Patent ID: 7878339

Claim:
A combination of retail shelves, a vertical support structure and a merchandise display hook for fishing rods having a butt portion terminating in a butt end; said combination comprising: retail shelves occupying floor space and defining aisle space therefrom; a vertical support structure above the retail shelves; and a display hook comprising an axial shaft extending from a fore end to an aft end; a bight formation affixed to or formed out of the axial shaft's fore end; a hanger fixture affixed to the axial shaft's aft end for hanging or arranging on the vertical support structure above the retail shelves, wherein the bight formation extends in a plane that is generally transverse to the shaft's axis for undergirding a fore section of the fishing rod's butt portion; and a retainer positioned on the shaft intermediate the hanger fixture and bight formation for partially surrounding a transverse top or bottom segment of an aft section of the fishing rod's butt portion between the fore section thereof and the butt end in order to stabilize the fishing rod when removably displayed by said display hook; wherein the shaft projects from the hanger fixture horizontally as well as upwardly, and the bight formation and retainer are cooperatively arranged to cantilever the fishing rod from the butt portion thereof in an outwardly projecting upwardly inclined disposition in front of the vertical support structure, not only above the shelves thereby available for other merchandise at lower elevations, but also above aisle space; whereby said combination provides retailers with an overhead presentation or display of fishing rods that is not only alluring to shoppers for being up high but also appealing to retailers for freeing up floor space.