Weed guard for fish hooks

A molded, plastic guard for use in combination with a baited fishing hook to prevent snagging or fouling from underwater vegetation. The guard of the instant invention is a funnel-shaped device with an enlarged proximal end for securing the barb of the fishing hook in a fixed position. A V-shaped slot opposite a barb detent centers the shank of a fish hook forcing the barb into a desired position. The distal end of the guard is used to bias against the body of the bait to maintain the bait in a parallel plane to the fish hook, further providing an uninterrupted guide between the bait and the tip of the hook. Once installed, the guard is only dislodged by an upward force as provided when a fish takes the hook.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to the field of sport fishing and, 
more particularly, to a fish hook guard to prevent snagging or fouling of 
the fish hook from underwater vegetation. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Fishing is a sport activity to some and a livelihood to others. Whatever 
the reason for fishing, those who are familiar with the activity realize 
the problems that occur when a baited hook is drawn through underwater 
vegetation along the bottom of a water bed. The problem with the 
unprotected hook is that it is frequently fouled by weeds or accidentally 
becomes snagged on an underwater log or the like obstacle. A major snag 
will cost the fisherman his bait, hook and any other lure that may be 
attached thereto. If the hook is simply fouled with weeds, the fisherman 
is making a wasted effort as the weed will conceal the bait, preventing 
any type of fish activity. Some types of fishing require all trolling to 
be performed in heavily vegetated areas which results in the hook being 
fouled instantly upon placement in the water. The time required to 
retrieve the baited hook and clear the weeds is not only time consuming, 
but very disruptive to the art of trolling for fish. 
There have been numerous efforts to alleviate this situation in the past, 
some of which are described below. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,378, issued to Crueger, discloses a molded plastic week 
guard that is used to cover a multi-hook fishing device, wherein the 
apparatus provides a biased cover to each of the hooks. The problem with 
the plastic hook cover is that it is costly to manufacture and can only be 
used on a multi-prong hook. Further, the device cannot be removed and 
placed on other fishing devices. Crueger further discloses a one piece 
hook having a flexible hook guard that can be placed either above or below 
the barb. This embodiment also fails to provide a device that can be 
transferred to other fishing hooks and requires the fisherman to use the 
particular lure with the weed guard molded directly thereon. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,948, issued to Santo, discloses a weedless fish hook 
which engages the totality of the hook from the end of the shank near the 
tie portion to the underlying portion of the barb. The problem with the 
Santo device is that it prohibits the use of conventional bait and is 
limited to bait that can reside on the bottom portion of the hook. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,216, issued to Borshol, discloses a fish hook protector 
that is formed in the shape of a V-shaped cros sectional shield 
encompassing both sides of the barb portion of the hook. The shield 
completely eliminates the possibility of adding any type of bait onto a 
hook. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,758, issued to Phillips, discloses a complicated 
fishing lure having a body with a hook depending therefrom and a means for 
covering the hook by use of a V-shaped guard extending from the body 
portion. The device requires the fisherman to use the particular fishing 
lure which may not be acceptable to the type of fishing anticipated. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,162, issued to Hayden, discloses a weed guard for fish 
hooks which is formed from a wire shaped in the form of an "I" at one end 
which is adaptable to slip over the barb of the fish hook biasing the wire 
in an outward mode to eliminate weeds from catching the hook unless a 
downward force is produced. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,185,507, issued to Knapp, also discloses a fish hook guard 
based upon a guard which is carried by the hook and protects the sharp 
point of the hook from snagging. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,191,031, issued to Peters, employs an elastic band between 
the I-hook of a conventional fish hook and the barb which provides a 
biasing effect that is overcome when the fish swallows the hook. 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,651,134, issued to Kemmerer, also discloses a conventional 
fish hook utilizing a resilient guard member such as a rubber band to 
bridge the gap between the I-hook of the shank and the barb. 
The problem with all of the above prior art is that the weed guard is 
permanently coupled to the shank of the hook, severely limiting the type 
of bait that can be used and complicating all other bait placement. 
