Abstract:
The fishing hook has a shank, a pointed hook portion formed at the lower end of the shank, and an eyelet formed at the upper end of the shank. The eyelet is formed by a generally D-shaped open loop that defines a cleft at the apex of the eyelet. The method of attaching a snell (a short leader line) to a fishing hook includes the steps of: forming a loop in a snell; passing the loop through the eyelet; rotating the fishing hook at least one full rotation to twist the loop; passing the loop over the open end of the eyelet; and pulling the snell to form a knot at the apex of the eyelet.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/740,269, filed Nov. 29, 2005. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to equipment for catching fish, and more particularly to fishing hooks.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Fishing hooks typically consist of a shank with a hook extending from the lower portion of the shank. An eyelet is provided at the upper end of the shank for attaching a fishing line to the hook.  
         [0006]     Fishermen using conventional hook designs encounter a number of problems. The first problem is the issue of securing a fishing line or a leader line to the hook. It is important that the line be firmly secured to the hook so that a fish, once hooked, does not escape by pulling the hook free from the line. A number of knots for securing the line to conventional fish eyelets are known, but many conventional knots are difficult to tie properly, particularly when the user is wearing gloves, or if the user&#39;s manual dexterity is impaired from exposure to the cold weather which users often find conducive to catching fish. Improperly tied knots can result in the line becoming detached from the hook, causing a loss of the fishing tackle, attached bait, or even a fish escaping after being hooked.  
         [0007]     Another issue with conventional hooks involves hazards presented when attempting to remove a fish from the hook once the fish is caught. Conventional fishhooks are made of strong wire, the hook end of which may have a sharp edge. When a user attempts to grip the eyelet of a hook to free a live fish, the movements of the struggling fish may cause the sharp edge from the hook to cut into the hands and fingers of the user. Further, conventional fishing hooks are often difficult to extract from a fish&#39;s mouth because the fish may swallow the hook, thus leaving only a small upper portion of the eyelet for the user to grasp while attempting to pull and work the hook free from the fish.  
         [0008]     Ideally, a fishing hook provides “lever action” to assist in hooking the fish. Lever action is the tendency for the force exerted on the line attached to the hook to drive the hook into the fish. Lever action results from the line of force generated through a tug on the fishing line acting along the line of the point of the hook, so that pulling on the line tends to drive the hook point into the fish. When a line is knotted or tied to the eyelet of the conventional fishing hook, the securing knot may slide around the circumference of the eyelet. The result is that the line of force along the fishing line may deviate from the line of action of the hook portion of the fishing hook, eliminating the desired lever action and increasing the risk that the fish may escape.  
         [0009]     Japanese Patent No. 6-327,378, published Nov. 29, 1994, shows, in  FIG. 1 , a fishing hook with an eyelet having a substantially square shape and an offset medial portion of the shank. German Patent No. 19,944,944, published Apr. 5, 2001, shows a plurality of fishing hooks having a medial loop in the shank.  
         [0010]     Thus a fishing hook solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     The fishing hook has a shank, a pointed hook portion formed at the lower end of the shank, and an eyelet formed at the upper end of the shank. The eyelet is formed by a generally D-shaped open loop. In some embodiments the eyelet is closed by braising or the like. In other embodiments, the end of the loop may be separated from the shank by a small gap when aligned to one side of the plane of the hook portion (referred to as an open position), and biased into contact with the shank by spring tension when aligned to the opposite side of the plane of the hook portion (referred to as the closed portion. In some embodiments, the end of the loop may be blunted by attachment of a blunt tip or by forming a smaller loop at the end of the D-shaped open loop. The eyelet has a downwardly facing cleft in which the knot for a leader line lodges to provide leverage for setting the hook in the fish when the line is pulled, and the D-shape provides a broad structure to grab when removing the hook from the fish.  
