The present invention relates to a sinker to be used in fishing, preferably when using fishing-tackles in the form of rods, and more particularly to a sinker which is environment friendly and kind to the nature and comprises an elongated body, one end of which is provided with fastening means for a fishing-line.

In different types of fishing with rods sinkers are used to hold the bait at a certain depth or at a certain distance above the bottom.

When fishing with the sinker dragging along the bottom the sinker will sooner or later be jammed between stones or get stuck in other obstacles laying on the bottom and will be lost. An amateur fisherman can lose up to 10-15 sinkers when fishing a whole day. Since the sinkers usually are made of lead the nature will hereby permanently be supplied with large amounts of lead, which is harmful to all living organisms.

It is estimated that about 200 metric tons of lead sinkers are lost annually in this way in Sweden alone.

In some countries it is and in other countries it will be forbidden to use lead sinkers in certain fishing waters, such as rivers and lakes. Thus, a demand for providing a sinker which is environment friendly and kind to the nature arises .

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide such a sinker.

This is achieved according to the invention substantially in that the body is hollow and closed in that end, which is provided with the fastening means, and intended to be filled with a relatively heavy, environment friendly and water- soluble material, preferably lime, and in that the other end of the body is closed by a closure means made of a material,

which dissolves, rusts or corrodes in contact with water to allow water to penetrate into the body and dissolve the material housed therein after the body has been laying in the water a short period of time. Owing to the invention a reduced spreading of lead into the nature is achieved and at the same time the filling material in the sinker may contribute to the reduction of the acidification of the nature, when said material is lime. A non-limiting example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a partially cut plan view of a sinker according to the invention, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the sinker partially filled with lime.

Fig. 1 shows a sinker according to the invention which is environment friendly and kind to the nature. The sinker is made as a hollow elongated body or a tube 1, one end of which is flattened and closed. Fastening means 2 is provided in this end to attach the sinker to a fishing-line (not shown) . At the other end of the tube 1 a closure means 4 is secured, which preferably has the form of a thin plate, which in the preferred embodiment of the invention is press-mounted inside the tube and made of a material which will dissolve, rust or corrode in contact with water. The tube 1 and the plate 4 are preferably made of iron. The tube 1 is intended to be filled with a relatively heavy, environment friendly and preferably water-soluble material 3, as shown in Fig. 2. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the material 3 is lime.

With the sinker according to the invention the great environmental advantage is achieved that with every lost sinker the nature will be limed. Since the plate 4 has small thickness, for instance 0,06 mm, it will rust away or dissolve

fast, so that water will penetrate into the tube 1 and dissolve the lime 3 in the tube.

The lime 3 is preferably granulated dolomite and compressed firmly in the sinker. It can be mentioned, as an example, that a sinker of 50 grams is filled with about 15 grams of lime.