a top collar defining an inner opening having a top perimeter; (b) a bottom piece having a perimeter smaller than that of said top collar; (c) longitudinal struts arrayed around the top perimeter of said top collar with a spacing between adjacent longitudinal struts of the longitudinal struts not exceeding one inch, and extending downward to said bottom piece; (d) latitudinal struts arrayed between said longitudinal struts with a spacing between adjacent latitudinal struts of the latitudinal struts not exceeding one-half inch, each of said latitudinal struts having an exterior surface; where said longitudinal struts and latitudinal struts define a tapered basket having openings, each opening not exceeding one inch by one-half inch in size; (e) a mounting panel connected to an exterior surface of each of said latitudinal struts and extending between said top collar and said bottom piece, said mounting panel being adapted to provide a surface to support mounting of the bait guard to the staking rod of the crawfish trap; and (f) at least one rod-mount member arrayed upon said mounting panel, adapted to mount to the staking rod of the crawfish trap; (ii) mounting said crawfish trap bait guard apparatus within a crawfish trap, such that said crawfish trap bait guard is held underwater and is suspended above the bottom of the crawfish trap; (iii) placing bait inside said crawfish trap bait guard apparatus; and (iv) allowing controlled access to the bait by crawfish inside the trap while preventing access by birds, fish, and crawfish outside the trap.

13. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where the inner opening defined by said top collar has a diameter of from four to six inches inclusive.

14. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where the inner opening defined by said top collar has an area of from nineteen to twenty inclusive square inches.

15. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where the inner opening defined by said top collar has an area of substantially twenty square inches.

16. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where said bottom piece has a diameter of from two to three inches inclusive.

17. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where said bottom piece has an area of from twelve to twenty inclusive square inches.

18. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where said bottom piece has an area of substantially twelve square inches.

19. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where the distance between said top collar and said bottom piece is from ten to fourteen inches inclusive.

20. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where the distance between said top collar and said bottom piece is substantially twelve inches.

21. The crawfish trap bait guard method of claim 12, where the number of said longitudinal struts is twelve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a side-view schematic of the crawfish trap bait guard of the invention, in use;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the crawfish trap bait guard of the invention mounted within a crawfish trap;

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective cutaway view of the crawfish trap bait guard of the invention mounted within a crawfish trap;

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the crawfish trap bait guard of the invention; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a section view of the crawfish trap bait guard of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) Referring to schematic FIG. 1, the crawfish trap bait guard 10, in use, is mounted upon the staking rod of a crawfish trap, inside the mesh of the crawfish trap, above the floor of the trap, and below the water surface. The crawfish trap bait guard 10 encloses the bait in such a way as to prevent the access of birds, fish, and amphibians to the bait, while allowing crawfish within the trap to obtain managed portions of the bait by reaching through calibrated open areas distributed around the crawfish trap bait guard 10 so as to allow a large number of crawfish to feed at the same time.

(8) Referring additionally to perspective FIG. 4 and sectional FIG. 5, a top collar 1 is provided, which defines a top opening of the crawfish trap bait guard 10. This top opening is usually sized from 4 to 6 inches inclusive, and the rest of the pieces are sized accordingly, in order to provide a crawfish trap bait guard 10 of the proper size to fit within existing crawfish traps, to hold an adequate amount of bait, and to position the bait away from access outside the trap. Working prototypes of the crawfish trap bait guard 10 have the rough dimensions of 5 inches diameter at the top collar 1, 2 inches diameter at the bottom piece 2, and 12 inches overall length, with 12 longitudinal struts and with 16 bands of latitudinal struts 4.

(9) The crawfish trap bait guard 10 can have a round, oval, or polygonal shape, without significantly affecting its function. The crawfish trap bait guard 10 can be manufactured from a waterproof and semi-rigid plastic, composite, or metal material.

(10) A bottom piece 2 is provided as a bottom end and as an attachment structure for a number of longitudinal struts 3 running from attachments at the top collar 1 to attachments at the bottom piece 2. The bottom piece 2 is sized smaller than the top collar 1, resulting in an overall taper of the crawfish trap bait guard 10. The number of longitudinal struts 3 used is dependent upon the size of the top collar 1, and should result in the spacing of longitudinal struts at a distance approaching, but not exceeding, one inch at the top collar 1.

(11) A number of latitudinal struts 4 are attached to the longitudinal struts 3 from top to bottom at a spacing approaching, but not exceeding, one-half inch. The longitudinal and latitudinal struts define a tapered basket having openings of size not exceeding one inch by one-half inch. The size of these openings allows a crawfish close to the basket to reach in and pinch off a portion of bait, which the crawfish then passes to its mouth. The crawfish is therefore allowed access to the bait, but is prevented from taking too much bait at one time. This controlled access to the bait helps ensure that the bait will last longer and will be available to a larger number of crawfish within the trap. The existence of many openings around the crawfish trap bait guard 10 helps ensure that a larger number of crawfish will have simultaneous access to the bait.

(12) A mounting panel 5 is provided, extending from the top collar 1 to the bottom piece 2, and provides a sufficiently stiff and robust surface to support mounting to the staking rod of the crawfish trap. One or more rod-mount members 6 are attached onto, into, or through the mounting panel 5, providing a sufficient grip on the staking rod to prevent the crawfish trap bait guard from slipping along the rod in use. The illustrated embodiment shows three rod-mount members 6 distributed along the mounting panel 5. A different number of properly configured rod mount members 6 could be used, such as one unit spanning a greater vertical distance, which would still provide the total contact area and gripping strength needed.

(13) Referring to FIG. 2 and cutaway FIG. 3, in use, the crawfish trap bait guard 10 is installed within a standard crawfish trap, on the staking rod, such that it is raised up from the bottom of the trap, is not in contact with the wire mesh of the trap, is under the water surface, and is not excessively close to the above-water top of the trap.

(14) It is an observed characteristic of cranes that, although the bird will place its head down into the above-water tubular top piece of the crawfish trap in order to steal bait, the bird is unwilling to place its head into yet another, underwater, inner enclosure, such as the crawfish trap bait guard 10 provides. Fish and amphibians are prevented from accessing the bait both by the wire mesh of the crawfish trap, which is effective against the larger ones, and by the size and configuration of the openings in the crawfish trap bait guard 10, where, lacking pincers, the fish or amphibian is unable to grasp and remove a piece of the bait. Crawfish outside the crawfish trap are held at too great a distance to reach into the crawfish trap bait guard 10.

(15) Many other changes and modifications can be made in the system and method of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.