as indicated in the summary , the bait is comprised of a water soluble moldable body which is provided by a mixture of a cellulose ether and a polyalkylene glycol with a sufficient amount of water to provide a dough or putty - like consistency . the body is water soluble and with the exception of a small amount of particulate material will eventually dissolve completely in water . the rate of dissolution and thereby dispersion of any attractant , therein will depend largely on the concentration and molecular weight of the cellulose ether and polyalkylene glycol employed . the higher the molecular weight the slower the rate of dispersion dissolution . the cellulose ethers are readily available commercially and are well known . they are generally prepared from alkali cellulose reacted with etherification agents , such as alkyl halides , halocarboxylic acids , dialkyl sulfates and alkylene oxides . the cellulose ethers include methylcellulose , hydroxyethyl cellulose , hydroxypropyl cellulose , methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose , ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose , methylhydroxybutyl cellulose , carboxymethyl cellulose , carboxymethyl methyl cellulose , hydroxyethyl hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose , methyl hydroxyethyl cellulose and the like . of these methyl cellulose ( mc ), hydroxyethyl cellulose ( hec ) and carboxymethyl cellulose ( cmc ) are preferred . generally the molecular weight of the cellulose ether is determined by the molecular weight of the cellulose pulp employed in its preparation . in this invention , the cellulose ethers have a molecular weight between about 100 , 000 to 500 , 000 , preferably between 250 , 000 to 300 , 000 . the polyalkylene glycols employed in the invention are those in which the alkylene group contains 2 or 3 carbon atoms . the polyethylene glycols are preferred and are available commercially . the products employed herein will have a molecular weight in the range of about 10 , 000 to 6 million , preferably above 100 , 000 with the preferred being about 5 million . based on the total bait composition , in which all optimal ingredients which may form a part of the moldable body , the composition by weight will range from about 15 to about 50 % water , about 5 to about 20 % cellulose ether and about 0 . 1 to about 5 % polyethylene glycol . based on only the three components , cellulose ether , polyethylene glycol and water , the cellulose ether will comprise about 8 to 71 % by weight and the polyethylene glycol about 0 . 1 to 20 % by weight with water being the remainder , about 37 - 90 % by weight . the amount of water present in the total composition will depend largely on the concentration of the cellulose ether and polyethylene glycol and the molecular weights thereof and any liquid optional ingredient in the formulation , and will be adjusted to provide the desired moldable , consistency and feel properties of the bait . in some cases the moldable body may be somewhat tacky , requiring the addition of an anti - tack or anti - tacking agent . while a wide variety of agents are available for such purpose the preferred reagents are the alkylene glycols such as ethylene glycol or propylene glycol . propylene glycol is the preferred agent and is compatible with the composition and retains the appropriate feel of the moldable body . the amount employed is an amount effective to eliminate or minimize tackiness . in general , this will be an amount of from about 1 to 40 % of the total composition , largely dependent on the particular cellulose ether and polyalkylene glycol employed . a bait will generally include an attractant . the attractant to be incorporated into the present formulation may be any material or combination of materials which attract or stimulate aquatic life , such as fish and crustaceans , to feed . a wide variety of attractants , including those cited in the background prior art discussed in commonly assigned u . s . pat . no . 4 , 826 , 691 , have been found to be suitable . for example , u . s . pat . no . 2 , 874 , 048 , describes powdered bone meal , powdered food solids and powdered anise as having an attractant action on fish . u . s . pat . no . 2 , 979 , 778 recommends rhodinyl acetate for its attractant action . in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 410 , 689 , suitable powdered materials described as attractive to fish and crustaceans are dehydrated fish meal , dried slaughterhouse waste products , powdered fish , egg , dried milk products and molasses . u . s . pat . no . 3 , 875 , 302 describes fish powders and synthetic spices having a smell similar to that of fish meal , fish oil , stale fish or shell fish . very useful attractants stimulating to both fish and crustaceans are described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 245 , 420 and in the references cited therein . u . s . pat . no . 4 , 576 , 821 , describes powdered fish or fish meal as an attractant for fish crustaceans . suitable attractants for use in the present formulation are also created by using single or mixed attractant materials such as krill powder , pulverized dried sardine , spray dried inactivated and / or autolyzed yeast , powdered squid , borax , wood flour , bentonite , pulp fibers , and cellulosic materials ( japan 61 / 162141 a2 [ 86 / 162141 ], japan 61 / 260841 a2 [ 86 / 260841 ], japan 59 / 98637 a2 [ 84 / 98637 ], brit . gb 1567846 ). dicarboxylic amino acids and other amino acids , such as glutamic and aspartic acids , are described as species - specific fish attractants in shparkovskii , et al ., chemical abstracts 102 ( 15 ): 129168q . individual amine compounds , such as betaine , glycine , alanine , taurine , tryptamine , and tyramine , have been identified as having an attractant effect , but mixtures are nearly always more effective than single compounds . academic study of fish behavior relating to chemoreception describes a wide variety of attractant materials suitable for use in the present formulation . very useful attractant are disclosed in the following publications : hara , toshiaki j ., &# 34 ; chemoreception ,&# 34 ; fish physiology , vol . 5 , 1971 , pp . 79 - 120 , academic press inc . hara , toshiaki j ., &# 34 ; olfaction in fish ,&# 34 ; progress in neurobiology , vol . 5 , part 4 , 1975 , pp . 271 - 335 , pergamon press . hara , toshiaki j . ( ed . ), &# 34 ; chemoreception in fishes ,&# 34 ; developments in aquaculture and fisheries science , 8 , 1982 , elsevier scientific publishing co . pitcher , tony j . ( ed . ), &# 34 ; the role of olfaction in fish behavior ,&# 34 ; the behavior of teleost fishes , 1986 , pp . 