Let's Try to Get The Lead Out!
Lead is toxic, but if used and handled properly it is not a problem. The available science states lost lead in lakes does not pose a problem to water quality, fish, or higher order predators in the food chain. It IS a problem for birds that ingest lead. If ingested into a gizzard, it will kill the bird. If swallowed it will pass through, but will be partially absorbed into the birds bloodstream. If you want to learn more, visit US Fish and Wildlife Service
Just think for a moment about all the lead you have personally lost at the bottom of your favorite lake. Now add everyone else's lost lead and it becomes depressing. The good news is, our lakes usually have a PH of around 7 (not acidic or alkaline, but neutral). This keeps the lead intact while slowly being converted to lead sulfate. If a living creature ingests this lead, it is a different story. The stomach's acidity dissolves the lead and causes lead poisoning, and death. .We should all try to get rid of our lead terminal gear, but I am worried about some of the substitutes being worse than the lead. It has been a struggle to find an acceptable substitute, but they are out there. It is VERY expensive to use Tungsten, Brass is much larger for the same weight as lead, and none of these substitutes are proven "non toxic", and none of these can replace a split shot. To be quite honest, lead is perfect for the job save it's tendency to kill things and injure brain cells.
I have just replaced all my Texas Rig bullet lead with steel from BPS. Steel seems to be the most environmentally acceptable sub, and a little more cost effective ($3.99 for 25) than Tungsten. Steel is not gaining acceptance because a steel 3/16th ounce bullet weight is the size of a 1/4 oz lead weight, they have sharp machined edges, the are hard, not practical for the hand pour crowd, and they rust. To prevent rust try clear fingernail polish or plug line hole with toothpicks and dip them in your favorite color enamel. I paid $7.00 for four 3/16th ounce bullet weights made of Tungsten. They work great, but cost ten times as much as lead and the science says they are toxic. I don't know if they are dangerous (to birds, water, fish or man) when lost in a lake or stream. If you see me crying it is because I lost one of my Tungsten weights in some rock cranny.
As organized anglers, we should CAREFULLY lead the way to no lead. The changeover from lead to whatever wins out will be expensive for tackle manufacturers and distributors.
Note the lead sulfate on the bullet weights
Tungsten is harmless...almost. When you mix it with other metals (alloying) it becomes quite toxic to cells. Tungsten weights are not really tungsten, but usually tungsten, nickel-cobalt or other alloys. They may kill more loons than lead, and harm fish and people as well. With a melting point of about 3500 degrees CENTIGRADE their carbon footprint will be ugly. They may or may not be more environmentally friendly than lead, but check out the packaging on these tungsten drop shot weights. The packaging will fill a landfill in a hurry yet necessary to convince you they are worth a little over $1.00 each. Tungsten has such a high melting point, that it requires huge amounts of energy to produce and could be worse than the devil we know. We may reduce lead toxicity and cause worse problems in other habitats by using tungsten. If you "Google" toxicity of tungsten cobalt you get a lot of hits. There is a possible cancer link to tungsten carbide (Leukemia cluster in Fallon Nevada), and the US Army has dropped use of the tungsten/nylon bullets they used to replace depleted uranium due to contamination of the Cape Cod water table. When I learn more I will let you know. This story is just beginning.
If you would like to help, I need to find sources of bismuth tin alloy for making jigs, and molds for making jigs that will work with these metals. If you can find a source let me know.
History of Black Bass in Washington
At the beginning of the 19th century, George Snyder, a Kentuckian, made a new device for catching bass. His "bait casting reels" (made to cast live minnows) were not for sale but were made for friends. The plug industry was yet to be born, and live minnows were used for bait.
Soon there were other craftsmen (mostly watchmakers) involved in manufacturing these reels. J. L. Sage, Benjamin Meek to name a few. Meek is credited with the spiral gear and mass production of reels.
Circa 1890 William Shakespeare's reel became popular, and a new transcontinental railroad began delivery of these reels and other goods to the west coast.
At this time, there were no POND FISHES in the northwest, and Salmon were already in severe decline due to over fishing. Remember this is BEFORE ANY DAMS were on the Columbia. The use of the Fish Wheel was deadly, and caught everything that tried to pass. The limit on Trout was reduced to 125 per day, and anglers protested such "beggarly limits" .
Once the railroads linked the east and west coast of the United States, many things began to show up in Washington's waters, woods and weeds. Railroads advertised fishing trips to increase rider ship, and US Fish Commission aquarium cars brought warm water fish to Seattle and Portland then carried trout to the east coast.
The earliest records available show the federal government, The United States Fish Commission, planted warm water fish in Lake Colville (today known as Sprague Lake) near Spokane in 1890. By 1895 a total of 5443 Black Bass had been planted in Washington waters, as well as many other spiny rayed species. The first fish planted were CARP! Apparently they were the I-POD of the day, and thought of as haute cuisine. In 1892, 500 yearling bass were released into the Willamette River in Oregon. Other lakes (Lake Washington, Loon Lake and Colville Lake (Sprague) received USFC fish prior to 1900.
Even though the USFC planted a lot of species, I can't give them all the "credit/blame". Private citizens, businessmen and even a game warden took matters into their hands and planted fish without consideration of unintended consequences. This "fisheries management by bucket" was not a good idea then, and it is a bad idea now.
The "push" to bring pond fish to the west coast was driven by commercial interests. The USFC was established in 1871 to find out why commercial fisheries were in decline. Carp, Shad and Bass were just more commercial fish. Bass sold for about 16 cents per pound in Portland fish markets. Legislation passed by the federal government made the black bass the national game fish and prohibited the sale of bass in 1931. The westward expansion, and industrialization of the United States, was a big factor in the spread of non native species throughout the world.
Fish were transported by rail, using special Pullman cars called "Fish Cars". The commission had five such cars in 1905. The fish were carried in milk cans and the water was changed frequently.
Washington state's commercial fishermen and sports fishermen began bumping heads as salmon runs continued to decline, and the Washington State Department of Game was established in 1932 by initiative of the people of Washington to separate game fish from food fish. In an attempt to reduce costs, the will of the people was overturned by the governor in 1994, and the Washington Department of Game became Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Their mandate was changed to include non consumptive users of wildlife, and recombine The Department of Fisheries with the Department of Wildlife.
Local Issues
These fish and waters are YOURS to lose or protect. Follow the latest from Christopher Dunagan on Lake Tahuyeh. If you have something to say about it, go to Puget Sound Waterways
Lake Tahuyeh and your right to fish waters of Washington State,don't worry about this, it is just your right to fish in Washington.To see the history of this issue, look at Karen Monise's reply
