An auditory fish attractant

Abstract

A fish attractant 100 comprising an effervescent component adapted to generate gas 30 through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water 20. A tuning component dampens gas generation such th

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a fish attractant, which may be particularly suitable for attracting cyprinids. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Classic predatory fish (e.g., pike, barracuda) possess 3 defining characteristics: an ambush nature, large eyes, and sharp teeth. Other, technical, predatory fish (e.g., carp and barbel) follow detectable patterns observed when locating their prey. Classic predatory fish generally rely on sight to detect and hunt prey, whereas technical predatory fish are prompted to investigate noises, shapes, smells and vibrations that correlate to the detectable patterns of their prey. Furthermore, technical predatory fish, especially carp, have an innate level of curiosity to investigate new and unusual noises, shapes, smells and vibrations. Synthetically repeating said patterns can be used to control the behaviour and thereby attract fish to a target area. Indeed, means for attracting fish that leverage the sight and / or smell senses of fish are widely used for angling purposes. Lures, for example, that are designed to attract ‘sight feeders’ (i.e., fish whose predominant sense is vision), will often comprise reflective surfaces that, when catching light, stimulate the optic centres. Berley is widely used as a means of attracting fish by virtue of its distinctive odour and thus is attractive to fish whose predominant sense is chemo-reception, and specifically attuned to the particular recipe of the Berley being used at the time. In the carp and barbel fishing scene, in practically all cases, attractants for these fish appeal to just these two main senses (sight and smell). However, carp and barbel possess several more senses than these. Further, there are many possible improvements for attracting fish within these senses (i.e., better utilising the senses available to fish to attract the fish to a certain area. Generally, existing means for attracting fish simply attempt to provide input to sensory organs of fish. In other words, existing means either ensure that they can be seen or smelt by the fish, without specifically manipulating the behaviour of the fish. Looks, noises, and smells affected by existing attractants may not be of interest to the fish, and in many cases may cause fish to vacate a certain area due to triggering of a survival response. As a result, effectiveness of the attractant may be low, thus reducing success of a corresponding angling attempt. Accordingly, there exists a need for a high efficacy fish attractant. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is defined by the claims. According to examples in accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a fish attractant, a cyprinid attractant, and a method of manufacturing a fish attractant. The fish attractant comprises an effervescent component adapted to generate gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water; a tuning component adapted to dampen the generation of gas by the effervescent component such that the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of I kHz to 4kHz; and a binding component adapted to combine the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water. In some embodiments, the fish attractant may further comprise a bag for encasing the solid mixture. The bag may comprise one or more holes configured to allow passage of water and the generated gas. Each of the one or more holes may be a pinhole. Furthermore, the one or more holes may be unevenly distributed across the surface of the bag. Specifically, the one or more holes may be provided on one side of the bag (e g., on the top of the bag. As a result, a volcanic effect may be achieved when using the fish attractant that disperses food materials that are in the bag, out of its top, which in so doing, creates an enlarged chemical detection zone. Alternatively, the one or more holes may be evenly distributed across the surface of the bag. The bag may be formed of a water soluble material. For example, the bag may be formed of polyvinyl acetate. Of course, other water soluble materials are known to the skilled person and may be used to form the bag, and the suitability thereof for forming the bag may be ascertained in a straightforward manner by routine experimentation. In some embodiments, the effervescent component may comprise an acidic part and an alkali part. The acidic part may be formed of at least one of citric acid, ascorbic acid, tartaric acid, and succinic acid. The alkali part may be formed of at least one of, a metal carbonate, a metal bicarbonate (e.g., sodium bicarbonate), and a hydrogen carbonate salt. Of course, other acids or alkalis are known to the skilled person and may be used as the acidic part or the alkali part, and the suitability thereof may be easily ascertained by routine experimentation. In some embodiments, the binding component may be formed of at least two liquids. The at least two liquids may have different viscosities. Specifically, the binding component may comprise at least one of an ethanol-based liquid, a water-based liquid, and an oil-based liquid (e.g., shrimp oil). Furthermore, in some cases the solid mixture may comprise one or more pockets for retaining air until the solid mixture is dissolved in water. In some embodiments, the tuning component may be formed of a dried flaky material. Specifically, the tuning component may be formed of powdered particles of fish and / or ecological components Namely, the powdered particles of fish may comprise powdered shrimp, powdered daphnia and fishmeal. The tuning component may be (further or alternatively) formed of one or more green components. The green components may comprise powdered seaweed, alum, and ground camellia sinensis leaves. The fish attractant may also comprise a colouration component adapted to dull the color of the solid mixture. In this case, the binding component may be further adapted to combine the colouration component in the solid mixture until dissolved in water. In particular, the colouration component may be formed of one or more of a red powdered colouring, a blue powdered colouring, a brown powdered colouring, a green powdered colouring, and a yellow powdered colouring. In some embodiments, the fish attractant further comprises a weighting component adapted to increase the density of the solid mixture. In this case, the binding component may be further adapted to combine the weighting component in the solid mixture until dissolved in water. Moreover, the solid mixture may have a substantially spherical shape or a substantially cylindrical shape. According to examples in accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a cyprinid attractant comprising: an effervescent component adapted to generate gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water; a tuning component adapted to dampen the generation of gas by the effervescent component such that the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of 1 to 4Hz; and a binding component adapted to combine the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water. According to further examples in accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a fish attractant, comprising: mixing an effervescent component and a tuning component, wherein the effervescent component and the tuning component are formed of dried powders; adding the binding component to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component to provide a solid mixture, wherein the binding component is formed of a liquid; compressing the solid mixture; and baking the compressed mixture. In some embodiments, adding the binding component may comprise gradually providing the binding component to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component using an atomizer while mixing the binding component, effervescent component and tuning component. In addition, the compressed mixture may be baked in an arid environment. