Abstract:
One aspect of the invention involves a single, continuous, unbroken, one-piece strand of wire that may be bent, twisted and distorted into a hook-hanging implement for rigging a hook or hooks on fishing lure bodies. Another aspect of the invention involves a plurality of wire strands or segments that may be bent, twisted, distorted and conjoined into a hook hanging implement for rigging a hook or hooks on fishing lure bodies. The orientation, size, shape, weight and number of twists, bends and distortions of these hook-hanging implements may be changed to alter or adjust the action of a fishing lure, or to repair or replace damaged parts of a fishing lure.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to soft bodied fishing lures, such as plastic worms, minnows and the like, and more particularly to improved ways of rigging fish hooks on such lures. Prior riggings for soft bodied fishing lures often employed several disconnected components, and all components often were not at hand when they were needed on a lake or stream when a fisherman had to repair, modify or change a lure body or the hook being used. Also, prior riggings did not always permit tuning or changing the action or motions of the lure as it was drawn through water. 
   OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide improved rigging for fishing lures. 
   Another object is to provide a rig for hanging a freely swinging fish hook below a fishing lure. 
   An additional object is to provide a rig for securing a line-attachment eye to a soft bodied fishing lure. 
   Another object is to provide a single one-piece rig that securely attaches a free-swinging hook and a line-connecting eye to a fishing lure body. 
   Another object is to provide a hook-hanging rig that a lure body can be molded upon when the lure body is cast, or the hook-hanging rig can be attached to a lure body after the lure body has been manufactured. 
   A further object is to provide a fishing lure that can be readily replaced, repaired or modified. 
   An additional object is to provide ways to change and adjust or tune the action of fishing lures. 
   A further object is to provide versatile rigging for fishing lures that enables fishermen of relatively low skill to effectively fish a variety of soft bodied lures in a wide range of environments and conditions. 
   A further object is to provide fishing rigs and lures that are durable, economical, attractive to fish, easy to use, change, repair and adjust, and which do not possess defects found in similar prior art fishing tackle. 
   Other objects and advantages of fishing rigging and tackle incorporating this invention will be found in the specification and claims and the scope of the invention will be set forth in the claims. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is an enlarged side view of a fishing lure with rigging in accord with this invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a front end view of the lure shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged side view of the embodiment of an implement for hanging hooks as used in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged, partial side view of the another embodiment of an implement for hanging hooks in accord with this invention. 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged, partial side view of the another embodiment of an implement for hanging hooks in accord with this invention. 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged, partial side view of the another embodiment of an implement for hanging hooks in accord with this invention. 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged, partial side view of the another embodiment of an implement for hanging hooks in accord with this invention. 
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged, partial side view of the another embodiment of an implement for hanging hooks in accord with this invention. 
       FIG. 9  is an enlarged, partial end view of the another embodiment of an implement for hanging hooks in accord with this invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The drawing shows a fishing lure  1  having a soft, flexible resilient body  2  rigged in accord with this invention. According to one aspect of this invention, rigging used to hang a hook  5  in a freely swinging manner below the lure body  2  may be a unitary one-piece implement  3 . The hook  5  has an eye  6 , and may have from one to three prongs, each ending in a barb  7 . 
   The one-piece hook hanging implement  3  is made from a single, continuous, unbroken strand  8  of wire, all parts of which merge seamlessly with and into each other. The strand  8  should be relatively stiff but bendable, and may be spring or stainless steel wire, titanium wire, or the like, having an essentially circular cross-section, with a diameter in the range of from about 0.025 to about 0.050 inches. A first terminal end  9  and a second terminal end  10  of the strand  8  may be embedded in the lure body  2  when the body is cast in a mold or the ends  9  and  10  may be pushed, inserted or otherwise embedded into the soft body  2  at any time after the body  2  has been manufactured. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , end  9  has penetrated and is imbedded in lure body  2  at a first location adjacent the front end  11  of the lure. Second terminal end  10  of wire strand  8  has penetrated and is embedded in lure body  2  at a second location adjacent the lure bottom  12  that is spaced from the first location where end  9  has been embedded. 
   Strand  8  has been wound or bent back to overlap itself so as to create an essentially circular first loop  13  at the end  11  of the lure. A fishing line  14  may be connected or tied in conventional manner to the loop  13 . A first portion  15  of the strand  8  located between first terminal end  9  and first loop  13  may be distorted, or bent, into a helical spiral, or corkscrew shape  16 , so as to resist the pulling of implement  3  from the lure body at its front end. First portion  15  merges continuously and seamlessly into a first end  17  of first loop  13 . 
