Coupling means for securing plastic worms to fish hooks

A bait securing means comprised of a helical wire coil including a means for securing one end of the helix to a fish hook eye by snap fit deformation of the wire. The dimension of the helix is calculated to allow the shank of a hook to pass coaxially through the coils and to permit a bait such as an artificial worm to be screwed onto the unsecured end of the helix so the helix will be completely enclosed within the end of the bait and a web of bait material greater than the diameter of the wire is present between the coils of the helix.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to a means for securing bait, including 
artificial plastic worms to fish hooks. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Plastic worms are one of the most popular artificial fishing lures. They 
normally have elongated bodies formed of an extremely flexible, soft 
plastic of almost jelly-like consistency. They are used by threading them 
on fish hooks. The usual mode of applying a plastic worm to a hook is to 
insert the hook point into the nose of the worm and out at a point spaced 
from the nose a distance approximately equal to the length of the hook 
shaft. The impaled portion of the worm is slid around the throat of the 
hook and up the shank until the nose covers the hook eye. The hook point 
and a major portion of the curved section of the shank are then exposed 
exteriorly of the lure and will be snagged in underwater vegetation and 
trash when the hook is drawn through the water during fishing. To prevent 
this, it is a common practice to reinsert the point of the hook into, but 
not through, the worm body at the point of the worm lying opposite the 
point of the hook. The worm body itself then acts as a "weed guard," 
preventing the hook from being snagged by underwater vegetation and trash. 
This is often called "Texas Style" fishing. When a fish strikes, usually 
completely engulfing the hook in its mouth, the hook point is forced on 
through the worm body to be set in the fish's mouth, as permitted by the 
elastic stretch of the worm between the hook point and the hook eye, this 
being the section of the worm which previously served as a weed guard. 
The practice outlined above is subject to certain difficulties and common 
malfunctions arising from the fact that it is difficult to fasten the worm 
body to the hook shank adjacent the eye with sufficient security to 
prevent slippage. The worm is very soft and has a virtually 
"self-lubricating" quality, so it slides freely on the shank of the hook. 
As a consequence, when a fish strikes, it often pulls the worm section 
embedded on the shank of the hook along the shank toward the point of the 
hook, causing the "weed guard" portion of the worm to be bunched or 
"wadded" into the throat of the hook, the bulk of this wadded section of 
the worm often fills the throat of the hook and actually shields the point 
so that it does not protrude from the worm, far enough only to slightly be 
properly set in the fish's mouth. Even when a fish does not strike, the 
bunching or wadding of the weed guard section of the worm in the throat of 
the hook often occurs when fishing in heavy underwater brush. The 
vegetation wadding the worm into the throat of the hook with the result 
that the hook cannot be set properly when a fish does bit. Furthermore, 
the user must rearrange the worm when he retrieves the lure for another 
cast. Various means for fastening the worm more securely to the hook shank 
have been proposed, such as forming barbs or lateral offsets in the hook, 
but none have been satisfactorily effective. 
Early attempts to solve the preceding problem included the concept of 
forming barbs in the upper end of the hook shank right below the hook eye. 
The theory behind this adaptation was to provide a means to hold the head 
of the plastic worm in position. Unfortunately, the dimensions of the 
barbs are a function of the diameter of the hook shank and therefore are 
relatively small and do not create enough bite to hold a plastic lure such 
as a worm in place. R. Carver et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,381 on "Fish 
Hook And Worm Lure Combination" attempted to solve this problem by 
providing an auxiliary shaft with barbs. This system had various 
shortcomings. For instance, this partially successful attempt to alleviate 
the problem of fastening baits to hooks has been provided by R. Carver et 
al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,381 on "Fish Hook And Worm Lure Combination" 
issued June 15, 1982. This device utilizes a barbed shaft secured to a 
hook eye and adapted to be forced into the nose end of a bait such as an 
artificial worm. Unfortunately, the barbed shaft interferes with the 
functioning of the hook during hook setting operations and is subject to 
being easily pulled off the hook and shaft combination in the event of a 
strike which does not completely engulf the bait. 