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 depicts the fish attractant in use; Figure 2 presents a cylindrical embodiment of the fish attractant having one or more pockets for retaining air; and Figure 3 shows a spherical embodiment of the fish attractant in a bag having one or more unevenly distributed holes; Figure 4 shows a spherical embodiment of the fish attractant in a bag having one or more evenly distributed holes; and Figure 5 shows a cuboid embodiment of the fish attractant in a bag having one or more unevenly distributed holes on top of the attractant; and Figure 6 is a flow diagram of a method of manufacturing the fish attractant. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The invention will be described with reference to the Figures. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the apparatus, systems and methods, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus, systems and methods of the present invention will become better understood from the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. It should be understood that the Figures are merely schematic and are not drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same reference numerals are used throughout the Figures to indicate the same or similar parts. Disclosed concepts provide a fish attractant that fizzes upon contact with water. Specifically, there is provided an effervescent component and tuning component combined in a solid mixture by a binding component until dissolved in water. The effervescent component generates gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water, causing the fizzing reaction / effect. The tuning component is configured to dampen the generation of gas so that the generation produces a sound within a frequency range of 1kHz to 4kHz. Accordingly, the sound generated by the fish attractant imitates that typically produced by shrimp and stridulating creatures, which may be particularly suitable for attracting cyprinids (e.g., carp, barbel and true minnow). Whilst generation of gas by an effervescent component may attract attention of nearby fish due to the resultant noise, it has been realized that it is desirable to tune said noise to actively encourage the nearby fish to investigate the noise. There may be some noises that fish are not interested in, and other noises that fish actively avoid (e.g., due to being associated with danger / predators). Thus, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a fish attractant (i.e., lure) that produces a noise that fish actively seek out. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention incorporate a tuning component with the effervescent component. Said tuning component tunes (i.e. dampens) the generation of the gas by the effervescent component. In this way, the generation of gas results in the production of sound with a frequency range of 1kHz to 4kHz. Few existing fish attractants and lures are configured to generate gas upon contact with water. This generation of gas is employed to provide a plume effect, dispersing active ingredients for attraction of nearby fish, and to generate noise. However, said existing attractants rely on the fact that noise generally attracts fish, but do not target any particular noise to attract fish. Indeed, said attractants typically rely on the lateral line system of the fish (i.e. the ability of fish to feel vibrations). Additional elements may be added to said existing fish attractants for the purposes of weighting, or to appeal to other senses (e.g., glitter to prompt the visual system of nearby fish, bait or berley to prompt the olfactory or taste systems of nearby fish). However, no work has been done to tune the noise made by the gas generation component of fish attractants to be more appealing to other, as yet untapped, sense systems of fish. Namely, the auditory sense has not been effectively exploited by any existing means, and may be particularly effective in specific situations where the noises would naturally occur. Thus, embodiments of the invention emit a specific frequency, plus have the capacity to plume bait forming part of the fish attractant to create an enlarged chemical detection zone. To be more specific, there exist lures that make sounds (e.g., poppers, or rattles). However, these lures are generally designed solely to attract classic predator fish (i.e., large eyed, sharp toothed, ambush type fish). These lures attract these fish by use of vibrations made by the mechanical components of the lure. To the human ear, these lures make noise when moved, but they are not appealing to the auditory sense system of fish. For example, a small plastic bead inside a hollow plastic container does make a rattle sound to our ears when moved, which may be detectable by these predator’s auditory systems. However, since these predator’s auditory systems are not their primary hunting sense (sight and their lateral line organ are), it is the vibrations caused by the pea as it hits the inside of the hollow container when that attract these fish. An identical hollow container with an identical pea inside it would, if the pea was coated in a soft material and the inside of the container was lined with a soft material (such that the sound of the pea against the inside of the container made no discernible sound to humans) would still impart the same effect to these predator fish. In other words, while existing lures may make noise, they specifically target classic predatory fish (i.e. ambush sight feeders, such as pike and barracuda) because they cause vibrations of the water picked up by lateral line systems, rather than stimulating the auditory system of fish. Indeed, whilst humans do sense that these things make noise - these lures do not exploit noise to attract these fish. That is, the auditory senses of the predator fish may well be capable of detecting these sound produced by these devices, but they do not attract the predator fish by sound as the present invention does. In the case of the technical predator (e.g., carp and barbel), the opposite is true. Their auditory systems are predominant (especially at night and in turbid waters) Thus, targeting this specific sense (one that is pre-dominant in certain situations), presents a new advancement in current carp and barbel fishing. By way of explanation, most fish have highly sensitive structures within their inner ears for detection of sound, called otoliths. The range of frequency of hearing of different species of fish vary greatly. For example, salmonids and perches are only able to detect low frequency (< 1 kHz) sounds. Other fish that specialise in hearing, such cyprinids, catfishes and mormyrids, have a relatively wide range of hearing (e.g., up to several kHz). Furthermore, in general, noises in a higher frequency range will be produced by prey of many fish. That is, noise in a higher (but still audible) frequency range