   Strand  8  has been bent back to overlap itself so as to create an essentially circular second loop  18  for connecting hook  5  to lure body  2 . Loop  18  is dimensioned to pass through the eye  6  in a manner that permits hook  5  to swing freely below the lure. One end of implement  3  may be inserted through eye  6 , and then hook  5  may be moved along implement  3  until eye  6  reaches second loop  18 . Pushing eye  6  against the overlapping parts of strand  8  that form loop  18  temporarily separates those parts and allows eye  6  to be snapped into loop  18 . Hook  5  may be removed from implement  3  by reversing the order of these steps. 
   A second end  19  of first loop  13  merges continuously and seamlessly into a second portion  20  of strand  8 , and second portion  20  merges continuously and seamlessly into a first end  21  of second loop  18 . Second portion  20  is bent to extend at an angle away from first loop  13 . A second end  22  of second loop  18  merges continuously and seamlessly into a third portion  23  of wire strand  8 . Third portion  23  may extend at an obtuse angle  24  away from second portion  18 , and portion  23  merges continuously and seamlessly into a fourth portion  25  of strand  8 . Fourth portion  25  may be bent at an acute angle  26  away from third portion  23  and portion  25  ends in second terminal end  10 . The second, third and fourth portions each may have a different length. The third and fourth portions may be in the same plane, the third portion may be longer than the fourth portion. Fourth portion extends in a direction that causes forces on first loop  13  acting to pull first end  9  out of lure body  2  at that location act, at the same time, to imbed second end  10  further into the lure body at a different location, and thus maintain the connection between the lure body  2  and he hook-hanging implement  3 . 
     FIGS. 4-9  show additional embodiments of the invention that are identical to the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3 , except for the structural features specifically shown and described. The same reference numerals that have been used in  FIGS. 1-3  are used in  FIGS. 4-9  to identify the same parts of the hook-hanging implement  3 . 
   In  FIG. 4  the first portion  15  has been distorted or bent into a reverse bend or hook  30  oriented in a direction generally toward the first loop  13 . 
   In  FIG. 5  the first portion  15  has been distorted or bent into a pinched reverse bend  31  oriented in a direction generally toward first loop  13 . 
     FIGS. 6-8  illustrate another aspect of the invention in which the hook-hanging implement  3  may comprise two or more interconnected components or portions, and the eye  6  of hook  5  may be worked into the second loop  18  in the manner described above. 
   In  FIG. 6  the first portion  15  has been distorted or bent into a helix  16  and bent into an end loop  32  that passes through first loop  13  so as to attach and connect the helix  16  to hook-hanger implement  3 . 
   In  FIG. 7  the first portion  15  may included a wire that has been bent double at  33  into two arms  34  and  35 , each of which has been distorted or bent into a reverse bend or hook  36  or  37 , with the hooks  36  and  37  being oriented in a direction generally toward first loop  13  and defining the first end  9  of the implement  3 . The bend at  33  passes through an intermediate loop  38  bent in portion  15  so as to attach and connect the arms  34  and  35  to hook-hanger implement  3 . 
   In  FIG. 8  the fourth portion of the hook-hanger implement  3  may include a fish hook  39  having its eye  40  engaged in a loop  41  bent at the end of third portion  23  so as to attach the hook  39  to the implement  3  and define the second end  10  of the implement  3  by the point of the hook  39 . 
     FIG. 9  shows another embodiment in which the wire strand  8  may be bent continuously and seamlessly into two or more side-by-side essentially identical first loops  13   a  and  13   b.    
   This invention provides fishermen with numerous riggings for hanging a free-swinging hook below a fish lure body  2 . Hooks  5  may be changed by easing fourth portion  25  out of the bottom  12  of lure body  2 , and working the eye  6  out of second loop  18  and then along portions  23  and  25  until eye  6  has been moved past second end  10 , and then reversing these steps with a different hook. Thus, the size, and weight of the hook as well as its number of barbs on the lure can be changed at different locations or when fishing conditions change. The orientation, size, shape, angle and number of twists, bends and distortions of the hook-hanging implement  3  may be changed during a fishing session to alter or adjust the action of a fishing lure to different or changing conditions that occur during the fishing trip, or to correct he action of a lure that has been damaged by a snag or by a striking or hooked fish. Also, the hook hanging implement  3  may be removed from damaged lure bodies and reused on other lure bodies. 
   While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is not intended to illustrate or describe all of the equivalent forms or ramifications thereof. Also, the words used are words of description rather than limitation, and various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.