Fish-Hawk.Net

there's a good article on the proposed
led ban in ONT OUT OF DOORS march issue
pg 8 also pg 6 editorial

worth a read
nofish

There's also a two part pro vs con article in the recent Outdoor Canada eidition. It would appear that perhaps all the fuss may be over-hyped...I would suggest that anyone concerned one way or the other GET AND READ THE ACTUAL PROPSAL rather than someone's interpretation of it or editorial-style opinion of its "potential impact".

Although the science is debateable, the actual (vice potential) impact of the proposal appears to be relatively minor to fisherman. It's interesting to note that the "jighead/sinker" issue applies only to items less than 2cm along their longest axis.

I am aware of the 1% lead content, and accept at face value the alloy arguments others have put forward. WRT to the 1% content applying to "other tackle, such as spinners, lures, spoons, etc., that attach to fishing line" although it is somewhat vaguely defined, it does state that these items would have to be small enough to be ingested by water birds. True, no specific size limit is given, however they have defined the critical size in relation to jigs and sinkers as 2cm and 50grams, by any logic that same size would apply to spinners and spoons. I don't know of many other forms of tackle that are "smaller than 2 cm along their longest axis". Yes panfish type jigheads and most sinkers would be affected, but that's a far cry from the 99% of current tackle banned comments I've heard.

My 2 cents

The Canadian Wildlife Service site:

http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/fishing/paper_e.cfm is a good starting point.

Be aware, that public input into the proposal is ending soon:

Consultations and Timing of the Regulation

The public can take part in the development of this regulatory proposal by providing comments on the proposal, as outlined in this discussion paper. Comments can be sent to the addresses listed below. The final date for those comments is March 18, 2005.

After the comment period, the Regulations will be developed according to the federal regulatory development process, and there will be further opportunity for comment when they are pre-published in the Canada Gazette Part I.

Please send comments to:

Lead Free Fishing Consultations
3rd floor
351 St. Joseph Blvd.
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3

Or by email to: LeadFreeFishingConsultations@ec.gc.ca

The key part of the proposal for me is that it would still be legal to use the equipment I already have that might have lead in it.

If they were to ban use, that would render a good portion of my tackle worthless, without any compensation.

saskie wrote: Although the science is debateable, the actual (vice potential) impact of the proposal appears to be relatively minor to fisherman. It's interesting to note that the "jighead/sinker" issue applies only to items less than 2cm along their longest axis.

Saskie,

I not very familiar with the metric system, but is it correct to assume that the typical 1/8 -- 1/4 oz. round lead head jigs commonly used for walleye would not be impacted by this proposed ruling??

Bulldog

2cm is just under an inch. And "along its longest axis". I can't say that I've measured my 3/8 or 1/4oz jigs, but I'm pretty sure they're longer than an inch total.

Perhaps they would be, but the concerns of all tackle containing more than 1% lead content (which would include most alloy metals, and would undoubtably include 99% of todays spoons and spinners) appears to me to be an overstatement

saskie wrote:2cm is just under an inch. And "along its longest axis". I can't say that I've measured my 3/8 or 1/4oz jigs, but I'm pretty sure they're longer than an inch total.

I checked a metric conversion site: 2 cm = .79 inches. I agree that the typical walleye jig is longer. Although, I have not measured one either. All I know is that I have bought "tons" of walleye jigs in bulk and would be stuck with one helluva an inventory if I were not able to use them.

Thanks for your confirmation.

Bulldog

Bulldog;

I don't know what the regs are going to be in the states, but up here, they are going to ban the "manufacture, importation, and sale" of yadda yadda yadda, somewhere IN THE FUTURE.

We can still use the stuff we have, and likely will be able to for quite some time.

We have jigs and sinkers now made of stuff other than lead, so I don't believe its going to be a big inconvience.

HOWEVER, since I firmly believe that every politican is a low born slimy egg sucking self indulgent lying SOB, I took the opportunity to write one of ours and objected to their plan.

Needless to say, no results will be forthcoming from that exercise any time soon.

Catch a bunch; Jigs.

[quote="Jigs"]Bulldog;

HOWEVER, since I firmly believe that every politican is a low born slimy egg sucking self indulgent lying SOB, I took the opportunity to write one of ours and objected to their plan.quote]

I noticed this in the background article posted on the ofah site that makes it sound like the jigs are also at risk.

"For several years, the federal government has been contemplating a ban on certain types of fishing tackle that contain lead. This was initially focused on lead sinkers and jigs of less than 50 grams, but now a proposal by Environment Canada would include spoons, spinner baits and other types of lures in the ban."

Note - when reading the Environment Canada article it seems that at this time the removal of spoons and spinnerbits seems a little exaggerated by OFAH as it refers only to items like spinners etc that could be attached to a line and be less than 2cm in length. This to me would not include a spinnerbait unless they view the 2cm as being the length of the piece of lead on a spinner etc. . This does not appear to be the case as the current definition is as follows

"In the NWA and National Parks regulations, "lead sinker" is defined as an object containing more than 1 percent by weight of lead used to sink a fishing line. "Lead jig" is defined as a weighted hook containing more than 1 percent by weight of lead used for fishing. These regulations will continue to be in force, prohibiting use and possession."

Folks

I myself could not care less for this ban. Lead sinkers and lead jigs make sense. The other material makes no sense. If they push it though, I will revert to ways my forefathers fished using nets and spears and to hell with white mans laws.

This will also be the same with hunting, we take off the land to survive, this was past ways, this will be future ways.

This is all I have to say about this.

Bulldog, the US has already placed certain restrictions on lead:

The United States federal government has banned the use of lead sinkers and jigs in three National Wildlife Refuges and one National Park. In addition, the states of New Hampshire and Maine have banned the use of small lead sinkers and jigs as of 2000 and 2002 respectively, and New York prohibited the sale and use of lead fishing sinkers weighing less than 14.2 grams in 2004.

See my prvious post with the link to the Canadian Wildlife Service site, the above info was in the abstract there.

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwm ... xicSinkers

NY is sales ban not use just for info.

JP - I am not seeing any information confirming that the measurement of 2 cm or less is for the lead portion instead of the whole lure containing lead.

the Government is proposing a prohibition on the import, manufacture and sale of fishing sinkers and jigs that are less than 50 grams and contains more than 1 % lead by weight and that are less than 2 cm in length along its longest axis. The proposed lead content limit of 1% would also apply to other tackle, such as spinners, lures, spoons, etc., that attach to fishing line and that because of their small size could be swallowed by waterbirds

The whole point of the lead ban is to ban the sale/import of products smaller than 2 cm containing lead. The 2 cm or less size was determined as 2 cm is about the largest object a bird can ingest.

Please provide the information that you have for all to see...

Cheers,

Mike