may be associated by fish with prey, whilst noise in a lower frequency range may simply be considered ambient noise by the fish and thus of little interest. Of course, attractants aim to be as intriguing / attractive to fish as possible, and therefore targeting the generation of such noises is key to improving the efficacy of an auditory-based fish attractant. To achieve this, it has been realised that, by mixing a tuning component in to the effervescent component of the fish attractant, the frequency of the noise generated as a result of the generation of gas may be tuned to be in a frequency range that is particularly enticing for fish. That is, sound in frequency ranges either unheard or not intriguing to fish may not be generated by embodiments of the proposed attractant, with only sound produced in frequency ranges known to be attractive to fish. Specifically, the tuning component dampens the generation of gas by the effervescent component such that the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of 1kHz to 4kHz. Sound in this frequency range may be particularly, but not exclusively, attractive to cyprinids, as they typically prey on creatures that produce noise in this frequency range. Such creatures may include shrimp, stridulating creatures such as aquatic invertebrates, insects, and crustaceans such as crayfish when shedding shells. In addition, bloodworm beds emit sound in this frequency range. Many worms writhe in silt, which produces a sound in this frequency range. Thus the device generating sound in this frequency range may be particularly effective when the device is weighted to sink into silt where bloodworm reside). Embodiments of the fish attractant are solid when not in use, such that they may be transported and handled in a straightforward manner. This is achieved by the provision of a binding component that combines the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water. Accordingly, an angler may be able to store and transport the fish attractant in solid form before deployment. Deployment of the fish attractant 100 is depicted in a simplified manner in Fig. 1. Specifically, the angler 10 may place, throw or otherwise position the fish attractant 100 in a body of water 20. For example, the body of water 20 may be a pond, lake, river, or shallow sea. Furthermore, given sufficient compression of the fish attractant 100, and particular selection of the parts thereof, the fish attractant 100 may sink into the body of water 20 (as shown). Preferably, the fish attractant 100 may be dense enough to contact the bed of the body of water 20. As a result, the production of noise by generation of gas may occur in a location that correlates to experience / memory of the target fish. That is, the produced noise may imitate that of shrimp, which may typically be found near the bed of the body of water 20. Of course, different densities may be desirable for different applications, and therefore the fish attractant 100 may not necessarily be configured to contact the bed of the body of water 20. For example, it may be desirable for the fish attractant 100 to float above the bed of the body of water 20 in some cases, or to float closer to the surface. This may be beneficial, for example, if the body of water 20 is very deep. This may enhance the zone for detection by fish from above (i.e. components of the fish attractant 100 may fall down, like snow), in contrast to a plume or eruption effect which causes components of the fish attractant upwards. Upon contact with water the binding component begins to dissolve. At the same time the effervescent component starts to generate gas 30 (by a chemical reaction) upon contact with the water. Thereby, components of the fish attractant 100 may be ejected by the generation of gas 30 into the surrounding water, and may be caused to rise by the generated gas 30. This may be referred to as a volcanic, or feed plume, effect, similar to when fish consume food on the waterbed generating an enhanced chemical detection zone. Thus, due to the fish attractants 100 mechanical effect (i.e., its effervescence) that disperses food particles (from below and / or above) to create an enhanced chemical detection zone, fish may be attractable from further away. Of two methods of fishing - one that utilises plumes / snow-falls as generated by the fish attractant of the present invention, and one that does not - a fish that would have been too far away from a normal fishing set-up may now be attractable. Thus, the efficacy of the attractant 100 may be improved by virtue of an expanded chemical detection zone in addition to its prey-mimic sound production. Accordingly, a large detection zone may be created by the generation of gas 30 and the dissolving of the fish attractant 100. Simultaneously, the generation of gas 30 results in the production of sound / noise. The generation of gas 30 is dampened by the tuning component such that the resultant noise may attract nearby fish in an effective and efficient manner. In particular, the noise generated will be in a frequency range between l-4kHz, thus better imitating the sound of shrimp and other stridulating creatures. The angler 10 may then position a device 40 for capturing the fish within or near the detection zone, and may have increased success in capturing fish due to the increased density of fish in the area because of the detection zone. For example, angler 10 may place the device 40 on, or near to, where a shrimp or other stridulating creature may typically reside (i.e., a natural food bed). This may increase the efficacy of the fish attractant 100 by virtue of various hard-wired associations fish may have with these particular locations. Overall, these various advantages and modes of attracting fish by the fish attractant 100 stack-up to provide a more effective fish attractant 100. That is, the fish is stimulated by a pattern of environmental conditions that the fish may associate with shrimp and other stridulating creatures (i.e., the noise, source of the noise, and widened chemical detection zone), so as to improve the chance that the fish will be encouraged to enter the angler’s 10 desired volume of the body of water 20 (either for catching the fish, or simply for observation). Staking is the phenomenon whereby the number of the key features (key cues) in a fishing set-up have been increased by the angler, so that, in the increased total, they are enough to trigger the fish to investigate and / or eat (conversely, where the number of cues is low, or relies mainly on the sight and smell approaches, this might not be enough to trigger the desired fish response). Embodiments of the provided invention implement staking to brings about a number of key cues that in total trigger an action, which in lesser degrees (fewer key cues) would not be enough to elicit the desired action of the fish. Advantages and feature of embodiments of the present invention may include: (i) Emission of sound giving an imitation of the sound of shrimp, by virtue of the dampening of the generation of gas. Furthermore, the fish attractant may be configured to have a long duration of gas generation / fizz, so that a life-like nature of the sound is assured; (ii) A lessened spook factor resulting from the use of a colouration component to dull the look of the fish attractant, and the use of dried flaky material to bestow a speckled appearance; (iii) The fish attractant may be modified to better imitate prey sound by varying the intensity of the gas generation (i.e. a magnitude