Patent ID: 6871442

Claim:
An expandable bait sleeve assembly comprising: a fishing line; a bait; a fishing hook coupled to said fishing line; and a sleeve comprising a plurality of strands of a plastic material and forming a mesh-like configuration defining a plurality of apertures between said strands, said sleeve having an interior surface and an exterior surface and a first end and a second end, said second end of said sleeve being substantially closed and defining an aperture through which said fishing line passes, said first end of said sleeve being open and dimensioned to expand to receive at least a portion of said bait, said first end being free of means to one of constrict and close said first end, said interior surface of said sleeve retaining at least a portion of said bait and at least a portion of said fishing line and at least a portion of said fishing hook; wherein said sleeve being sufficiently expandable so as to expand circumferentially as a bait having a circumference larger than a circumference of said sleeve is inserted into said open first end of said sleeve without applying any force to any other portion of said sleeve to expand said sleeve while at the same time said sleeve is sufficiently rigid in order to compress and at least a portion of said bait and at least a portion of said fishing line and at least a portion of said fishing hook inside said interior surface of said sleeve.