SPL- Soft Plastic Lures

[Lenny]

Yep! No doubt about it that these are causing lots of problems. I stopped using senkos for this reason. Great post Smitty!

[smitty55]

Not to hijack but........

Ok I'll bite. What does lead shot have to do with SPL????

But to answer your question somewhat, Migratory Bird regulations are federal, not provincial like other hunting regs. At first you were allowed to use lead shot in fields, but they soon realized it became kind of a nightmare to enforce as they didn't want anyone carrying lead at all. They would carry scanners to test for type of shot in dead birds and guys would just say that they shot them in a field, so it was far easier just to ban it period. Plus they figured that ducks/geese were still ingesting lead as they fed in fields.

Cheers

[smitty55]

Yep! No doubt about it that these are causing lots of problems. I stopped using senkos for this reason. Great post Smitty!

Tks Lenny. Btw is your canoe trip still happening? I still have those maps I had printed.

Cheers

[BassHunterOttawa]

Plastics pollution in waterways is epidemic - Johnson and Johnson, etc will be voluntarily removing plastic "microbeads" from bodywash, toothpaste, etc as they are causing pollution as well.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ ... -1.2779096

But our government is taking steps to declare waste plastic toxic all the same:

https://www.blacklocks.ca/bill-to-ban-g ... kes-toxin/

[bradford2]

Not to hijack but........

Ok I'll bite. What does lead shot have to do with SPL????

But to answer your question somewhat, Migratory Bird regulations are federal, not provincial like other hunting regs. At first you were allowed to use lead shot in fields, but they soon realized it became kind of a nightmare to enforce as they didn't want anyone carrying lead at all. They would carry scanners to test for type of shot in dead birds and guys would just say that they shot them in a field, so it was far easier just to ban it period. Plus they figured that ducks/geese were still ingesting lead as they fed in fields.

Cheers

Exactly on both counts. Plus, if you shoot more than 2 shells all year at turkeys it means you did something wrong
Not quite the same for for the waterfowl haha.

As for the original topic, it's a tough one. Live bait is bad, soft plastics are bad, to someone somewhere everything is bad and nothing is safe to fish with. Whether it be from SPL, or hook damage, or poor handling I know I'm doing some sort of damage to the fishery just by being on the water. So I find it hard to worry about it too much...

[Supernova224]

As for the original topic, it's a tough one. Live bait is bad, soft plastics are bad, to someone somewhere everything is bad and nothing is safe to fish with. Whether it be from SPL, or hook damage, or poor handling I know I'm doing some sort of damage to the fishery just by being on the water. So I find it hard to worry about it too much...

The difference between hook damage/poor handling and SPL is that we can educate people, and teach them how to minimize the negative effects of catching and handling fish. It won't eradicate these problems, but can improve them. SPL are inherently causing damage just by introducing them to the environment. That being said, I use plastics and will continue to do so until affordable biodegradable plastics are the norm. But I disagree with the notion that because I cause some damage by being there, that I shouldn't worry about mitigating that damage at all. If we all had that attitude the future of angling would be in rough shape.

[bradford2]

But I disagree with the notion that because I cause some damage by being there, that I shouldn't worry about mitigating that damage at all. If we all had that attitude the future of angling would be in rough shape.

That's not exactly what I said. I try and minimize damage to the fishery as much as possible, and am more conservation minded than most. Like you, I still sometimes use soft plastics, therefore I do not worry about it 'too much'. I do agree with your point, however it's a little out of context.

[mb_fishing]

Like most I have a ton of plastic but every year I get more and more guilty using them. I constantly look for alternatives with not much success. In this day and age, with technology where it is, I personally feel it is irresponsible for every bait/lure making company that offers plastics to not have a strategy to replace their line up with biodegradeable products. Do they deteriorate?....yes. Will prices go up?....yes. Will we be able to buy hoards and have them and let them sit indefinitely until next year?....probably not (I sheepishly do this). Is it the right thing to do?...........no brainer. Companies need to take the lead and make this a priority...period. I am one who will be happy to pay a little more for making a big difference.

[Lenny]

The day that changed using plastics was fishing a stretch of the bonnechere with my friends. By the end of the weekend you could see senkos littered everywhere. Most of my friends aren't experienced fishermen so we lost more than I usually would but it was sad to see a remote stretch of river littered with garbage. Before we left we went around and went swimming to retrieve them but we certainly didn't get all of them. Some plastics aren't as bad (ie twistertails). It's crazy to see how much they expand once they are in the water a few weeks.

[almontefisher]

This thread has made me think a bit and I am now starting to work on a protein based senko that will degrade in water within a few days and also will be 100% environmentally friendly. Down side is they will spoil in a few weeks but I usually never have them last that long...lol. I am hoping to get some done in the next few weeks and try them out for bass opener. Just in the process of playing around with ingedients to try and make them a bit stronger of a bait. Currently a bit soft for my liking.

[MichaelGA]

This thread has made me think a bit and I am now starting to work on a protein based senko that will degrade in water within a few days and also will be 100% environmentally friendly. Down side is they will spoil in a few weeks but I usually never have them last that long...lol. I am hoping to get some done in the next few weeks and try them out for bass opener. Just in the process of playing around with ingedients to try and make them a bit stronger of a bait. Currently a bit soft for my liking.

That's hella cool!

If you want product testers (i'll pay cost) and opinions let me know!

Would be great to show to the new and up-coming angling crowd!

[BassHunterOttawa]

This thread has made me think a bit and I am now starting to work on a protein based senko that will degrade in water within a few days and also will be 100% environmentally friendly. Down side is they will spoil in a few weeks but I usually never have them last that long...lol. I am hoping to get some done in the next few weeks and try them out for bass opener. Just in the process of playing around with ingedients to try and make them a bit stronger of a bait. Currently a bit soft for my liking.

That's amazing, I'm interested in this too! What MichaelGA said!

[smitty55]

Lol Pete that was some easy hooking. A good money maker there hehe.

Cheers

[mb_fishing]

I would be happy to be a Beta Tester too!

[tbone1088]

Have you guys tried uncle josh's meat baits? They are made out of pork, bass and walleyes love them to death and I am not sure but guessing they are better for the environment.