Please read this, take the time to read it thoroughly and take the time to go to the link and send an email to your local lawmakers about this situation.
Here is a brief summary of the situation from Keep America Fishing:
“On August 23, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and four other organizations to ban all lead in fishing tackle under the Toxic Substances Control Act. This includes sinkers, jigs, weighted fly line, and components that contain lead such as brass and ballast in a wide variety of lures, including spinners, stick baits and more.”
The groups petitioning the EPA denied the petition for the ban on lead ammunition, supporters from hunting and shooting sports have been successful in having ammunition excluded from the ban but fishing tackle is being looked
The ban on lead fishing tackle also has a severe lack of research and support behind but as you may or may not know fishing does not have big powerhouse political organizations behind it like hunting and shooting sports do. (like the NRA).
This would be a MAJOR game changer for fishing tackle and would drive costs up substantially. The alternative to lead sinkers is steel sinkers which cost considerably more than lead sinkers do.
Please take the time to go to Keep America Fishing’s page on the proposed ban on lead fishing tackle and follow their instructions on their page.
You need to do two things, first copy and past the letter on their sent and send it to the EPA by email. Second, use their form to email your local lawmakers. The whole thing just takes a few minutes.
Make sure when doing both that you fill out all your valid information (name, address, phone number etc) because often times with issues like this you letter, email or petition signature is eliminated if it lacks supporting information.
This needs to be done BEFORE September 15th.
Copy and past the link to this article and email it to everyone you know, post it on your Facebook pages and do everything you can to spread the word. There is strength in numbers and together we can be heard.
Click here to sign email your local lawmakers.
Chad;
The above mentioned “BAN”, has already taken off in some areas out here in the West. Here in the city I live in, at our local Wal-Mart, whenever the lead sinkers of a certain weight is sold out, it is replaced with the steel ones you mentioned. I have tried the steel, and I personally don’t care for them. They are bigger for one thing.
My wife went up to ID to visit our daughter. I asked her to look around up there for some 1/2 oz lead Egg Sinkers. After visiting several stores, including a Cabela’s near Spokane, she found some at a large local store in another city. The cost was $1.00 for a pack of 5, which isn’t bad. She bought me 10 or 12 bags. The clerk told her when the ones they had were gone, they would be getting no more lead sinkers because of the EPA.
If any visitors here see any lead sinkers they need at their favorite bait shops or other sources, ya better stock up.
Also, there are certain areas, again, here in CA, where you are limited to NON lead ammo. This is just another way to put a blockage, [BAN], on our Second Amendment rights, and our fishing privileges.
Chad, if this has been offensive in any way, feel free to delete it, as this is your web site.
Stan
Keep letting people know. If we don’t stand up for our rights nobody else will!
Chad, Thanks for bringing this to our attention. This needs to be a priority for those of us who love any kind of fishing. Next year they will attempt to take away our guns by outrageous regulations- sure, keep your ammo ’cause you won’t have anything to shoot it out of. I believe it is the Blair-Holt proposal if you want to check it out.
Keep up the good work.
Rich
Thanks, spread the word and make others aware!
Chad, I thoroughly enjoy your website, emails and products. I am a customer of yours and enjoy your information and products.
I have a few bags of steel sinkers, but still use lead products. I also have not hugged a tree lately, but… On this subject, I am “on the fence” with your position. I know alternatives to lead are available now. If a ban is implemented, prices will come down as competition evolves in this market
Your statement, “The ban on lead fishing tackle also has a severe lack of research…” There are almost 3000 tons of lead sinkers made in the U.S. each year. That does not count the foreign made sinkers that we buy. I am sure a lot of that lead ends up in our waters. At that production rate, there is risk of lead becoming an issue to the fish that we eat from those waters. However, the biggest threat today is that birds are eating lead products during their feeding. I agree with you that the research does not appear to be thorough and we don’t fully understand the future impact. But we know that lead is poisonous and we are smart enough to know that it may be a better idea to use a different product, if one was available and reasonably priced.
