Fishhook and worm lure combination

A fishhook and worm lure combination wherein an eye of the fishhook is located adjacent a head portion of a plastic worm lure with the shank extending exteriorly of and adjacent to a body portion of the lure with a barbed point of the hook embedded into the body of the worm lure. The hook is connected to the worm lure by an anchor member pivotally connected to the fishhook as by interconnected eyes with the anchor having a rod portion extending into the worm lure from the head end thereof and having portions within the worm lure and engaging same to resist retraction therefrom. The eye of the hook is connected to a fishing line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to fishing lures and more particularly to 
lures having combinations of plastic worms and hooks and the rigging 
thereof. 
Plastic worms, such as are commonly used in bass fishing, consist of 
elongated bodies formed of flexible, soft plastic material mounted on 
fishhooks and are in widespread popular usage. One application of the worm 
to a hook is to insert the hook point coaxially into the nose of the lure 
and then lead the point out of the side of the lure in the spaced relation 
to the nose and slide a portion of the lure on the hook around the bight 
of the hook and along the shank to a point adjacent to hook eye. The point 
and a major portion of the shank are then exposed exteriorly of the lure 
and may be snagged in underwater vegetation when the lure is drawn through 
the water during fishing. In some such uses weed guards are attached to 
the hook eye and extended exteriorly of the worm to the hook to prevent 
the hook being snagged by underwater vegetation. Another form of mounting 
is also by inserting the hook point coaxially into the nose of the lure 
and then leading the point out the side of the lure and after moving the 
lure portion empaled on the hook around the bight and shank to a point 
adjacent to the hook, the point of the hook is then turned and embedded 
into the lure body. With this arrangement the worm body itself acts as a 
weed guard however the action of vegetation on the worm or a fish biting 
the lure may cause the worm body to slide along the hook shank to the 
bight of the hook where it bunches to the extent that it is difficult to 
properly set the hook when the fish does bite. This bunching of the lure 
also necessitates the fisherman rearranging the worm when he retrieves the 
lure for another cast. There have been various attempts to provide means 
of securing the worm to the hook but in all such rigging of the worm lure 
the hook is threaded through the nose or leading portion of the worm. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The principal objects of the present invention are: to provide a fishhook 
and worm lure combination in which the hook is free swinging on an anchor 
or keeper which is inserted in and secured to the leading portion of the 
worm lure with the hook extending rearwardly exteriorly of the worm and 
the point of the hook embedded in the worm making the lure weedless; to 
provide such a fishhook and worm lure combination which eliminates the 
necessity of threading a hook structure through the worm and in and out of 
same; to provide such a structure in which it is easier to rig the worm 
straight with the keeper or anchor having interior engagement with the 
worm that prevents retractive movement of the worm from the keeper or 
anchor; to provide such a lure structure adapted for use with jig-head 
type hooks; to provide such a lure structure adapted for use with 
buck-tail lure hooks and worm combinations; to provide such a fishhook and 
worm combination which require less manipulation and penetration of the 
worms by the hook and thereby longer life of the worms; to provide a 
fishhook and worm lure combination that enables the fisherman to rig the 
hook and keeper on any commercially acceptable type plastic worm lure; and 
to provide a fishhook and worm lure combination which is economical to 
manufacture, durable in construction, positive in operation and which is 
particularly well adapted for its intended purpose. 
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from 
the following description taken in connection with the accompanying 
drawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration and example certain 
embodiments of this invention. 
The drawings constitute a part of the specification, include exemplary 
embodiments of the present invention, and illustrate various objects and 
features of the fishhook and worm lure combination.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed 
herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are 
merely exemplary of the invention which may be embodied in various forms. 
Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are 
not to be interpreted as limiting but merely as a basis for the claims and 
as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously 
employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed 
structure. 
Referring more in detail to the drawings: 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The reference numeral 1 generally designates a fishhook and worm lure 
combination in which a fishhook 2 is secured by an anchor or keeper 3 to a 
worm lure 4 in the form of a flexible, soft plastic, elongate worm lure. A 
fishing line 5 has a weight 6 sleeved thereon and said line is tied to the 
eye 7 of the fishhook 2 by a suitable knot or the like 8. 
In the structure illustrated in the FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive the fishhook 2 
is of common design consisting of a length of wire bent at one end to form 
an eye 7 into which a fishing line or leader 5 is secured, then a shank 
section 9 which may be angled to produce a short section 10 adjacent the 
eye and a longer section 11 and then a re-entrant curved bight portion 12 
terminating in a point 13 and barb 14. In the structure illustrated, the 
eye, shank, bight and point are all in a single plane. The plastic worm 4 
may be of any commercially acceptable form consisting of a slender 
elongated body of extremely soft, flexible and elastic plastic material 
configurated to resemble a prey of fish and to provide an action to 
attract same. The plastic worm 4 is much longer than the fishhook 2. 