         [0012]     The open loop forming the eyelet permits a novel way of tying a knot to secure a leader line or snell (as used in the present application, the term “snell” is defined as a length of fine, threadlike material, such as monofilament or gut, that connects a fishing hook to a fishing line, i.e., a snell is a short length of leader line) to the hook. The method of attaching a snell to a fishing hook includes the steps of: forming a loop in a snell; passing the loop through the eyelet; rotating the fishing hook at least one full rotation to twist the loop; passing the loop over the open end of the eyelet; and pulling the snell to form a knot at the apex of the eyelet.  
         [0013]     The fishing hook and method for attaching the snell allows for relatively fast and easy placement of one or more of such fishing hooks on a fishing line, and allows for easy visual identification, by a fisherman or the like, of the position of the hook point within the mouth of a hooked fish. As will be described in further detail below, the present invention includes a hook point indicator, allowing the fisherman to easily discern the position of the hook point with respect to the eyelet; i.e., the hook point indicator allows the fisherman to determine the direction of the bend at the bottom of the hook with respect to the eyelet.  
         [0014]     These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]      FIG. 1  is an environmental perspective view of a first embodiment of a fishing hook according to the invention with a line attached to the eyelet.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2A  is a side perspective view of the fishing hook of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0017]      FIG. 2B  is a front perspective view of the fishing hook of  FIG. 1  with the eyelet aligned in an open position.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2C  is a front perspective view of the fishing hook of  FIG. 1  with the eyelet closed by spring tension.  
         [0019]      FIGS. 3A, 3B ,  3 C,  3 D and  3 E are side views showing successive stages of attaching a snell to the fishing hook of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a side view of a second embodiment of a fishing hook according to the present invention having a permanently closed eyelet.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is an environmental side view of a third alternative embodiment of a fishing hook according to the present invention with an attached swivel.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a fourth alternative embodiment of a fishing hook according to the present invention having a barbed shank.  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a fifth embodiment of a fishing hook according to the present invention having a flag-shaped eyelet.  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is a side view of a sixth embodiment of a fishing hook according to the present invention with a latching closable eyelet.  
         [0025]      FIG. 9  is a side view of a seventh embodiment of a fishing hook according to the present invention having a lead jig.  
         [0026]      FIG. 10  is a side view of an eighth embodiment of a fishing hook according to the present invention with a swivel attachment loop.  
         [0027]      FIG. 11  is a side view of a ninth alternative embodiment of a fishing hook according to the invention with a blunted eyelet end.  
     
    
       [0028]     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]     The present invention is a fishing hook and a method for attaching a snell a line to the fishing hook. Referring first to  FIG. 1 , features of the fishing hook may be appreciated.  
         [0030]     The fishing hook  20  is preferably formed from a relatively strong metal wire. The fishing hook  20  includes a shank  22 . The lower end of the shank  22  is bent to form a hook portion  32  that comes to a barbed point  34 . The upper portion of the shank  22  is preferably bent to form a D-shaped eyelet  26  defining an eyelet opening  28  with a cleft  24  (best shown in  FIG. 2A ) at the apex of the eyelet  26 . The D-shaped eyelet  26  is formed by a rectilinear extension  36  of the shank and an arcuate leg  38  that curves downward and outward from the apex of the eyelet  26  towards the point  34  of the hook portion  32  and then back towards the shank  22 . A leader line or snell  40  is attached to the fishing hook  20  with a knot that lodges in the cleft  24  of the eyelet  26 . The cleft  24  maintains the position of the knot in the eyelet so that a force pulling on the leader line or snell  40  operates along the axis of the shank  22 , generating lever action to aid in setting the hook portion  32  into a fish.  
