Tse nie&! Field of the Invention This invention relates- to an accessory for connecting fishhooks and lures in a preferred orientation relative each other.

B ckground to the nvention The Inventor is aware of split rings, cross-lock and coast-lock snaps used in arrangements of fishhooks, fishing lines, sinkers, lures or similar fishing paraphernalia. Fishing snaps and split rings currently available in the art have all features arranged in a single plane. Often, such arrangements also make use of a swivel -in order -to allow free rotation of connected ^' items attached to a line, lure or sinker n use,

A common practice is to attach treble hooks to trolling lures, through the use of a split ring.. However, when a single hook is attached to a lure n a similar fashion It results in disorientation of the hook relative to the lure. In order to arrange a single hook In a preferred orientation relative the lure,- an additional split ring is inserted which corrects the aspect of a single hook relative to the fishing lure. The. use of multiple split rings has been known to cause tangles and Interfere with the swimming action of various lures. It is an object of the invention to provide an alternative to. existing fishhook and lure arrangements In order to overcome at least some of the difficulties identified above.

-Summary of the Inversion

According to the Invention there is provided a connector which

Includes: an elongate member shaped to form a loop that defines a pair of retaining zones wherein articles to be connected can be retained, and which retaining zones are arranged out of plane relative to each other. The elongate member may take the form of a wire strand, and the connector may be made by bending a single wire strand into a substantially circular overlapping unit and thereafter bending opposing arcuate ends of the unit out of plane relative each other. The wire may be bent such that the end regions overlap a substantial length of the wire strand. The wire may be bent such thai the end regions overlap at least a portion of the length of the wire strand.

The wire strand may be manufactured from any suitable metallic material which may include spring steel

The connector may take the form of a split ring with opposing sides twisted relatively out of plane in order to define two out of plane receiving zones such that articles received within one receiving zone are relatively rotated to articles received within the other receiving zone. The out of plane receiving zones may be twisted relative each other so as to define a general figure of eight. Specific description of the I ventio

The invention is now described b way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

figures 1 and 2 show photographic representations of a connector, I accordance with one aspect of the invention.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the connector, i accordance with the invention, is generally Indicated by reference numeral 10.

The connector 10 Includes- a elongate member 12 comprising a single wire strand 14 that is bent to from a loop, thereby defining a pair of retaining zones 16.1 and 18.2 wherein articles (not shown) to be connected can be retained. For the embodiment shown the wire is bent such that there is extensive overla between the first wire end 18, the second wire end 20 and the rest of the wire 14.

The connector 10 has a first arcuate end 22 and an opposing second arcuate end 24 that are arranged in the region of 90 degrees, ie orthogonally, out of plane relative to each other. This relative rotation of the arcuate ends 22, 24 ^• allows articles (not shown) that are received in .he first retaining zone 16.1 to be rotated relative to the articles received within the second retaining zone 16,2. in use ariic!es to be connected (not shown) are threaded onto the connector 10 at one of the end regions 18 or 20 of the wire strand 14. Either wire end 18 or 20 is forced away from the rest of the wire 14 op, whereafter the article Is slid along the wire 14 until it is received within either retaining zone 16.1 or 16.2, thereby joining any number of artieies retained in a similar fashion. it is to be appreciated that not onl does the connector 10 allow for relative rotation of various connected articles, but a further advantage of this embodiment includes that It Is, I part, of reduced diameter compared to traditional split ring connectors. Traditional split rings have a constant diameter when viewed in plan, and the embodiment shown has a comparatively reduced planar diameter,, at the cost of increasing the height profile of the split ring as viewed from the side,

This connector will typically be used In fishing in order to connect fishhooks to fishing lures and thereby providing a preferred orientatio of the hook relative the lure.

It shall be understood that the examples are provided for illustrating the invention further and to assist a perso skilled in the art with understanding the invention and are not meant to be construed as unduly limiting the reasonable scope of the Invention. DATED THIS DAY OF DECEMBER 201 .