R. Riggs, U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,606 on "Fish Hook and Worm Lure Combination" 
issued Sept. 7, 1976 attempted to solve the barbed shaft problem by 
providing a helical spring-like screw on the eye end of a hook so that the 
worm could be threaded onto the helix and held in place. Unfortunately, 
this attempt to solve the problem is far from satisfactory because the 
helix is welded to the shaft of the hook at the side closest to the barb 
rather than the eye so that it is impossible to thread a plastic worm onto 
the hook and then screw it up onto the helix. The worm has to be threaded 
on from the eye side and because of the dimensions of the helix and the 
fact that the smaller end opposite from where you must begin threading is 
welded to the shank of the hook, the device acts as a cover and simply 
cuts a section out of the plastic bait. Furthermore, a device such as that 
suggested by Riggs is costly to manufacture in that the hook has to be 
annealed and rust proofed after the welding operation. Even with special 
treatment, the weld point of the helix attachment site is a weak link in 
the hook and subject to failure if a fish strikes. 
M. Martinek, U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,133 on "Barbed Fishing Lure With Pivoted 
Spring Means For Attaching A Plastic Worm Thereto" issued Jan. 13, 1981 is 
an improvement over the Carver device in that the barbed shaft is replaced 
by a wire spring adapted to be secured to the hook eye and threaded into 
the nose end of the bait. According to the teachings of Martinek, the 
shaft of the hook has to be bent to form a section approximately 90 
degrees from the main hook shaft which supports the eye so that the 
artificial worm or similar bait may be screwed onto the wire up to but not 
including the eye without being deformed by the major length of the hook 
shank. 
In Martinek, the eye of the corkscrew is closed into the closed eye of the 
fish hook. Thus, when a fish hits the rigged worm, the worm must be 
stretched until the point of the hook sticks through the worm before hook 
point can be set in the fish's mouth. 
A major problem with devices constructed according to Martinek is that the 
tightly or closely coiled (see Column 2 Lines 53 et seq of U.S. Pat. No. 
4,244,133) section of the spring cuts a core out of the bait as it is 
threaded on and as the result, the bait is easily pulled from the securing 
means. 
Two critical and fatal flaws exists in the Martinek design. The tightly 
coiled section of the spring or the sharply bent hooked shank prevent the 
spring from being coiled about the hook shank and thus the bait cannot be 
threaded over the hook shank. This is a serious fault of such devices 
because the inability to thread the bait over the shaft significantly 
reduces the effectiveness of the bait. For instance, in Martinek, the fish 
feels the uncovered hook shank while the barb is still covered and usually 
spits out the obviously inedible and unpleasant feeling object. 
Irrespective of any other deficiencies of the device, this alone renders 
it impossible and unusable for effective fishing as witnessed by its 
obvious lack of commercial success. 
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
It is a primary purpose of the present invention to provide a bait securing 
means in the form of a helical spring which may be threaded over a shank 
and secured to the hook eye by a simple snapping operation of a spring 
biased wire configuration which will permit an artificial bait to be 
threaded over the barb of a hook and up the shank and screwed onto the 
bait holding helix. 
A further objective of this invention is to provide new and useful methods 
of securing all types of plastic worms and artificial baits and pork 
rinds, etc., to fish hooks. 
Another objective is to present means for attaching a helix or spring means 
to a hook eye where no changes or modifications are required of either the 
hook or artificial bait to be secured by the spring or helix. 
Another objective is to make fishing with plastic worms less costly by 
providing a means to rig a plastic bait such as a worm to render the 
hook/bait combination weed less. 
A still further objective is to provide an artificial bait securing helix 
which is screwed on the hook's eye and the helix is then, while still 
inside the hook's eye, transposed around the hook shank and the last coil 
of the helix is then bent with a pair of pliers onto the hook eye to 
permanently secure the helix to the hook. 
Another objective is to provide a means for securing a bait holding helix 
to a hook's eye by forming the last coil of the helix so that it can be 
rotated onto the hook easily but can't be removed unless the coil is 
forced open. This allows relatively easy installation of the helix onto 
the hook and yet still allows removal by the user so that it can be used 
on another hook if desired. 
A still further objective of the present invention is to provide a means 
whereby anyone with a pair of pliers can secure the bait holding helix to 
a hook in seconds. 
Another object is the provision of a means for securing a helical formation 
of wire to a fish hook's eye, whereby the fisherperson can acquire a hook 
from one source and a plastic worm from another source, and join the coil 
spring helix of the present invention to the hook. 
Another objective is to securely anchor a worm to a hook with a very soft, 
spring wire helix which functions as a shock absorber to keep the worm 
from being torn when the fish strikes. 