of the sound generated by the gas). For example, variation in the intensity of gas generation may be achieved by providing additional air pockets in the fish attractant, thereby allowing water to ingress at a faster rate. In this case, the frequency of the gas escape is not narrowed, as a very thorough mix and greater compaction of the ingredients (constituent parts) of the fish attractant would bring about. In contrast, by allowing pockets to form inside the device (by a looser mix), better replication of natural sounds may be achieved. Nonetheless, an embodiment that comprises both densely packed ingredients, as well as, some looser packed parts, as handmade variants can produce, provides for varied density and thus a greater degree of mimicry in the right situation; (iv) It may be dropped specifically to a certain part of the bed of the body of water, thereby better enacted in a location at which fish would expect to locate the sound of shrimp. Furthermore, the generation of gas on the bed may cause (either directly, or by affecting movement of the fish attractant) a stirring of the bed of the body of water, further increasing a feed plume effect. That is, the fish attractant may deliver a natural feed cue; Specific components, compositions, and optional features of the fish attractant will now be discussed in detail. In particular, the fish attractant comprises at least an effervescent component, a damping component, and a binding component. Optionally, the fish attractant may further comprise a colouration component, a weighting component, one or more air pockets, and a green component. Furthermore, the fish attractant may be encased in a bag. As shown in Figure 2, when in a solid mixture (i.e. before contact / dissolving in water) by virtue of the binding component, the fish attractant may be substantially cylindrical shaped. In some embodiments, the fish attractant may be substantially spherical (i.e. ball) shaped. Alternatively, the fish attractant may be cuboid, or square shaped. Selection of the shape of the fish attractant enables a modification of the sound produced by the fish attractant. A spherically shaped fish attractant will generally dissolve / decay evenly, such that the generation of gas as the fish attractant dissolves may stay relatively constant (or slowly decrease) and is universally radial (i.e., the sound emits in all directions at once). In contrast, an irregularly shaped fish attractant (e.g., a cylindrical or cuboid) may dissolve / decay unevenly, meaning that the noise will not be delivered in all direction at one time. Said uneven dissolving may lead to variations in the rate of generation of gas, and thus production of sound is of a different / irregular sound emission pattern (irregular). Accordingly, the sound produced by the fish attractant of an irregular shape may be less monotonic than the fish attractant of a substantially spherical shape. Combining said shape and density (to mention 2 elements) provides for an improved attractant for the fish. Of course, other shapes are possible, and their relative advantages obvious in light of the above description. To reiterate, with increasing irregularity of shape, the fish attractant may be dissolved in a more irregular manner, leading to a sound that may better mimic prey. As also seen in Fig. 2, the fish attractant may have one or more air pockets 110 (when in a solid mixture). The one or more pockets 110 retain air until the solid mixture is dissolved in water. By providing one or more air pockets 110, an intensity of the generation of the gas by the effervescent component may be increased. This is due to water entering the air pockets 110 as the fish attractant dissolves, thus dissolving at a faster rate. That is, a greater surface area of the fish attractant may be exposed to the water at a faster rate, resulting in a faster generation of gas by the effervescent component. In turn, this will lead to a louder but less harsh (i.e., softer) sound (and potentially more uneven sound, as water sporadically enters air pockets and areas of varying density 110). This may be beneficial for attracting certain fish. This may also be beneficial for attracting fish over a larger area since a real life shrimp bed, which would naturally consist of a range of different shrimp (due to varying ages, and gender balances, with different shrimp generating different sounds at certain times). As a result, a number and size of the air pockets 110 may be chosen to achieve a desirable magnitude of fizz / generation of gas, and resultant sound generation. It should be noted that, in some cases, it may be desirable to have few or no air pockets 110 in order to ensure an increased duration of generation of gas. This may be beneficial when the fish attractant 100 is mainly used for pluming, for example. Turning to the constituent parts of the fish attractant, the effervescent component is adapted to generate gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water. That is, a chemical reaction involving, or instigated by, water and the effervescent component generates gas. The effervescent component may comprise an acidic part and an alkali part. More specifically, the effervescent component may comprise an acidic part, such as citric acid, ascorbic acid, tartaric acid succinic acid and a metal carbonate, metal bicarbonate (e.g., sodium bicarbonate), or hydrogen carbonate salt. The combination of the acidic part and the carbonate do not react when in a solid mixture. However, when placed in water the acidic part and the alkali salt part react to generate gas. Accordingly, the effervescent component may simply produce carbon dioxide gas. This is non-toxic in the amounts (which are tiny) delivered by embodiments of the invention, and therefore safe and ecologically friendly for use in bodies of water with wildlife. Of course, this produces the same by-product as produced when vegetable matter decays in fresh water. The tuning component is adapted to dampen the generation of gas by the effervescent component. As a result, the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of 1kHz to 4kHz (i.e. the frequency range of sound produced by typical prey of fish, such as shrimp or other stridulating creatures). This tuning of the sound generated by the effervescent component when in contact with water enables an improved imitation of the sounds that are naturally intriguing to the fish. More specifically, the imitation may be more like shrimp and other stridulating creatures compared to a fish attractant not comprising a damping component. Generally, the tuning component is formed of a dried flaky material. The dried flaky material may bestow a speckled look to the fish attractant, thereby reducing the potential for spooking fish as something with an unnatural appearance could. In particular, the tuning component may be formed of powdered particles of fish. The powdered particles of fish may comprise, for example, powdered shrimp, powdered daphnia and fishmeal. Powdered particles of fishmeal may be particularly beneficial as the damping component, because the powdered composition of the fishmeal is near weightless. In the correct mixture, the fishmeal may both dampens the intensity of fizz, and provides for an optimal dispersal. Alternatively, or additionally, the tuning component may be formed of one or more green components. The green components may comprise powdered seaweed, alum, and ground camellia sinensis leaves. Each of these components benefits the environment where the fish attractant