Since you also enjoy and make your living off the fishing environment, I ask that you be open minded to alternatives that may help preserve the resources we enjoy.
You’re a skilled fishing professional and I’m an engineer. I think we can solve this problem and roll-out our Redneck’s “Get the Lead Out” fishing product line.
I am open to alternatives but I also know that based on my discussions with those “in the know” that the research lacks a lot and there are some major holes in it.
If it was truly doing damage to the waters I would say heck yes let’s do something about it but they cannot produce anything (unbiased) that says it is truly doing damage to the waters or
Chad,
I too think we need to look ahead at what the lead may be doing to the water and fish. It’s hard to change up using something like lead weights when you, your father, grand father and no telling how many generations have been using the same thing. I really don’t think fish will care what’s holding down your line , steel, rock, my boss, as long as it has food on the end of it. Thanks for the web site!
I agree. getting away from lead can not be a totally bad thing. What are the other options?
Steel is about the only option.
I have no problem keeping the lead out if it’s going to have a negative impact on the environment. Just hope the replacement products are not too high priced. I’m willing to pay a “little” extra. If steel weights go outrageous in price then I’ll tie on some flat washers, old pipe nipple a rock or something, but I’m going fishing one way or another, even if I have to walk 5 miles to the lake because of no gas.
This subject made me curious and I did a little digging for some facts. Here are what some of what the industry is considering and testing: Steel, stainless steel, tin, tungsten, bismuth, copper, alloys (such as pewter or brass, tungsten), and stones (such as granite).
Right now, these materials are more expensive to produce weights than lead. Steel sinkers cost 0.7 to 2 times the price of lead. The cost of bismuth, ceramic, tin, and tungsten sinkers range from 1.5 to 7 times the price of lead.
If I had to pay twice as much, it would cost me an extra $10-20 per year. It would definitely cost Chad a lot more.
I sure did learn a lot on this subject. Thanks for raising and discussing the issue.
The cost of sinkers will be considerably higher as you consider the cost for manufacturers to purchase new equipment, retooling etc etc. It will be a considerable increase in cost.
The bigger issue is also that we are talking about more than just sinkers but all fishing tackle that contains lead, which is a lot.
That being said as I previously stated. If there was sufficient evidence that the sinkers were causing harm, I would be all for it but the research has a lot of holes in it.
My intent is only to make people aware of what is going on, because these things have tendency to happen and then folks look back and say “What the heck happened”. If you disagree and want to stand up and fight, great. If you disagree and want to see a change, great.
Here is the response I received from Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
===========================================
Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) review of lead in hunting ammunition and fishing equipment. I welcome your thoughts and comments.
The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition to the EPA on August 3, 2010 to ban the use of lead in such ammunition and equipment. Currently, lead is allowed in bullets and shotgun pellets. On August 27, 2010 the EPA ruled against banning lead in ammunition. Further, the EPA declared that lead in ammunition is not within the agency’s jurisdiction. Although the EPA has dropped its review of lead ammunition, it is continuing its review of a potential ban on lead fishing sinkers and lures.
I strongly support our ability to legally hunt and fish in Texas. Hunting and fishing have a rich history in our state. From deer hunting in locations similar to our beautiful Hill Country to bass fishing in places akin to Lake Fork, our diverse and unique environment across Texas makes our state an ideal place to participate in the sport of hunting and fishing.
You may be sure that I will closely monitor the EPA’s investigation into the effects on the environment of lead fishing sinkers and lures. I will keep your views in mind should the Senate vote on any legislation regarding lead ammunition or fishing equipment.
I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me on any issue that is important to you.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
Funny how I failed to see anything about this on any of the news channels or local stations. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I make my own weights and would hate to have to start buying them again at an even higher price.
Thanks
Chad, just got an email saying the ban proposal had NOT been adopted.