Another objective of the invention is to overcome the problems of securing 
a spring coil helix to a hook. 
Another objective is to create a break-away type of securing helix for a 
worm to allow the entire worm to be kept out of the way of the hook's 
point. 
Another objective is to provide a means to secure baits to hooks which 
enables one to screw the plastic material completely over the hook eye and 
out onto the fishing line 1. 
Another objective is to provide an easy on/easy off connection for a bait 
securing helix coil's attachment to a hook's eye. Thereby making it (1) 
easier to attach at the factory, (2) easier for the fisherperson to 
assemble the helix to a hook eye, and (3) a quick means of disassembling 
the helix when desired for quick change to another type plastic lure 
combination. 
Another objective is to shorten the overall length of a bait securing helix 
and its connecting means to a hook's eye. 
Another objective is to provide a bait securing helix shortened by two 
thirds over other connectors for a given type of hook, thereby decreasing 
the metal in the way of a fish's striking zone and increasing the chances 
of a fish getting hooked on hook point. 
Another objective is to overcome the problem of the hook point 5 pulling 
through the worm body 2 before the fisherperson has a fish biting. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
With the bait connectors in use today, the chances of setting the hook 
point a fish's mouth is decreased due primarily to the connector's length. 
The very short distance of plastic lure material that exists between the 
end of presently used connectors and the hook point makes it difficult for 
a striking fish's mouth to cause the hook point to penetrate the plastic 
lure material and enter it's mouth. 
By decreasing the length of the connector, the length of plastic lure 
material is increased and more flexibility is allowed to the bait or worm, 
making it easier to depress the plastic lure material to a point where the 
hook point is exposed through the worm to engage the fish's mouth. 
With a shortened connector, the strike of a fish causes the plastic 
material to be moved off the hook point instead of forcing the hook point 
through the plastic lure material, thereby exposing the hook's point at 
the first moment of the fish's strike, allowing for more hook ups. 
The same action that used to pull the plastic lure material down the hook's 
shank when small slices or barbs were used to retain the lure material now 
pulls the lure material completely off the hook's point, thereby helping 
to hook the fish. 
The bait or worm must have movement on the hook shank for the hook point to 
be able to pull through the worm body. Practical testing proved that the 
length a hook point pulled through a worm body is proportional to the 
movement of the worm down the hook's shank. With the present spring coil 
helix device attached to a hook eye and firmly securing a worm's head 
against movement down the hook shank, when a fish bites on the hook and 
worm, the force of the fish biting makes the plastic worm lure pull off 
the hook point instead of forcing the point of the hook through the worm's 
body. The worm is no longer stretched between the hook's eye and the point 
of the hook. The hook point pulls through the worm lure body only when the 
worm is pulled by the portion of the worm past the hook's curved section. 
In prior devices the movement of the worm down the hook's shank allowed the 
pull on the tail section of the worm to pull the hook point through the 
worm body. With the worm secured against movement down from the hook eye 
by the helix of this invention, the only movement allowed on the worm is 
an upwards movement that pulls the worm away from the hook point, thereby 
allowing quick setting of the exposed hook point into the fish. The pull 
of the worm's tail when retrieving the worm as the material passes over 
the limbs, trash, rocks and water growth items, will cause enough friction 
to sometimes break the worm in two at the hook's curve--but because the 
worm cannot move down the hook's shank, the point cannot be pulled through 
the worm body, and it remains weedless. 
In tournaments, some people lose as many as 75 worms per day from worms 
wadding as casts are made. As the weight of sinkers is increased to 
achieve either distance, or to make the worm lure drop quicker, such as in 
a "flipping" type fishing, on the cast, the rigged worm hurtles rearward, 
then a rapid deceleration takes places as the rod whips forward. The worm 
lure starts away from the caster and at this point of casting wadding of 
the worm lure takes place. This invention solves this casting failure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In the figures, like reference designation numbers apply to similar parts 
throughout the several views. Reference designator number 4 is a bent fish 
hook of the type produced by Tru Turn Co., Inc., under U.S. Pat. No. 