is used. Seaweed buffers the effect of acidification. Indeed, fisheries that overuse baits that can be high in some oils (which are in turn high in erucic acid and increase the pH of water), and seaweed may be used to counteract this. Seaweed also feeds micro-organisms, thus benefiting for the local food chain, as well as shrimp and fish that are herbivorous or omnivorous. Furthermore, seaweed curtails the negative effects of farm run off. Seaweed requires nitrogen and phosphorous to grow. Farm run off (and sewerage plants) provides these. Seaweed also curtails the onset of algal blooms, which are a negative event for fisheries. Powdered alum used in tiny quantities may reduce phosphorous, has bacteriostatic properties (helps prevent blooms), removes pathogens, and aids decomposition of organic matter on the lakebed (detritus to feed the microbial bottom up food chain). Camellia sinensis (i.e., tea chaff) binds up chromium. In other words, camellia sinensis may be provided to absorb chromium. Petro-chemical contamination and combustion engine contamination, as the result of human activity, accumulates on road surfaces. After flooding, such substances runs-off these road oils. These may be counteracted by the camellia sinensis. Of course, other green (i.e., ecologically beneficial) components may be used, and would be readily apparent to the skilled person. The binding component is provided to combine the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water. This enables simple transportation of the fish attractant. If other components described below, such as the colouration component or weighting component, are provided, then the binding component may also combine these components in a solid mixture until dissolved in water. As described above, the binding component may hold the other components in a solid mixture of a variety of different shapes, such a substantially cylindrical shape or a substantially spherical shape. The binding component may be formed of at least two liquids. Said liquids may have different viscosities. By way of example, the liquids may include an ethanol-based liquid, a water-based liquid, and / or an oil-based liquid. Ethanol-based liquid ensures a fast and hard drying of the mixture, thereby making the fish attractant less prone to disintegration (and thus easier to transport / use). The oil-based liquid may be fish oil, shrimp oil crayfish oil, corn, garlic oil, or menhaden oil depending on the species of fish targeted by the fish attractant. The oil may negate a contaminating effect of tools used to make the fish attractant (e.g., the mould to shape the fish attractant, storage containers for the individual parts, etc.). Furthermore, the oil may provide a scent trail that corresponds to the sound imitated by the fish attractant. This helps stack-up additional cues with the effect of the effervescent component, thereby increasing efficacy of the fish attractant. Of course, it will be appreciated that additional or alternative ingredients may be added to the binding component in order to facilitate and improve the binding of the mixture. The colouration component is adapted to dull the color of the solid mixture so that fish enticed by the fish attractant may not be spooked or otherwise be dissuaded by its appearance before colouration. The colouration component enables the fish attractant to be less conspicuous / more natural in colour. In addition, the colouration component enables the angler to pick and choose to match the look of the fish attractant to the substances forming a body of water (what their lake beds are made of, i.e. sand, silt, leaf, clay etc.). For example, if fishermen only ever fished using yellow sweetcorn, it would not be long before fish made the negative association that yellow means danger. Thus, the colouration component enables the fish attractant to evade the capacity of fish to make reliable associations (which they would be able to do if fishing items were always yellow, always spherical, always in the same place, and so on). The colouration component may be formed of one or more of a red powdered colouring, a blue powdered colouring, brown powdered colouring (correspondent with leaf decay), green powdered colouring (correspondent with a weedy lakebed, riverbed), and yellow powdered colouring (correspondent with a sandy bed). A selection of said colourings may be used to best imitate the environment that the fish attractant may be used in. In some embodiments, the fish attractant also comprises a weighting component adapted to increase the density of the solid mixture. This may ensure that the fish attractant sinks to the bed of the body of water (i.e., the benthic zone) into which the fish attractant is placed. This may also ensure that the fish attractant stays in place despite surrounding conditions such as currents and creatures (e.g., pecking from small ‘nuisance’ fish) that may move the fish attractant away from the desired attraction zone. In addition, the weighting component may be used to sink the fizzer into a finely silted lake / riverbed, so that a natural plume can be generated (e.g., a known visual and chemical signal to cyprinids of a potential food source). The weighting component may be formed of various naturally occurring elements. For example, the weighting component may comprise soil, rocks, sand, etc. Accordingly, the fish attractant may not leave behind any unnatural elements after dissolving, and so does not harm the surrounding natural environment. An ideal composition of the fish attractant, particularly a cyprinid attractant, is as follows: (i) Effervescent component approximately 6 parts sodium bicarbonate and 3 parts citric acid; (ii) Damping component approximately 5 parts daphnia powder, 2 parts shrimp powder, and 2 parts fishmeal powder; (iii) Binding component approximately 30 parts water-based liquid, 3 parts ethanol based liquid, and 1 part oil-based liquid; (iv) Colouration component approximately 1 part red powdered colouring, 1 part blue powdered colouring, and 1 part green powdered colouring; and (v) Green component. The mixture may be approximately 90 parts of effervescent component, 9 parts of damping component, and less than 1 part of the colouration component. The mixture is mixed to ensure a consistent composition. Then, the damping component is added. Once the binding component is added, the fish attractant is approximately 1 / 3 of the binding component by weight, and 2 / 3 of the mixture by weight. The fish attractant comprising all constituent parts is then compressed to a desired density, and / or a weighting component is added, and subsequently baked. The full process of manufacture is described in more detail below. The above described composition may be particularly suitable for attracting cyprinids. That is, the above elements in their proportions of this composition generates a sound (when in contact with water) that closely mimics the sound of typical prey of cyprinids and therefore may be particularly effective for such a purpose. Nevertheless, it will be appreciated that various modifications, additions, and omissions may be made to the above described composition, whilst still providing an effective auditory based fish attractant. That is, the above described composition is provided for the purpose of understanding only, and is not intended to be limiting to the scope of the claims As a further refinement of the invention, in some embodiments, the fish attractant may further comprise a bag 120 for encasing (i.e. enclosing