The anchoring member or keeper 3 for securing the worm 4 to the fishhook 
consists of elongate rigid rod-like member 15 of wire, plastic or the like 
bent at one end to form an eye 16 and having a point 17 at the other end. 
The anchor has a plurality of laterally outwardly extending projections or 
barbs 18 spaced along the length thereof. It is preferred that the rod 
portion 15 be longitudinally straight and that it have a length of 1/2 to 
3/4 of the distance from the eye 7 to the barb point 13 of the fishhook 2. 
The fishhook is swingably or pivotally connected to the anchor member and 
in the illustrated structure the eye 16 of the anchor or keeper 3 is 
interconnected with the eye 7 of the hook. 
In attaching a fishhook and keeper structure to a worm lure the fishhook is 
allowed to swing free as illustrated in FIG. 2 and the point 17 of the 
anchor or keeper rod 15 is pressed coaxially into the nose end 20 of the 
worm to extend longitudinally therein for the full length of the rod 
whereby the eye 16 thereof is adjacent the nose end 20 of the plastic worm 
lure. The line 5 has a weight 6 slidably mounted thereon and the end of 
the line is suitably tied or secured as at 8 to the eye 7 of the fishhook 
2. The fishhook 2 being entirely external of the worm lure is then swung 
to a position wherein the shank portion 11 extends at an acute angle to 
the longitudinal axis of the worm, the point 13 is embedded into the body 
of the worm lure as illustrated in FIG. 1 and the fishhook worm lure 
combination is ready for fishing. 
When fishing it will be seen that the leading portion of the worm acts as a 
weed guard preventing underwater vegetation from entering the bight of the 
hook. Also the shank of the hook is such that it can easily slide over 
obstructions and even engagement of the worm with obstructions wil not 
cause it to slide from the hook or keeper. When the fish bites it usually 
substantially engulfs the hook in its mouth and exerts a pulling force 
opposite to the pull of the fishing line or leader 5 tending to force the 
point 13 on through the worm body to expose it for setting in the fish's 
mouth with no bunching or wadding of the worm into the bight to interfere 
with the setting of the hook. 
In the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6 the hook member 21 is of 
a type called a jig-head hook having a shank 22, a re-entrant bight 
portion 23 terminating at a point 24 and barb 25. The other end has an eye 
26 with a head or weight 27 adjacent thereto. The head 27 may be of lead 
or other suitable material to provide a desired weight and the eye 26 is 
arranged relative thereto to normally be above said head 27. The keeper or 
anchor member 3 is of the same construction as illustrated and described 
relative to the forms shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive with the eye 16 
thereof interconnected with the eye 26 of the jig-head hook 21. Since the 
weight member 27 provides the desired weight for the lure there is no need 
for a weight on the line. The line 28 has its end suitably tied or 
otherwise secured to the eye 26. In using such a lure the keeper is 
inserted longitudinally into the plastic worm 4 from the nose 20 to 
position the eye 16 at said nose 20 of the lure. The hook 21 is then swung 
to extend along the body of the plastic worm and the barbed point 24 
embedded into the worm as illustrated in FIG. 6. The lure is then ready 
for fishing, with the lure having the same weedless effect as above 
described. 
The form of the lure illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 utilizes a form of 
buck-tail lure hook having a shank 29 extending from a head 30 and 
provided with a re-entrant bight 31 terminating at a barbed point 32. The 
shank 29 extends through the head 30 and terminates in an eye 33 to which 
a fishing line 34 is tied or secured in the usual manner. The lure is 
provided with a plurality of fibers of hair or the like suitably tied or 
secured as at 36 to the head 30 whereby the hair or buck-tail extends 
therefrom toward the hook point 32 in surrounding relation to the shank 
29. The keeper or anchor member 3 is pivoted or swingably mounted to the 
head 30 at the end 36 thereof adjacent the shank 29. In the structure 
illustrated there is an eye member 37 secured to the head 30 with the eye 
37 preferably in the same plane as the shank 29 and hook 32 and said eye 
37 is interconnected with the eye 16 of the anchor member 3. In using a 
lure constructed as described the line 34 is suitably tied or otherwise 
connected to the eye 33. The anchor or keeper member 3 is then arranged 
relative to a plastic worm 4 and the point 17 of the anchor rod 15 
inserted axially into the nose 20 of the lure and forced therein for the 
length of the keeper rod 15 whereby the nose 20 of the plastic worm lure 
is adjacent to the interconnected eyes 16 and 37 and with the hook of the 
buck-tail lure swingable relatively thereto. The buck-tail hook is then 
moved to embed the barbed point 32 into the body of the worm lure as 
illustrated in FIG. 7. The lure is then ready for fishing. 
While certain forms of the present invention have been described and 
illustrated, it is not to be limited thereto except insofar as such 
limitations are included in the following claims.