         [0031]     The D-shaped eyelet  26  is preferably an open loop. The end of the shank  22  forming the eyelet  26  may be blunted by being bent into a small closed loop  30  at the end of arcuate leg  38 , by fastening a blunt tip to the end of the eyelet, by peening or flattening the end of the eyelet  26 , or by any other means. By looping the end of the wire into the shank  22 , the exposed end of the wire is covered, thus mitigating the risk of the end of the wire cutting into the hand of a user. The formed eyelet  26  can be used as a handle to hold onto the fishing hook  32  while extracting the hook portion  32  from a fish. The relatively large area enclosed by the eyelet circumference forms an impediment against swallowing of the entire hook by a fish, ensuring that a user can readily grasp the fishing hook  20  to remove the hook  20  from a fish.  
         [0032]     By referring to  FIGS. 2A, 2B , and  2 C, additional details of the eyelet  26  may be appreciated.  FIGS. 2A and 2B  show the eyelet  26  in an open position. The closed looped end  30  of the wire forming the eyelet  26  is aligned to pass to one side of the shank  22 , forming a small gap between the loop  30  at the end of the eyelet  26  and the shank  22 . The bend forming the circumference of the eyelet  26  is biased to maintain the formed gap, keeping the eyelet  28  open. As shown in  FIG. 2C , the eyelet opening may be closed by moving the closed loop  30  to the opposite side of the plane of the shank  22  and hook portion  32 , so that spring bias holds the eyelet  28  closed with the arcuate leg  38  bearing against the shank  22 .  
         [0033]     As further illustrated in  FIGS. 2B and 2C , the closed loop portion  30  may be colored, textured or otherwise visually marked, through the use paint, ink, dye or any other suitable visual marking method. This allows the fisherman to easily identify the location and angle of the fishing hook within the fish&#39;s mouth following hooking of the fish with respect to the eyelet portion; i.e., the hook point indicator allows the fisherman to determine the direction of the bend at the bottom of the hook with respect to the eyelet.  
         [0034]     A method of attaching a snell (a short length of leader line) to the fishing hook  20  is described by referring to  FIGS. 3A, 3B ,  3 C,  3 D and  3 E. Referring first to  FIG. 3A , a loop  50  is formed in the end of the snell  40 . The loop is passed through the eyelet opening  28 . Next, as shown in  FIG. 3B , the fishing hook  20  is rotated through one or more rotations about an axis collinear with the shank  22  of the fishing hook  20 . Preferably, the fishing hook  20  is only rotated once, as multiple full revolutions will result in a weaker knot. The rotations cause the loop  50  to form twists above the wire defining the eyelet  26  of the fishing hook  20  adjacent the cleft  24 , as shown in  FIG. 3C .  
         [0035]     Next, as may be appreciated in  FIG. 3D , with the eyelet  26  in the open position, as described above with reference to  FIG. 2B , the end of the loop  50  is passed over the end  30  of the eyelet. Finally, as shown in  FIG. 3E , by pulling on the end of the fishing line  40 , the snell  40  is drawn into a knot  60  next to cleft or apex  24 , which is then snugly positioned into the cleft  24  of the eyelet opening  28  through manual force being applied to either the snell  40  and/or the fishing hook  20 . Once the knot  60  is formed, the eyelet  26  may be closed as described above with reference to  FIG. 2C .  
         [0036]     Variations on the fishing hook may be appreciated by referring to  FIGS. 5, 6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 , and  10 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 5  illustrates a selectively openable and closable eyelet fishing hook  220  with an eyelet adapted to accommodate a snap swivel  72 . The shank, and hook portion of the fishing hook  220  are of identical construction to the fishing hook  20  described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . However, the latchable eyelet has a second bend  232  below the apex of the eyelet. The second bend forms a notch that prevents the swivel catch  72  from moving within the eyelet to a position out of line with the shank, the cleft being defined within the notch.  
         [0038]      FIG. 6  illustrates a selectively openable and closable eyelet fishing hook  320  having an eyelet formed identically to the fishing hook described with reference to  FIG. 1 . The shank of the fishing hook  320 , in this embodiment, is provided with additional shank barbs  82 .  