and holding) the solid mixture. The bag 120 comprises one or more holes 122 configured to allow passage of water (into the bag) and the generated gas 124 (out of the bag). This may be particularly advantageous where the fish attractant is intended to be used in large bodies of water, or low-stock bodies of water. Each of the holes 122 may be pinholes. That is, the holes 122 may be formed by puncturing the bag 120 in one or more locations with a pin head of a baiting needle, for example. Of course, the holes 122 may be formed in a different manner for specific purposes. Accordingly, when the fish attractant is put into water, water passes through one or more of the holes 122, and contacts the solid mixture. Accordingly, the solid mixture begins to dissolve in the typical manner described above, and begins to generate gas 124. However, the gas 124 is momentarily pressurised through the holes 122, increasing a magnitude of the noise generated by the fish attractant in particular directions. If the holes 122 are unevenly distributed across the bag 120 as shown for example in Fig. 3, then this effect may be leveraged in order to create an uneven noise distribution. Such an uneven noise distribution may better imitate sounds intriguing to fish. Also, this uneven distribution may move the bag 120, changing the location of the source of the sound, as well as potentially stirring the waterbed (generating a feed plume effect). This may disperse particles in a more natural way (i.e., less precise or systemic manner). This method, especially when used on devices for use in silted areas, may generate both a natural plume (by displacement of silt) as well as the plume effect created by the contents of the bag. In contrast, the fish attractant dissolving when not in a bag 120 will emit sound approximately equally in all directions simultaneously. As a result of this, the generated gas may have a directional significance, radiating noise in a way that may be a better imitation of sounds intriguing to fish. In other embodiments, the one or more holes 122 may be evenly distributed across the surface of the bag 120, as depicted in Fig. 4. In this case, the gas 124 may be ejected in all directions approximately equally. While this may not have the uneven noise distribution of the above case, this will still mean that the fish attractant dissolves in a slower and more controlled manner by virtue of the predictable (and maximum) ingress of water, and maximum output of gas 124. That is, the holes 122 act as a bottleneck for the speed at which the fish attractant may be dissolved. It is worth noting that the provision of the bag 120 does not substantially change the frequency of sound, but rather changes the directionality of the generated sound. Indeed, in some directions the sound will be made louder / stronger, and in other directions quiet er / weaker. The bag 120 may be formed of a water soluble material. This means that the intensity of the sound generated by the fish attractant may change in time. Once again, this change in sound over time may be more intriguing to fish. In addition, this will mean that the bag 120 does not need be retrieved to avoid littering. For example, the water soluble material may be polyvinyl acetate. Other water soluble, and ecologically safe (i.e. non-toxic) alternatives would be readily apparent to the skilled person. In some embodiments, the solid mixture may be encased in more than one bag 120 in order to enhance the directional effect and the life span of the fish attractant. Figure 5 shows a cuboid embodiment of the fish attractant in a bag having one or more unevenly distributed holes on top of the attractant. By providing the holes of the bag on only one side of the bag, (e.g., the top of the bag) as depicted in Fig. 5, a volcanic effect may be more effectively provided. Specifically, once the fish attractant is provided in contact with the water, the constituent parts of the fish attractant will be pushed up and out of the bag in a manner that greatly spreads the parts of the fish attractant. As a result, an enhanced chemical detection zone may be produced by increasing an effective area of attraction of the fish attractant. Furthermore, as depicted in Fig. 5, the fish attractant may be provided in a cuboid shape rather than a special or cylindrical shape. This may be more effective for storage of the fish attractant, and simpler in terms of manufacture. Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of manufacturing a fish attractant. In step 210, an effervescent component and a tuning component are mixed together. The effervescent component and the tuning component are formed of dried powders. The effervescent component and tuning component may be formed of any of the elements described above. In some embodiments, the effervescent component and the tuning component may not be mixed to the point that the mixture is homogenous. That is, the components may not be mixed thoroughly, leaving parts of the mixture having more or less of each component than other parts of the mixture. This may provide a resulting fish attractant that has inhomogeneous dissolving behaviour, resulting in the production of a more realistic sound. In addition to the effervescent component and the tuning component, in step 210 the colouration component and weighting component may also be added (if required). In step 220, the binding component is added to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component to produce a solid mixture As described above, the binding component is formed of a liquid. The binding component may comprise multiple liquids having different viscosities, such as a water-based liquid, an oil-based liquid, and an ethanol-based liquid. Optionally, adding the binding component may be gradually providing the binding component to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component using an atomizer while mixing the binding component, effervescent component and tuning component. That is, the binding component is sprayed into the mixture in the form of a fine mist, ensuring even distribution of the binding component and a well-bonded solid mixture. In step 230, the solid mixture is compressed. The solid mixture may be compressed in a mould of the desired shape (e.g., spherical, cylindrical, cuboid, etc.). The pressure applied during compression, and a time of compression, together with will dictate the number and size of cavities / pockets retaining air. Therefore, the pressure and time of compression will dictate the duration of the generation of gas by the fish attractant and the intensity of the gas generation and thus magnitude of produced sound. For example, with greater force of compression and longer time for compression, there will be fewer air pockets and therefore the fish attractant will dissolve at a slower and more predictable rate and its frequency will be lessened and multitudinous (i.e., many more smaller bubbles). In other words, the pressure applied impacts the density of the fish attractant due to the presence / absence of air pockets within the fish attractant. The denser the mixture, the longer the generation of gas lasts, and the more consistent the generation of gas (and hence noise) will be. In contrast, a less dense mixture will provide a faster generation of gas / dissolving of the fish attractant (of a more intense fizz). Furthermore, the compression may be performed in a pressing device, or may alternatively be performed by hand (enabling compression by feel). The extent of compression