152 - 176 , the johns hopkins university press . the percentage of attractant in the present formulation is determined primarily by the nature of the specific attractant material . certain attractants , which have an extremely concentrated attractive effect on aquatic life , may be used in the present formulation in amounts as low as between about 0 . 1 - 10 weight percent of the total formulation . when bulky or general attractants , such as powdered fish meal , are used in the present formulation , they are generally present in an amount of at least about 5 weight percent of the total formulation . broadly , formulation of the present invention containing amounts of attractant in the range of between about 0 . 1 - 80 weight percent of the total formulation have been found to be effective in luring aquatic life . mixtures of two or more artificial or synthetic attractants may be employed . different colored baits are desired by fishing persons and believed to also attract certain species of fish . accordingly , colors are generally added to the bait to provide moldable baits of a variety of colors . thus , dyes and pigments , commercially available are added in liquid or powdered form during the preparation of the bait , such as red , pink , orange or yellow dyes and titanium dioxide for white colored baits . the amount of colorant added is dependent largely on the color level desired and will generally not exceed 3 or 4 % by weight of the total composition in the case of the dyes , or 15 % in the case of a pigment used , such as titanium dioxide . preservatives are generally added to the bait formulation , particularly in view of the use of natural attractants therein and the length of storage time between manufacture and use of the bait . in general it is not necessary to exceed about 3 % by weight of the bait composition to provide an effective amount of preservative . illustrative of some of the preservaties are potassium sorbate , dmdm hydantoin , 1 , 3 - dimethylol - 5 , 5 - dimethyl - hydantoin ( available commercially from mcintyre chemical company ), and germall ii , n -( hydroxymethyl )- n -( 1 , 3 - dihydroxy - methyl - 2 , 5 - dioxo - 4 - imidazolidinyl )- n -( hydroxymethyl ) urea , ( available commercially from sutton labs ). the parabens also , methyl , propyl , and the combination of ( available commercially from inolex personal care products or mallinekrodt ), butylated hydroxyanisole , bha ; 3 , 5 - di tert - butyl - 4 - hydroxyanisole , and butylated hydroxytoluene , bht ; 2 , 6 - di - tert - butyl - p - cresol , ( both available commercially from kraft chemical co . ), citric acid , sorbic acid , and sodium propionate ( available from universal preservachem , inc .) chelating agents such as edta ; ethylenediaminetetracetic acid , hamp - ene acid and sodium salts of hamp - ene , ( available commercially from organic chemicals division , w . r . grace co .) may also be added to the composition . where buoyancy is a requirement hollow glass microspheres may be added to the bait composition in an amount up to about 20 % by weight of the bait composition to provide the desired degree of buoyancy . the present invention also is directed to the method of preparation of the moldable bait . while large scale commercial production may depart therefrom , small batch preparation illustrates the method . the primary advantage of the method of the present invention lies in the fact that there is no need for elevated temperature and the preparation is carried out at ambient room temperature . the blending of the cellulose ether , polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol with water is exothermic and some heat is evolved which will slightly raise the temperature above room temperature . the temperature will not rise up to 90 ° f . and generally will not exceed 80 ° f . such temperature will not decompose or degrade any active ingredients present such as the attractants , preservatives and other optional agents present . in preparing the bait of the present invention the cellulose ether and the polyethylene glycol are blended along with any anti - tack agent , and optionally an attractant . in a separate vessel there is mixed with the water ( deionized ) the preservatives and chelating agent and colorants . the attractant such as the fishmeal , and the micropheres of glass , if employed , are then added . the components as given below , in the amounts by weight indicated , were mixed following the method described above . ______________________________________ % by weightcomponent a b c d______________________________________water ( deionized ) 41 . 5 38 . 6 36 . 3 28 . 3sodium carboxymethyl 15 . 5 15 . 0 13 . 9 6 . 8cellulose - molecularweight between 250 , 000to 300 , 000 ( 7m 31 - t ) polyethylene glycol . 4 . 4 . 5 . 3 ( mw . 5 , 000 , 000 ) preservative 1 . 6 1 . 6 1 . 8 1 . 9anti - tacking agent 26 . 8 25 . 3 24 . 3 19 . 7 ( propylene glycol ) attractant 4 . 2 5 . 0 9 . 6 41 . 0chelating agent 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0 2 . 0 ( edta ) dye or pigment 1 . 0 3 . 6 11 . 6 red titanium titanium dioxide dioxideglass microspheres 7 . 0 8 . 5______________________________________ the foregoing baits composed as shown above , were semi rigid , moldable , semi non - tacky baits . the baits could be molded about a hook in varying shapes and forms . bait a was a red bait while bait b and c are white baits . bait d was formulated as a natural colored bait . similar baits are also formulated for most species of fish . the use of deionized water is preferred in the baits as shown in the examples although it is recognized that &# 34 ; water &# 34 ; as referred to herein can be interpreted to refer to aqueous solutions of salts , starches , sugars and alcohols or the like in concentrations which would produce similar results without departing from the invention as claimed below .
a bait or lure for fish and method of making same . the bait is comprised of a water soluble moldable body having a controlled rate of dispersion in water and a dough or putty - like consistency capable of being formed about a hook . the body is comprised of a cellulose ether and a polyalkylene glycol , such as polyethylene glycol , blended with water in a sufficient amount to form a moldable body of dough - like consistency with a slimy life - like feel when wet .