         [0039]     The fishing hook  420  illustrated in  FIG. 7  is a selectively openable and closable eyelet fishing hook with a flag-shaped opening  428 . The eyelet again has a cleft at the apex of the eyelet, as described above. However, the lower portion of the eyelet is widened to produce a flag-shaped eyelet, providing an enhanced impediment to being swallowed by a hooked fish. The wire of the end loop  430  of the eyelet is bent substantially downward so that the end loop  430  is positioned approximately parallel to the shank. The bent closing loop provides an additional impediment to being swallowed by a hooked fish.  
         [0040]      FIG. 8  illustrates a latchable selectively openable and closable eyelet fishing hook  520  having a selectively openable and closable eyelet, shank, and hook portion of similar construction to the fishing hook  20  described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . As will be described below with reference to  FIG. 11 , the latchable eyelet, and variations thereof, may further be used to hold bait to the fishing hook. The latchable eyelet fishing hook  520  differs from the fishing hook of  FIG. 1  in that the loop  530  at the end of the wire is not closed, but is open and has a gap wide enough to allow the shank to slip within the circumference of the loop  530 , thereby hooking the eyelet closed. When the loop encircles the shank, the eyelet of the fishing hook  520  is latched closed.  
         [0041]      FIG. 11  illustrates an alternative embodiment of the fish hook  920 , which is similar to fish hook  520  of  FIG. 8 , except that the loop portion  530  is replaced with a relatively flat catch member  930 , which catches on the shaft of the fish hook in the closed position. This configuration allows for the positioning of bait (illustrated in  FIG. 11  in dashed line as an exemplary worm) on both the upper portion of the fish hook and the lower portion of the hook, as shown. It will be noted that other embodiments of the fishing hook may also be formed with the free end of the arcuate leg  38  crossing the shank  22  and extending beyond the medial portion of the shank  22 , the blunted end of the eyelet  26  preventing puncture of the fingers.  
         [0042]      FIG. 9  illustrates a weighted selectively openable and closable eyelet fishing hook  620  having a selectively openable and closable eyelet, shank, and hook portion of identical construction to the fishing hook  20  described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . A jig  100  made of lead or other dense material is affixed to the eyelet.  
         [0043]      FIG. 10  illustrates a selectively openable and closable eyelet fishing hook  720  having a selectively openable and closable eyelet, shank, and hook portion of identical construction to the fishing hook  20  described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . The fishing hook  720  is additionally provided with a swivel attachment loop or conventional closed eyelet  740  located at the apex of the selectively openable and closable eyelet. A snap swivel may be attached to the closed eyelet  740 .  
         [0044]     A closed eyelet fishing hook in accordance with the invention is described with reference to  FIG. 4 . The closed eyelet fishing hook  120  is formed from a stiff, resilient wire. The closed eyelet fishing hook  120  comprises a shank  122 . The lower portion of the shank  122  is bent into a hook portion  132 . The upper portion of the shank  122  is bent at an acute angle to form an eyelet opening  128  with a cleft  124  at the apex of the eyelet. The cleft  124  maintains the position of fishing line secured to the eyelet  126  so that the a force pulling on the line operates along the line of the shank  122 , generating lever action to aid in setting the hook portion  132  into a fish.  
         [0045]     The end  42  of the wire forming the eyelet is attached to the shank  122  by braising, welding, or other permanent means, resulting in a closed eyelet  126 . The eyelet opening  126  provides a handle for grasping the fishing hook  120  when removing the hook from a fish, and provides an impediment against swallowing of the fishing hook  120  by a fish.  
         [0046]     Additionally, the enlarged eyelet opening provides for greater structural strength than the relatively small eyelets provided in conventional fish hooks. By tying the end of the fishing line about cleft  24  of the enlarged D-shaped opening  28 , the upper portion of the fish hook (forming the eyelet opening) may take an increased force load (produced by the fishing line) without deforming. In order to enhance the load-bearing properties of a conventional fishing hook, the upper portion forming the eyelet opening would have to be thickened or otherwise structurally enhanced from its present configuration.  
         [0047]     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.