applied to the mixture can be tuned to ensure the sound generated by the fish attractant when in contact with water is as close to real as possible. A more compacted mixture will give rise to a fish attractant that may generate a longer, more uniform, smoother noise, and be well suited for imitating silt beds, worm beds, shrimp beds etc (which generate this more consistent smooth sound). And a less dense, more airpocketed, mixture will give rise to a fish attractant that may generate a varying sound that volcanoes better (e.g., pluming bait out of the top of the bag). In step 240, the compressed mixture is baked. As a result, a fish attractant in solid form is provided for simple transportation and handling by a user (before being provided to a body of water). Typically, the compressed mixture is baked in an arid (non-humid) environment in order to ensure consistency of the final product. Then, if desired, the fish attractant is sealed in one or more bags (typically pin holes) as described above. The use of 2 bags delays water ingress, and can be used to bring about either more irregularity or more uniformity (which ever is required for the situation). For example the use of 2 bags can increase directional explosion (as in the volcano effect for example), or can be used to generate more irregularity (if the pin holes on the inner bag are not correspondent to the pin holes on the outer bag). Accordingly, a fish attractant that generates sound in a range of 1kHz - 4kHz is produced. The fish attractant may thus produce a sound that is more likely to trigger a curiosity response in nearby fish, by better imitating the sound of typical prey of fish such as shrimp and stridulating creatures. This is in stark contrast to untargeted generation of sound by a bubbling / fizzing attractant, which the fish may simply disregard as the generated sound does not correlate to known sound patterns that said fish would typically investigate. As a result, a more effective attractant / lure for fish is provided. Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. If a computer program is discussed above, it may be stored / distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems. If the term "adapted to" is used in the claims or description, it is noted the term "adapted to" is intended to be equivalent to the term "configured to". Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope. Embodiments of the invention include: 1. A fi sh attractant compri sing: an effervescent component adapted to generate gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water; a tuning component adapted to dampen the generation of gas by the effervescent component such that the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of I kHz to 4kHz; and a binding component adapted to combine the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water. 2. The fish attractant of embodiment 1, further comprising a bag for encasing the solid mixture, and comprising one or more holes configured to allow passage of water and the generated gas. 3. The fish attractant of embodiment 2, wherein the one or more holes are pinholes. 4. The fish attractant of embodiment 2 or 3, wherein the one or more holes are unevenly distributed across the surface of the bag. 5. The fish attractant of embodiment 4, wherein the one or more holes are provided on one side of the bag. 6. The fish attractant of embodiment 2 or 3, wherein the one or more holes are evenly distributed across the surface of the bag. 7. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 2 to 6, wherein the bag is formed of a water soluble material. 8. The fish attractant of embodiment 7, wherein the water soluble material is polyvinyl acetate. 9. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein the effervescent component comprises an acidic part and an alkali part. 10. The fish attractant of embodiment 9, wherein the acidic part is formed of at least one of citric acid, ascorbic acid, tartaric acid, and succinic acid 11. The fish attractant of embodiment 9 or 10, wherein the alkali part is formed of at least one of a metal carbonate, a metal bicarbonate, and a hydrogen carbonate salt. 12. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 1 to 11, wherein the binding component is formed of at least two liquids, and optionally wherein the at least two liquids have different viscosities. 13. The fish attractant of embodiment 12, wherein the binding component comprises at least one of an ethanol-based liquid, a water-based liquid, and an oil-based liquid. 14. The fish attractant of embodiment 13, wherein the oil-based liquid is shrimp oil. 15. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the solid mixture comprises one or more pockets for retaining air until the solid mixture is dissolved in water. 16. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 1 to 15, wherein the tuning component is formed of a dried flaky material. 17. The fish attractant of embodiment 16, wherein the tuning component is formed of powdered particles of fish. 18. The fish attractant of embodiment 17, wherein the powdered particles of fish comprise powdered shrimp, powdered daphnia and fishmeal. 19. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 16 to 18, wherein the tuning component is formed of one or more green components. 20. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 1 to 19, further comprising a colouration component adapted to dull the color of the solid mixture, wherein the binding component is further adapted to combine the colouration component in the solid mixture until dissolved in water. 21. The fish attractant of embodiment 20, wherein the colouration component is formed of one or more of a red powdered colouring, a blue powdered colouring, a green powdered colouring, a brown powdered colouring, and a yellow powdered colouring. 22. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 1 to 21, further comprising a weighting component adapted to increase the density of the solid mixture, and wherein the binding component is further adapted to combine the weighting component in the solid mixture until dissolved in water. 23. The fish attractant of any of embodiments 1 to 22, wherein the solid mixture has a substantially spherical shape or a substantially cylindrical shape. 24. A cyprinid attractant comprising: an effervescent component adapted to generate gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water; a tuning component adapted to dampen the generation of gas by the effervescent component such that the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of I kHz to 4kHz; and a binding component adapted to combine the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water. 25. A method of manufacturing a fish attractant, comprising: mixing an effervescent component and a tuning component, wherein the effervescent component and the tuning component are formed of dried powders; adding the binding component to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component to produce a solid mixture, wherein the binding component is formed of a liquid; compressing the solid mixture; and baking the compressed mixture. 26. The method of embodiment 25, wherein adding the binding component comprises gradually providing the binding component to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component using an atomizer while mixing the binding component, effervescent component and tuning component. 27. The method of embodiment 26, wherein the compressed mixture is baked in an arid environment.

