Fishing lure

A weedless fishing lure that does not have an exposed hook until a sufficient tension is placed on the line. The lure comprises a body having an aperture therethrough and at least one channel. A fishing line extends through the aperture and is attached to the shank of a hook. The hook is placed into a channel changing the direction the line runs from that in the aperture so that the line in the channel runs in the opposite direction than that in the aperture. The tip of the hook may be placed in the aperture or in a separate channel. Using this configuration, the hook will be dislodged from the body if sufficient tension is placed on the line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates fishing lures. In particular, the present 
invention is a fishing lure that can be used in shallow water where there 
is growing vegetation. 
2. Discussion of Background 
Those who enjoy fishing routinely become frustrated when their hooks get 
caught on objects in the water, including vegetation. Various so-called 
"weedless" lures have been devised to reduce the occurrence of this 
problem. A "weedless" lure is one that does not get caught on weeds or 
other vegetation growing in shallow water. Although these lures reduce 
this occurrence, they still have exposed hooks. Therefore, there is a need 
for a fishing lure that does not have an exposed hook to get caught on 
vegetation or other objects in the water. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present invention is 
a weedless fishing lure. The term weedless means that the lure is designed 
so that the hook will not be inadvertently caught on weeds, seaweed, 
algae, lillypads, or any other undesirable object on which hook could get 
caught. The lure comprises a body having an aperture therethrough and at 
least one channel. A fishing line extends through the aperture and is 
attached to the shank of a hook. The hook is placed into the channel so 
that the line in the channel runs in the opposite direction from that in 
the aperture. The tip of the hook is placed in the aperture or in a 
separate channel so that the tip does not extend from the body. When the 
fish takes the lure, the tension on the line springs the hook into the 
mouth of the fish. The amount of tension required to spring the hook 
depends on the shape of the channel, how far the hook is inserted into the 
channel and the degree to which the hook is compressed in order to put it 
into the channel. 
A major feature of the present invention is having the hook carried by a 
channel in the body when fishing so that the hook is not exposed until 
sufficient tension is applied to the line. The hook is sprung from the 
body when tension on the line pulls the hook tip free of the channel. This 
springing of the hook occurs because the line running through the body 
reverses direction when it exits the aperture at the back of the body and 
enters the channel. When tension is applied to the line, it relieves this 
tension by pulling the hook and its line back out of the channel 
A major advantage of the present invention is that the lure is weedless 
because the tip of hook is not exposed until sufficient tension is placed 
on the line. The user will not experience frustration in getting the hook 
caught on weeds, algae, lillypads, or other undesirable objects. 
Consequently, the user can fish in areas that could not normally be fished 
because hook would get caught. 
Another important advantage of the present invention is the increased 
safety by not having an exposed hook on the lure when casting because the 
hook is not exposed. 
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to 
those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed 
Description of a Preferred Embodiment presented below and accompanied by 
the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the figures, the present invention is a weedless fishing 
lure. The term "weedless" means that the lure is designed so that the hook 
will not be inadvertently caught on weeds, seaweed, algae, lillypads, or 
any other undesirable objects on hooks routinely get caught, and is 
commonly used to describe lures that try to protect the otherwise exposed 
tip of the hook. Lure, generally referred to by reference number 10, 
comprises a body 20 having an aperture 22, at least one channel 24 and 26 
and a hook 40 attached to a line 30. As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, 
hook 40 is carried by body 20 until tension on line 30 is sufficient to 
spring hook 40 from body 20. 
Hook 40 is preferably a standard fishhook, but could be any type of hook 
capable of catching fish. Hook 40 comprises an eyelet 42, a shank 44, and 
a tip 46. As is customary with fishhooks, tip 46 may be barbed to resist 
removal of tip 46. Hook 40 is attached to fish line 30 preferably using 
eyelet 42; although any other means in the art for attaching line 30 to 
hook 40 may be used. Line 30 has a first end 32 attached to eyelet 42 and 
a second end 34 extending to reel, pole or other fishing device. Line 30 
is preferably a standard fishing line, but could be any type of cable, 
cord, string, wire, or other type of line that could be used for fishing. 
Body 20 comprises an aperture 22 extending longitudinally therethrough and 
at least one channel 24 and 26. While aperture 22 has a sufficient 
diameter to allow first end 32 of line 30 to extend therethrough, 
preferably diameter is sufficiently small so that shank 44 of hook 40 
cannot extend within aperture 22. Preferably, body 20 has a first channel 
24 to hold shank 44 of hook 40 and a second channel 26 to hold tip 46 of 
hook 40 as illustrated in FIG. 2A. Channels 24 and 26 do not need to 
extend all the way through body 20. First channel 24 has sufficient 
diameter and depth to hold shank 44 of hook 40. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, 
shank is placed in first channel causing first end 32 of line 30 to run in 
the opposite direction as line 30 in aperture 22. This bend is significant 
in the operation of the present invention. The bend in line 30 causes hook 
40 to be sprung from body 20 if sufficient tension is placed on second end 
34 of line 30. Second channel 26 need not be as deep as first channel 24 
but merely sufficient to hold tip 46 of hook 40. The distance between 
first channel 24 and second channel 26 should approximately correspond to 
the distance between shank 44 and tip 46. Body 20 may have additional 
channels to accommodate numerous sizes of hooks by having a plurality of 
channels that could hold either shank 44 or tip 46 wherein the particular 
channels that are used depends upon the size of hook. Tip 46 of hook 40 
can be placed into second channel 26 with varying degrees of pressure so 
that the tension needed on second end 34 of line 30 to spring hook 40 can 
be varied; moreover, it is clear that second channel 26 can be dimensioned 
and shaped to require a particular amount of tension on second end 34 of 
line 30 to spring hook 40 from body 20. Body 20 could have a plurality of 
channels for holding tip 46 dimensioned to require varying amounts of 
tension on second end 34 of line 30 to spring hook 40. In an alternative 
embodiment, body 20 may have only one channel to hold shank 44 while tip 
46 is held by aperture 22 as illustrated in FIG. 4A. 
Body 20 is preferably shaped as an attractant, such as various types of 
insects, spiders, small fish, frogs, or any other shapes used in the art 
of fish lures. Body 20 could be made of wood, styrofoam, aluminum, but is 
preferably made of a plastic having a density less than that of water to 
allow it to float. 
In use, first end 32 of line 30 is fed through aperture 22 and attached to 
eyelet 42. Shank 44 of hook 40 is placed into first channel 24 while tip 
46 of hook 40 is placed into either second channel 26 or aperture 22. If 
the fisher applies sufficient tension to second end 34 of line 30, hook 40 
will spring from body 20. 
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and 
substitutions can be made to the preferred embodiment herein described 
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.