4,214,398, and generally a fish hook of Tru Turn's design. Reference 
designator number 8 is a hook of standard design, consisting of a length 
of wire bent at one end to form an eye 6 into which fishing line, or 
leader, 1 is secured. It includes a shank portion which may be angled to 
produce a short section adjacent to the eye 6 and a longer section 
terminating after a re-entrant curve into a barb and point 5. The point 
and barb portion of the hook is approximately parallel to the longer shank 
section. A plastic worm lure of ordinary design is identified by the 
reference designator number 2. It consists of a slender, elongated body of 
flexible, elastic plastic material much longer than the fish hook itself. 
The anchoring means for securing the worm 2 to the fish hook 8 consists of 
a short length 7 of cylindrically wound helical spring coils formed of 
wire or inorganic or organic filaments that may be disposed in a coaxial 
relationship about the hook shank adjacent to the hook eye 6. The helix is 
fabricated from a material which will provide resiliency to give the 
device a shock absorbing quality calculated to ease sudden shock loads on 
the helix/bait interface to prevent tearing or cutting of the bait 
material by the helix and subsequent securement failure. This is 
accomplished by using a wire or filament which has a resiliency which 
results in the helix functioning as both a compression and expansion 
spring with a resistance to change approximately equal to the resistance 
to change of the bait material caused by its elasticity. This is a 
critical balance in the best mode of the invention because if the helix 
spring tension is soft, the helix will straighten out and pull free of the 
bait. If the spring tension is to stiff, the helix will cut the bait 
material and pull free by a coring action. A typical prior art device over 
which the present invention is a major improvement is illustrated in FIG. 
1. A fishing line, 1 is secured to the hook eye 6 and a plastic worm lure, 
2, is secured by slices in the hook shank metal at 2A which create barb 
like projections, 3 on the hook shank. The barbs 3 are supposed to hold 
the worm 2 in place. However, the barbs are small and the plastic weak. 
This results in wadding as illustrated in FIG. 2 when the barbs 3 fail to 
hold the plastic worm in place. 
Wadding as the result of barb failure is eliminated by the securing means 
of the present invention of which FIG. 3 illustrates a typical embodiment 
wherein 1 is the fishing line, 5 is the hook point, 6 is the hook eye, and 
7 is the coil spring helix securing device of the present invention. The 
end wire coil 7 is closed about the hook wire forming the hook eye 6 to 
permanently fasten the helix to the hook eye. The next coil, 7B, is the 
first coil of the helix, 7C is the second coil, and 7D is the last coil. 
The last coil is open ended and terminated by a sharp end which screws 
into the bait. The coils of the helix are spaced apart as indicated at 8A 
by a distance which will preclude coring of the plastic as it is screwed 
on the helix. 
FIG. 4 is a partial phantom view of a plastic worm lure 2 secured in place 
on the hook 8 by the helix securing means 7 of FIG. 3. Note the relatively 
large segment of plastic material at 8A which prevents tear-out and 
subsequent wadding. 
In FIG. 5, the worm is portrayed in phantom over the helix to illustrate 
the difference between the prior art barb securing means of FIG. 1 and the 
helix 7 of the present invention. 
FIG. 6 illustrates an assembled plastic worm lure and hook with the helix 
covered by the worm body. In this figure as in all others, 1 is the 
fishing line and 2A is the point where the hook shank exits the plastic 
worm lure. In this figure, the hook point cannot be seen as the plastic 
worm is protecting the hook point, making the hook weedless. 
FIG. 7 is top view and FIG. 8 is a side view of the spring device where 7 
indicates the entire cylindrical helix, 7B is the first coil of the helix, 
7A is the end coil which is bent around the hook eye 6. The last coil, 7D 
is open and has a sharp end which screws into the plastic worm material. 
7C is second coil of the helix. 
FIG. 9 is a top view of a securing helix using a snap or break-away type 
fastening means such as illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19 and explained in 
detail later on in this specification. In FIG. 9, 7B is the first coil, 7C 
is the second coil, and 7D is the last coil. The last coil has a sharp 
edge 9 which penetrates the plastic worm material to secure it. The sharp 
edge may be created by cutting the wire at an angle. 9H is a curved 
section next to 7B, the first coil of the helix, 9A a is straight portion 
of the wire which lays at right angles to the coils. 9B is a curved 
extension of 9A which leads into curve 9C. 9D is a double back bend 
paralleling curve 9C. 9DD is the outer portion of the curved bend 9D, as 
shown in FIG. 10. 9E is the upper curved portion connecting 9D to the end 
of the curved break-away portion 9G which is opposite the curved portion 
9E. 9I is the center curved portion of 9G and 9E. 10 is a cutaway section 
of the hook eye wire shown in FIG. 10 as 11 in side view. 
FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. 9 and all numbers are the same, except for 
11 and 9DD, the side view of the hook eye which is numbered 10 in FIG. 9. 
The space between 9F and the outer portion 9DD of the curved bend 9D 
allows for these parts to spring around the hook eye wire as shown in FIG. 
9. 
FIG. 11 illustrates the means whereby the coil spring helix bait securing 
device 7 is attached to the hook 8. Coil spring section 7D of helix 7 is 
inserted into the fish hook eye 6 by rotating the coil spring to allow 
coil spring section 7D to traverse from hook eye 6 to and around hook 
shank while coil section 7C moves into hook eye 6. As the rotation or 
screwing of the helix 7 continues, section 7A, the last coil, enters hook 
eye 6 as sections 7D, 7C and 7B travel around hook shank. When this 
position is reached, as in FIG. 12, a pair of pliers, represented at 7DD 
in Figure -3, may be used to close the last coil section 7A in to hook eye 
6 as shown in FIG. 13 into the final position as shown in FIG. 14. The 
helix coil 7B is angled different than coils 7C and 7D. This creates a 
compensating bend coil section which keeps the helix from being held 
against the hook and thereby avoids coring or cutting of the plastic web 
which fills 8A when a worm is installed. 
The compensating bend is formed by bending coil 7B slightly backwards 
toward the other coils of the spring. It forms a coupling section between 
helix coil 7C and the securing end 7A which is not within the plane of the 
last true coil of the helix. This different angle places the last or 
coupling coil in a different plane than the other coils to overcome a 
problem encountered in the early stages of development of the present 
invention. When the first models of the springs were made, all the coils 
were in the same plane. The inside of the spring coils were forced against 
the hook shank and this caused the spring to ream, core, or cut out the 
inner material of the plastic worm in the 8A region, thereby allowing the 
worm to pull free. 
Coring is also prevented by spacing all adjacent coils from each other, as 
indicated at 8A, by a distance of at least the diameter of the wire 
forming the helix. In the preferred embodiment, the space between coils is 
approximately four times the diameter of the wire. 
The spring device is free to move, or wobble about the hook shank. This 
wobble allows sharp end of coil 7D of the spring device to enter the 
plastic worm lure. 
The plastic worm lure is attached in the following manner (see FIGS. 15 
through 16A): The point 5 of the fish hook enters into the nose portion of 
the plastic worm lure and is forced therethrough exiting from the side of 
the worm lure at a point 2A spaced longitudinally apart from the point of 
entry by a distance somewhat greater than the length of shank of the hook. 
The portion of the impaled worm is slid along the hook towards hook eye 6, 
passing around the curved throat portion of the hook and up the hook shank 
to the beginning of the spring coil section sharp end 7d. The plastic worm 
lure is then rotated around the axis of the hook shank section while 
pressure is applied to force section 7D into plastic worm 2. This is 
continued until the head of the plastic worm lure 2 has been screwed up 
and over hook eye 6 and onto fishing line 1 as can be seen in FIGS. 6 and 
17. 
When fishing with a bait rigged as illustrated, the portion of the worm 
between the point where the fishing line 1 exits the worm and where hook 
point 5 enters the worm acts as a weed guard. When a fish bites, it 
usually takes the entire bait and hook inside of it's mouth. If the worm 
has torn loose and wadded as happens with prior securing means (FIG. 2), 
the hook point 5 doesn't protrude far enough to be set in the fish's mouth 
and the fish gets away. With the spring coil helix securing device of the 
present invention, the worm is held securely and cannot be pulled into a 
wad by casting or retrieving. So when the fish strikes, the worm is pulled 
away from the hook point 5 as the force to move the worm into a wad at the 
throat of the hook is reversed. The worm is moved in the opposite 
direction and the hook point 5 is totally exposed without anything to 
hinder point 5 from entering the fish's mouth. 
FIG. 11 is instructions on how the spring coil device 7 is inserted into 
position on hook shank 8. 6 is hook eye, 7 is entire spring coil device, 
7A is end of wire that is bent into place in hook eye 6. 7B is first coil 
of spring, 7C is second coil of spring, 7D is sharp end of wire spring 
which penetrates into plastic worm material. 8 is hook shank, 8A is area 
of hook shank 8 that the spring is around. 