Claims

1. A fish attractant (100) comprising:an effervescent component adapted to generate gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water;a tuning component adapted to dampen the generation of gas by the effervescent component such that the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of 1kHz to 4kHz; anda binding component adapted to combine the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water.

2. The fish attractant of claim 1, further comprising a bag (120) for encasing the solid mixture, and comprising one or more holes (122) configured to allow passage of water and the generated gas.

3. The fish attractant of claim 2, wherein the one or more holes (122) are pinholes.

4. The fish attractant of claim 2 or 3, wherein the one or more holes (122) are unevenlydistributed across the surface of the bag (120).

5. The fish attractant of claim 2 or 3, wherein the one or more holes (122) are evenly distributed across the surface of the bag (120).

6. The fish attractant of any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the bag (120) is formed of a water soluble material.

7. The fish attractant of claim 6, wherein the water soluble material is polyvinyl acetate.

8. The fish attractant of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the effervescent componentcomprises an acidic part and an alkali part.

9. The fish attractant of claim 8, wherein the acidic part is formed of at least one of citric acid, ascorbic acid, tartaric acid, and succinic acid.

10. The fish attractant of claim 8 or 9, wherein the alkali part is formed of at least one of a metal carbonate, a metal bicarbonate, and a hydrogen carbonate salt.

11. The fish attractant of any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the binding component is formed of at least two liquids, and optionally wherein the at least two liquids have different viscosities.

12. The fish attractant of claim 11, wherein the binding component comprises at least one of an ethanol-based liquid, a water-based liquid, and an oil-based liquid.

13. The fish attractant of claim 12, wherein the oil-based liquid is shrimp oil.

14. The fish attractant of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the solid mixture comprises oneor more pockets (110) for retaining air until the solid mixture is dissolved in water.

15. The fish attractant of any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the tuning component is formed of a dried flaky material.

16. The fish attractant of claim 15, wherein the tuning component is formed of powdered particles of fish and / or an ecological component.

17. The fish attractant of claim 16, wherein the powdered particles of fish comprise powdered shrimp, powdered daphnia and fishmeal.

18. The fish attractant of any of claims 1 to 17, further comprising a colouration component adapted to dull the color of the solid mixture, wherein the binding component is further adapted to combine the colouration component in the solid mixture until dissolved in water.

19. The fish attractant of claim 18, wherein the colouration component is formed of one or more of a red powdered colouring, a blue powdered colouring, a brown powdered colouring, a green powdered colouring, and a yellow powdered colouring.

20. The fish attractant of any of claims 1 to 19, further comprising a weighting component adapted to increase the density of the solid mixture, and wherein the binding component is further adapted to combine the weighting component in the solid mixture until dissolved in water.

21. The fish attractant of any of claims 1 to 20, wherein the solid mixture has a substantially spherical shape or a substantially cylindrical shape.

22. A cyprinid attractant (100) comprising:an effervescent component adapted to generate gas through a chemical reaction responsive to contact with water;a tuning component adapted to dampen the generation of gas by the effervescent component such that the generation of gas produces a sound within a frequency range of I kHz to 4kHz; anda binding component adapted to combine the effervescent component and tuning component in a solid mixture until dissolved in water.

23. A method of manufacturing a fish attractant, comprising:mixing (210) an effervescent component and a tuning component, wherein the effervescent component and the tuning component are formed of dried powders;adding (220) the binding component to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component to produce a solid mixture, wherein the binding component is formed of a liquid;compressing (230) the solid mixture; and baking (240) the compressed mixture.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein adding (220) the binding component comprises gradually providing the binding component to the mixed effervescent component and tuning component using an atomizer while mixing the binding component, effervescent component and tuning component.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the compressed mixture is baked (240) in an arid environment.

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