Patent ID: 8915011

Claim:
A mechanical hook assembly for catching fish, said hook assembly comprising: a hook having an elongated shank with proximal and distal ends, a bend formed with the proximal end of the shank, and a point; the shank extending from the distal end towards the bend, and the bend extending from the shank to the point, and the point being laterally spaced apart a distance from the shank and extending in a direction towards the distal end; a spring-biased trigger adjacent said hook and comprising an elongated distal point guard, an intermediate latch, a proximal spring shaft, and a spring, the spring normally urging said hook assembly into an open spread condition such that the spring shaft of said trigger extends outwardly at an angle to the shank of said hook and in a direction opposite the bend; a catch located beside the shank of said hook, whereby: (i) said hook assembly is moved from the open spread condition to a loaded condition by bringing said trigger and said hook together against a biasing force of said spring, such that the latch of said trigger operatively engages said catch thereby holding said hook assembly in the loaded condition, and in the loaded condition the point guard of said trigger extends in a direction opposite and longitudinally beyond the point of said hook, and is spaced apart from the bend and the point, and said point guard resides a laterally spaced distance from the shank greater than the laterally spaced distance of the point to the shank; and (ii) upon urging the point guard of said trigger towards the shank of said hook, the latch of said trigger disengages said catch, thereby releasing said hook assembly for sudden movement to the open spread condition.