Patent ID: 7621071

Claim:
A linkable sinker comprising: an elongated weight having a weight length L W and having a weight passage therethrough; a wire member having a shank portion that passes through said weight passage and terminating at a leading eye and a trailing eye, said leading and trailing eyes being sized so as to be blocked from passing into said weight passage, said trailing eye being formed by an open-ended loop having a trailing eye leg that can be positioned to extend parallel to said shank portion and, when so positioned, can be inserted into said weight passage to close said trailing eye, said trailing eye leg having a trailing eye leg length L L , said leading eye and said trailing eye being separated by an eye separation S selected such that S>L W +L L , whereby, when said wire member is slid in said weight passage to bring said leading eye toward a weight leading end of said elongated weight, said trailing eye leg is removed from said weight passage to allow access to said trailing eye; and a resilient hood attaching to said weight leading end at a trailing end of said resilient hood such that said weight leading end is positioned inside said resilient hood, said resilient hood having a hood passage configured such that said leading eye of said wire member can movably reside therein, said resilient hood having an uncompressed hood length L H such that L H +L W >S, whereby said resilient hood extends over said leading eye and a portion of said shank portion that extends from said weight leading end when said hood is in an uncompressed state and said trailing eye is inserted into said weight passage, said resilient hood extending over said leading eye such that the leading eye is positioned inside said hood passage and below a leading end of said resilient hood which is opposite said trailing end of said resilient hood, said resilient hood being compressible against said weight leading end so as to allow said leading eye to be extended from said hood passage for access.