FIG. 12 is second step of instructions and shows where spring coil device 
must be stopped in order to bend last coil at 7A into hook eye 6. Note: 
All numbers in FIGS. 11, 12, 13 and 14 are the same. 
FIG. 13 shows the spring coil device in the same positions as FIG. 12, the 
only difference is that 7DD is the pliers shown ready to close 7A and 7B 
into position around hook eye 6. 
FIG. 14 shows the assembly of the hook and spring device complete. 
FIG. 15 shows first step of securing worm to hook and spring device, 2A 
shows where point 5 comes out of worm. 
FIG. 15A is an enlarged circle view showing the helix in place ready to be 
screwed into a plastic worm. 
FIG. 16 shows plastic worm material moved up hook shank to the beginning 
area of 8A. 2A shows where point 5 comes out of worm. 
FIG. 16A shows 7D of coil spring device starting to be screwed into the 
plastic worm lure material. 
FIG. 17 shows the completed installation of the spring coil device into the 
plastic worm material. 
An alternate means for securing the helix to a hook is illustrated in FIGS. 
18 and 19 where the crimped or bent wire end is replaced with a formed 
spring clip which needs only to be snapped over the hook eye wire to 
secure the helix to the hook. Two different basic forms of the spring clip 
are illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19. They are the spring clip formed by the 
end coil 16 of the helix and an adjacent wire section 18 and the U shaped 
clip 20. Either clip may be used or they both may be used as illustrated 
to provide a dual securing means. 
In FIGS. 18 and 19, the space 17 between coil 16 and wire section 18 is 
smaller than the diameter of the hook eye wire but large enough to allow 
the hook eye 23 to be forced past coil 16 and wire section 18. The minimum 
dimension of space 17 is a function of the resiliency of the spring clip 
material, i.e., the stiffer the spring, the greater the minimum dimension. 
After the clip is forced open and the hook eye 23 passes through space 17, 
the space snaps closed relative to the hook eye wire diameter, to provide 
a first securing means that may be used independently or in combination 
with the U shaped clip as illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19. 
The U shaped clip 20 includes a bottom inside radius which is larger than 
the radius of the hook eye wire. The sides of the U, 19 and 21 of FIG. 18 
or 19 and 22 of FIG. 19 create a restriction to the hook eye wire by being 
closer together at least one point than the diameter of the hook eye wire. 
The space formed by bends 19 and 21 of FIG. 18 or the bend 19 and straight 
section 22 of FIG. 19 create a second snap action securing means when the 
hook eye wire is forced past the restriction created by the facing 
curvatures of sides 19 and 21 or the curvature of side 19 and straight 
side 22. Either embodiment of the U shaped clip may be used alone or in 
combination with the clip including space 17 as illustrated in FIGS. 18 
and 19. In the preferred embodiment, the closest distance between the two 
sides of the U is at the median of the side curvatures. 
FIG. 20 illustrates the securing means illustrated in FIG. 18 or 19 snapped 
onto a bent shank hook. 
When the helix 12 is fastened, either by snap action or bending, to the 
hook eye 23 of a bent shank hook, the bait is attached as illustrated in 
FIGS. 21 and 22. In FIG. 21, the worm 25 is screwed onto the helix 12. 
This is accomplished by rotating the plastic lure material 25 in a manner 
which will cause the end of the helix coil wire (13 of FIG. 20) to 
penetrate the plastic lure material. Rotation is continued until the 
plastic lure material reaches the hook eye 23 as illustrated in FIG. 22. 
Hook point 24 is then inserted into plastic lure material 25 as seen in 
phantom in FIG. 22. 
In FIG. 22 the EZ hold helix device 12 is attached to hook 28 which may be 
the type sold by Tru Turn, Inc., U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,398. Area 26 is 
phantom showing of connector 12 in place on the hook eye 23 with the worm 
25 rotated around the helix connector 12. The hook point 24 has been 
inserted into worm body 25 to protect hook point 24 and make hook/lure 
combination weedless. 
While preferred embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and 
described, variations and modifications may be apparent to those skilled 
in the art. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited thereto and ask that 
the scope and breadth of this invention be determined from the claims 
which follow rather than the above description.