The present invention relates to hooks for fishing and, particularly, a quick set fishing rig and fish hook for live bait having a plurality of shanks for anchoring the fish hook in the body of the live bait.
Generally, fishing hooks comprise “J”-shaped pieces of metal having an eyelet at the top of the “J” for attaching a fishing line, and a barb at the opposite end of the “J.” Single hooks represent a con on type of fishing hooks. Multiple hooks are also known, such as the treble hook. While both types of hooks are found on artificial lures, typically, only a single hook is used for live bait.
When fishing with live bait for large game fish such as musky, attaching more than one hook to the live bait provides advantages for catching the game fish. It has been known to attach a single hook through the mouth of the live bait and a treble hook at approximately the mid-section of the bait. To do so, an additional line segment with a treble hook attached runs from the single hook in the mouth of the bait fish back along the bait fish to a desired location. One of the barbs of the treble hook is embedded into the bait, leaving the other two barbs exposed to hook a fish. That practice eliminates one of the three hooks from being available to hook the game fish.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,831 teaches one solution using a single shank to secure a treble hook to the bait fish. However, that solution has drawbacks that the present invention resolves. While such a rig provides the desired additional hooks for live bait, it has disadvantages. One major problem with known rigs is encountered when a fisherman or woman attempts to set the hook into the game fish striking the bait. To set a hook, a fisherman must provide a quick, strong jerk to the bait in an attempt to cause the exposed hooks to embed into the mouth of the game fish. However, as the fisherman or woman jerks the prior art rig, the barb of the treble hook which is attached to the bait tends to embed deeper into the bait. As a result, the force of the jerk to transferred to the bait, and the exposed barbs of the treble hook often do not embed into the game fish. The resultant jerk can also pull the bait and the hooks from the mouth of the striking fish. The game fish is not hooked, and the live bait is injured or killed. Then, the user must rig new live bait losing game fish, bait, time and money. In general, any hesitation or hindrance in the movement of the hooks when setting the hooks, could result in failing to hook the game fish.
A device is needed for rigging a live bait with multiple shanks to secure the hook to the live bait and with extra hooks to increase the probability for quickly and successfully hooking a striking game fish while reducing the loss of bait, time and money.
The present invention solves the above identified problems associated with prior art rigs and methods of rigging live bait with extra hooks. The hook of the present invention includes a body, at least two hooks, and at least two shanks for more securely anchoring the body to the bait fish. The shanks extend from either end of the body,. The shanks may be linear or nonlinear. The shanks may have at least one barb to enhance connection of the hook to the bait fish. The shanks are inserted under the skin of the bait fish to secure both ends of the body to the live bait while maximizing the hooks available to secure the game fish. The barbs of the shanks secure the shanks to the bait fish and reduce the probability of the hook from rotating about the shank axis or from disconnecting from the bait fish.
The disclosed invention provides easier penetration and anchoring of the hook to the bait fish in that it anchors in more than 1 location. A single shank design can release from the bait fish if the bait fish runs into weeds or other objects, whereas the multi-shank design disclosed herein provides improved anchoring of the rig to the bait fish. Because the generally linear shanks of the disclosed invention cause less damage to the bait fish, they provide longer bait fish life thereby saving time and money. The straight shanks are easier to unhook from the bait fish than regular hook designs. Regular designs bury into the baitfish, making them difficult to remove and most likely to kill the bait fish.
The hooks offset to lie along the side of bait fish at about 180° from each other relative to the body, which allows the rig to lie flat against the bait fish. Conversely, the known prior art hooks bend at angles that tend to drive the hooks into the bait fish instead of into game fish. Straight shanks do not bury into the baitfish like regular curved J hook anchoring designs. With the straight shanks, all the, hook setting power drives into the game fish, not the bait fish.
The known prior art does not provide 3 treble hooks for hook setting performance. Using one of the J hooks to attach to the bait fish leaves 2 J hooks for setting the game fish. The disclosed invention provides 3 J hooks for setting the game fish. The disclosed invention is not as bulky as prior designs and provides less distraction for the game fish, which in turn increases the success of game fishing.
The hook of the present invention can be used for any game fish, including, but not limited to, Musky, Northern Pike, Bass, Catfish, Marlin, Sailfish and the like.
The benefits of the live bait rig as disclosed and claimed, include a fluorocarbon leader having reduced visibility in the water and ore flexibility; an adjustable front hook whereas the prior art has a fixed front hook that provides too much torque on the treble hook; the swivel provides for easy connection with no tying required. The rig can be single, double or triple. The single front hook eliminates additional elements such as rubber bands, massive hooks or other products that impair the liveliness of the bait to provide longer life of bait fish.
The hook of the present invention may be used with an adjustable rig that allows the length between the mouth-hook and the body to be adjusted for use with bait fish varying in size.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for rigging live bait with extra hooks. It is another object of the present invention to provide a fishing hook having shanks for securing the hook to live bait. It is another object of the present invention to provide a fishing hook having shanks with barbs. It is also an, object of the invention to provide an adjustable rig for attaching a supplemental hook to live bait. It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a quick set fishing rig and fish hook.
Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, the claims, and the accompanying drawings.
While the invention has several embodiments in different forms, the drawings and the following description describes preferred embodiments. The present disclosure provides an exemplification of the principles of the invention but does not limit the spirit or scope of the invention or claims of the embodiment illustrated. One skilled in the art will appreciate that variations in dimensions, number of hooks, size of the barbs and lengths of the shanks can exist without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.
Other variations, whether in the number, angle, size or position of the hooks 50 and shanks 60, 70 fall within the scope of the invention. The hook 10 can be made of any material known in the art of fishing hooks.
The embodiments herein described are illustrative of the principles the present invention. Various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope from the claims which follow.