Not really inshore report but thought it would be interesting to some of the inshore guys who don’t follow the offshore reports. Took some friends out bottom fishing Friday in 90 ft. Brought along 2 inshore rods(Battle 3000 with 10# test) on the off chance the spade fish were still around. They were still rigged for trout, one with trout trick and the other cork and 1 circle hook. Pulled up to a spot and were surprised to see a small school of dolphin. One of the guys grabbed the TT and threw it before I could tell him not to and hooked up. Put a finger mullet on the cork and hooked the second and third. Got all 3 in the boat.
I talked to the guys at Haddrels last week. They said he was doing better but still had health issues. He sold the Trout Tricks to a company, I think the one that makes the Z man baits. Hopefully that will ease some of the financial pressures associated with his illness.
It was the Gambler 5" Stud. The Chatterbait is protected by two patents, Trade Dress (non-functional look of the lure with the hexagonal blade), and multiple trademarks. There was no intellectual property associated with the 5" Stud, so there is no issue.
quote:Originally posted by pitcher
quote:Originally posted by DFreedom
Yes, I was told TT was sold to Z-Man.
That’s odd. The TT looks identical to a bait Gambler discontinued several years ago, it was either the Ace or the Stud, can’t remember which.
As much as Zman has gone after other companies for patent infringement on the Chatterbait, it would be ironic if Gambler did the same thing to them.
I assumed Bob bought the rights to the Stud when Gambler quit making it, I figured they may have added some legalese to it to keep a bigger competitor from marketing it.
No, there are no intellectual property rights on the shape of a piece of plastic unless there was a design patent issued on the product. Design patents are virtually useless as any slight modification in shape, tapering, appendages, etc. would have the ability to “get around” a design patent. The most useful patents are utility patents because they cover function vs. form. It’s very tough (and expensive) to get utility patents approved on fishing lures and accessories. There have been less than a handful of lures that have been granted meaningful utility patents in the past 50 years. The Chatterbait is 1 of the select few. In 2006-2007, there were 70+ knock-offs of the Chatterbait before the first patent issued. Now…not so much.
quote:Originally posted by pitcher
Good info, Rad.
I assumed Bob bought the rights to the Stud when Gambler quit making it, I figured they may have added some legalese to it to keep a bigger competitor from marketing it.
Absolutely incorrect! They discontinued the 5" Stud. They have a Super Stud now which is a Super Fluke knock-off. The 5" Stud was most likely before your time in fishing. That particular bait you posted though looks like it would be great for trout even though it is slightly smaller.
