Fishing lure having two or more hooks

The field of the invention is fishing lures, specifically fishing lures having more than one hook.

Many lures, in a variety of sizes and colors, are currently on the market, as it is well-known that different species of fish are attracted to different types of lures. Because some species of fish are known to be attracted to more than one type of bait but a fisherman has no way of knowing which of these preferred baits an individual fish will be attracted to on any given day, the fisherman's chances of catching fish are increased if he can fish with more than one hook simultaneously, each of the hooks having a different bait. However, in some states this method of fishing is legal only if the multiple hooks are part of a lure.

A few lures known in the prior art have more than one hook. Examples of this are twin hooks that can be slid onto a lure, and treble hooks that have three hooks projecting from a common shank. Double hooks, which have both hooks extending from a common shank and which primarily come in large sizes, can be attached to existing lures. In all of these prior art arrangements, the hooks project from the bottom of the lure. No known prior art has the hooks so configured as in the present invention, which has a hook at each end of the lure, positioned one hundred eighty degrees apart from each other, or multiples at each end in the same configuration.

The invention is a fishing lure having a generally upside-down “T” formation with one or more hooks at each end at an approximately one hundred eighty degree angle to each other.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a lure that increases the fisherman's baiting options and thus his opportunity to catch more fish, by using multiple baiting options presented in a natural way. For example, if he is fishing for a species that is known to be attracted to both minnow heads and wax grubs, he can bait one of the hooks with a minnow head and the other hook with a wax grub. A major advantage of having multiple hooks positioned one hundred eighty degrees apart, rather than clustered beneath the lure as in the prior art, is that the arrangement in the present invention allows the fisherman to present a natural appearance of the bait to the fish. For example, a minnow head looks like a live minnow swimming in the water. Because the movement of lure mimics live bait, fish are more likely to be fooled and to take the bait.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the embodiment of the invention without a weight or bead, wherein the lure is a unitary structure.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment with a weight.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment with a bead.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment without a weight or bead, wherein the lure is formed from two hooks joined together.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the embodiment with a weight, taken along line 5 - 5 of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the embodiment with a bead, taken along line 6 - 6 of FIG. 3 .

As seen from the side, the lure has a hook 2 at the left end and another hook 3 at the right end, one hundred eighty degrees opposite from each other. Hooks 2 and 3 are preferably made of metal and can be of any size, shape, or color. The example shown is a common type known as an Aberdeen hook, but other shapes work equally well. Treble hooks or other multiple hook arrangements can be used as an alternative to the single hook at either or both ends. Shafts 6 A and 6 B connect hook 2 to hook 3 . The length of shafts 6 A and 6 B can vary in relationship to the size of the bait used, in order to balance weight so that the lure remains level in the water. A shank 1 extends generally perpendicularly from the junction of shafts 6 A and 6 B and is positioned approximately halfway between hook 2 and hook 3 . At the top end of shank 1 a loop, bend, or ring 4 is formed in order to allow a conventional fishing line (not shown) to pass therethrough and be tied to the lure. A weight 8 and/or a bead 7 may be provided as an optional feature, said bead 7 or weight 8 being positioned at the junction 5 between shafts 6 A and 6 B. The weight 8 or bead 7 may be any size, shape, or color, and may be of any material conventionally used for weights (lead, bismuth, ceramic, or other heavy material) or beads (most commonly plastic, sometimes foam).

The preferred embodiment of the version without a weight or bead is a unitary structure wherein the hooks 2 and 3 , shafts 6 A and 6 B, shank 1 , and loop 4 are all a single piece formed from a mold. Alternatively, two hooks could be joined together at the junction between shaft 6 A and shaft 6 B, by for example, welding, soldering, or chemically joining as shown in FIG. 4 . The embodiment of FIG. 4 includes the shank 1 being formed by the shanks of each of the hooks 2 and 3 which extend parallel to each other and are joined together in abutting relation along the lengths of the shanks. The hook 3 has a loop 4 on an upper end of its shank and the hook 2 has an upper end of its shank which terminates below the loop 4 . The shafts 6 A and 6 B of the hooks 2 and 3 extend outward from the shank 1 in the same horizontal plane which is perpendicular to the shank 1 . The shafts 6 A and 6 B extend toward curved portions 6 D and 6 E which transition to straight portions 6 F and 6 G that terminate at hook points 6 H and 6 I. The straight portions 6 F and 6 G and hook points 6 H and 6 I extend in a common horizontal plane which is parallel to the shafts 6 A And 6 B, perpendicular to the shank 1 , and intersects the loop. In the version having a weight 8 , a conventional method of pouring lead around the two molded hooks to close the mold can be used, and similarly, the version having a bead 7 can be made by adding the bead by injection molding.

To use the invention, the fisherman, who has selected the particular model (size, shape, color, finish, etc.) of this lure to use based upon the species and/or size of fish, size and/or type of bait, weather conditions, depth and/or current in the body of water to be fished, and other variables well-known to those skilled in the art, baits hooks 2 and 3 (usually with a different type of bait on each hook) and drops the lure into the water in the usual manner.

The foregoing examples of various embodiments of the invention given herein are provided as illustration of the best mode for carrying out the invention and not by way of limitation, the scope of the invention being limited only by the claims.