ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,490,726, issued on Dec. 9.
"Expandable bait keeper for soft fishing lures" was invented by Steve Parks (Burleson, Texas).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A fishing tackle bait keeper for a fishing hook includes an anchor and an extension member. The anchor has a tapered tip and a sleeve with first and second ends, and plural ribs coupled to the first end. The ribs project in a diverging arrangement from the first end of the sleeve in a direction opposite of the sleeve first end. The ribs move from a deployed position to a retracted position, wherein when the ribs are in the retracted position, the ribs are oriented with the sleeve to allow i...