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a weed guard that works in 
conjunction with a baited hook, wherein the barb of the hook is covered 
without interfering with the size of the bait chosen for the particular 
usage. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The instant invention solves the aforementioned problems by providing a 
separate weed hook guard that is placed on the fishing hook after the bait 
has been attached. The guard is a molded plastic member having a 
funnel-shaped end to accommodate the barb portion of a hook extending to 
an angular bend which narrows to a point for biasing against the body of 
the bait previously attached to the hook. A V-shaped slot is provided 
opposite to a barb detent cavity for aligning the fish hook in a single 
position to prevent forward shifting of the hook. A detent shoulder is 
provided which prevents the fish hook from dislodging in a rearward 
direction, leaving the only method of dislodgement as an upward force as 
produced by a fish when it swallows the hook. The distal end of the guard 
biases against the body of the bait, which helps maintain the bait in a 
parallel plane to provide an uninterrupted guide path between the body of 
the bait and the tip of the fish hook. 
Accordingly, an objective of the instant invention is to provide a 
one-piece, inexpensive fishing hook guard that is placed on the fish hook 
after the hook has been baited. 
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a fishing hook 
guard which can be readily removed when it is not required and allows for 
the infinite replacement of bait on a single fish hook. 
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from 
the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying 
drawings. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include 
exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various 
objects and features thereof. 
In accordance with these and other objects which will be apparent 
hereinafter, the instant invention will now become described with 
particular reference to the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
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 functional and structural 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 and virtually any appropriately 
detailed structure. 
Now referring to FIG. 1, shown is a molded plastic guard 10 for use in 
combination with a fishing hook 12 which is attached to fishing line 14. 
Placement of bait 16 on the hook 12 is required for guard operation, 
whereby the guard 10 provides a continuous and uninterrupted line from a 
surface of the bait 16 to the tip of the hook 12 to prevent snagging or 
fouling when the bait is dragged through underwater vegetation. The guard 
10 is actually a separate component of the hook, allowing all but the 
point and barb of the hook to be hidden by the bait 16. As further 
described hereinafter, the barb of the hook is allowed to fit snugly into 
the guard with slight overlapping sides, thus allowing no movement of the 
guard except upward for release. Thus, the guard can be moved upward by a 
physical force such as the fisherman's removal of the guard or preferably 
when the fish swallows the bait which will provide sufficient pressure to 
overcome the biasing of the guard, allowing the hook to be used in its 
ordinary and conventional fashion. The bait 16 acts as a foundation for a 
distal end of the guard to stabilize its alignment, while at the same time 
allowing for natural movement of the hook 12 from side to side due to the 
water pressure when the hook is pulled through the water. The guard allows 
the bait 16 to naturally flow over any surface or object found on the 
surface of the water or vegetation thereunder. 
Now referring to FIG. 2, the guard 10 is an elongated homogenous tube of 
molded, resilient, plastic material shaped into the form of a funnel 
member having a proximal end 20 and a distal end 22. The two ends are 
separated by a predetermined length with an angular bend 24 therebetween. 
The angular bend 24 allows the proximal end portion of the guard 10 to 
maintain the hook in a substantially parallel relation to the bait 16. The 
distal end includes a slope of between 20.degree. and 60.degree. from the 
horizontal, preferably 40.degree., providing a means for deflection of 
vegetation. The distal end 22 is reduced to a narrow point, allowing an 
increase in the deflection area of the bait or insertion into the body of 
the bait. The proximal end 20 includes a first diameter having a 
substantially V-shaped slot 28 for insertion of the shank of the hook 12, 
and for alignment of the barb into a detent area as described later in the 
specification. 
Now referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the guard 10 includes a cavity 32 disposed 
in the proximal end 20 for insertion of a hook. The cavity 32 has a bottom 
wall 34 and a barb detent location 36. The slot 28 aligns the shank of a 
conventional hook, forcing the barb of the conventional hook into the barb 
detent 36 location. Slot 28 prevents dislodgement of the hook in a forward 
position and upright shoulder 38 frictionally engages the end of the barb 
to prevent dislodgement in a rearward direction. Installation of the guard 
requires that the hook be baited, wherein the fisherman can simply place 
the bait on the end of the hook, wherein the alignment slot places the 
shank in a predetermined position and allowing the barb to fit within the 
barb detent. The distal end of the guard is then biased against the body 
of the bait, allowing the fisherman to use the baited hook in its ordinary 
manner. Removal of the guard can be performed simply by placing an upward 
pressure on the guard to dislodge the barb from the barb detent position. 
The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is 
considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is 
recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the 
scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a 
person skilled in the art.