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  1. "According to some estimates, lead poisoning kills 10 million to 20 million birds and other animals a year in the U.S."

    Really? Who's estimates? EPA knows better. The ammunition industry went to nontoxic shot , over 10 years ago. And why fishing tackle?
  2. Without being critical, why use lead? In ammo the case could be made that its softness makes a more lethal slug. But in fishing tackle? Just soft enough to squeeze a sinker onto a line?

    I briefly considered re-loaders, and melting lead for shot. . . but really, isn't there a hazard in melting lead?

    Why lead?
  3. luvtheovals, I agree with you, sounds to me like this "estimates" could be
    any where from 1 to 100 trillion. In other words they don't know, and have
    no way to prove it. Remember alar and apples. Same crowd. One big
    yawn and millions of tax payer dollars at stake.
  4. Lead for fishing is less detectable by the fish themselves (it's darker when compared to alternative lead-free products) and offers more versatile uses. Yes, it is softer, easier to bend and easier to reuse.

    Bunch of environmentalists with their panties in a bunch because they have nothing to complain about.

    10-20 million estimate is a pretty big window. As the poster above me said, it might as well be 1-100 trillion
  5. As an avid fisherman I would be for not using lead lures if I thought it was important. My problem is that I don't believe much of anything that comes from a govt. beaurocrat on enviromentalist group. You can only cry chicken so many times before people shut you out.
  6. If lead shot is responsible for the death of millions of birds yearly, and man has been shooting lead shot for hundreds of years, I am surprised there are any birds left on the planet, ditto for fish since a lot of sinkers have been lost. (sarcasm)
  7. the bigger question needs to be: what does it matter to use lead in Fishing? Doesn't it sink anyways???

    I've NEVER caught a fish with a rogue sinker in its belly. I've found jigs, but most birds aren't going to eat a jig... at least not 10-20 million of them. And that won't change with alternative metals. If the bird is going to eat a lead jig, it'll eat a lead-free jig too. And regardless of what it's made out of, don't expect the bird to live too long after that!

    "They" won't be happy until fishing and hunting is outlawed, or so restricted that it might as well be.
  8. "lead ammunition kills 10 million to 20 million birds and animals a year in the U.S. "

    The environmentalists do have their panties in a bunch b/c they must outlaw ALL outdoor activities, except their own. Why must ordinary humans even wander outside? (Extreme Sarcasm!!!)

    Must be time to outlaw hunting and fishing, or tax them into extinction.
  9. ". . . lead POISONING kills 10 million to 20 million birds and other animals a year in the U.S.

    Why change poisoning to ammunition?
  10. Waterfowl may accidentally pick up sinkers as they did lead pellets when feeding. But they probably don't eat lost jigs or spinnerbaits because of the hooks. There may be some poisoning by eating carcasses of dead animals or gut piles. However, I've seen estimates of up to 5 million songbirds killed by cats in Wisconsin per year. Maybe we should ban cats.


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