Fish hooks known in the art have not successfully solved the problem of keeping bait from falling off the hook. Prior art patents have used strand-type basket devices for a variety of purposes. Livermore, U.S. Pat. No. 51,951, shows a loop guard attached to the eyelet of a fish hook for engaging the hook point upwardly or downwardly in the mouth of the fish. Wentz, U.S. Pat. No. 2.608,791, and Kracht, U.S. Pat. No. 2,938,296, also show a guarded hook for engaging firmly in the mouth of the fish. Showalter, U.S. Pat. No. 3,465,466, shows a weed deflecting guard which closes the gap between eyelet and hook. Flowers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,001, shows a fish hook with an encircling holder into which live bait is inserted.
In my previous patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,908, a bait guard is described in which the strands of the guard run substantially parallel to the curve of the fish hook, and the strands are engaged over the barbed point of the hook to hold the bait in place. The bait guard of U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,908 has been found to be less satisfactory than anticipated in holding bait of all types on a fish hook.
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