Lead Free

AtticaFish

AtticaFish

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Don - The link won't work for there, the RS forum is closed to members only. But i copied the text of the discussion as of right now. Last year there was a big stink about the lead ban going nationwide, but it did fall through. I know some individual states already have some laws on the books but i believe most of them restrict only smaller sizes. I think it will happen accross the boards at some time. There will be ALOT of people scrambling when it does.



Copied from RS forum:

tungsten jig heads
The wonderful state of Mass. has banned lead heads for 012.I'm looking for tunsten jig heads for weedless
fishing i.e. like a spider head. any help appreciated
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Yesterday 07:26 PM #2 hookup
Posts:229Dude in Hawaii sells Bismuth-tin jigs.

http://www.leadfreejigheads.com/gpage2.html

Excellent quality Last edited by hookup; Yesterday at 07:28 PM.
Bass fishermen watch Monday night football, drink beer, drive pickup trucks and prefer noisy women with big breasts.
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Today 03:14 AM #3 psuer
Originally Posted by melkon
i.e. like a spider head.
Tru-Tungsten Ike weedwacker, spike, and ballbuster look about as close as you're gonna get for now. Never used them, but have been lead-free for a few years now and prefer to whip-up my own stuff. I like to watch the market for improvement in options, Tungsten is starting to make it's way into jig forms more and more. Expensive, too. The Tru-Tungsten Ike stuff looks quite large in terms of hook to weights.

Keitech stuff is equally expensive. Nice ballheads and even a football so a decent spider copy (hopefully) shouldn't be too far away.


Might want to go with Hook-ups suggestion, doesn't look like you need a great deal of weight and other non-lead subs may be just the ticket. For the price of Tungsten stuff jigheads would have to be the perfect size and hook style. At such a price it'd be hard to argue oneself into a compromise so Bismuth/alloys are a good place to start the replacement search. Might not be ideal, but then you're not paying a fortune for a semi-precious metal with the Bismuth and others.

Come to think of it, the "Great Lead Ban Discussion" thread was the last thread I read before the old site went "poof" and disappeared for years. Looks like a slow, creeper of a regulation change. Perhaps it'll give another kick in the butt to innovation and we'll see more cool stuff come to market. I'm about to pull the trigger on some of those Keitech footballs, that little 1/4 oz bean of a head with a sweet tying collar really speaks to me for "hair craw" jigs.
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Today 05:33 AM #4 scottg
Posts:3I have tried some tungsten worm weights and like the smaller profile. A 1/4 oz tungsten weight has the profile of an 1/8 or just slightly larger. Helps out a little on getting hung up less. Expensive though.
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Today 09:25 AM #5 smallmouth
Posts:49Expensive though.
Man at the prices charged, the powers that be will ram that lead ban through pretty quick and buy shares in Keitech. I just "googled Keitech footballs and came up with $7.19 for one raw head. If they legislate that everywhere they'll have to hire a lot of wardens because there will be a lot of Robin Hoods ignoring the law. I can't imagine my jigs costing as much as my Rapalas. Thank goodness for the flyrod and brass beadheads, hematite beads and the like.

For all we know the loons might like tungsten better than lead.

God Bless,
Don Last edited by smallmouth; Today at 11:49 AM.
http://smallmouths.blogspot.com/sear...&max-results=9 .
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Today 10:49 AM #6 Crankb8
Posts:22 Originally Posted by scottg
I have tried some tungsten worm weights and like the smaller profile. A 1/4 oz tungsten weight has the profile of an 1/8 or just slightly larger. Helps out a little on getting hung up less. Expensive though.
That's not been my experience with tungsten. In the rocky streams I frequent the smaller profile allows the weights to drop into even smaller gaps in the rocks and cause more hang-ups.
Stu
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Today 11:51 AM #7 smallmouth
Stu,

Have you been paying those horrific prices for tungsten jigheads?

God Bless,
Don
 
B

blt

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If I read right last year, they were looking to ban anything under an oz.
If you have a 1/8oz. lead head, how much larger is the 1/8 oz. in the other materials? May not be an issue for the smaller jigs, but if the would pass it for any weight, wow, a 4 oz. jig would really get big lol.
I already checked into melting Tungsten, and I would have to buy basically a blast furnance lol. No thanks.
 
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Fatman

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yeah alot of states are pushing these laws on flawed data. For any Mass guys here don't take this the wrong way but your FW folks are idiot's!!!!!!! Here's the section from FW, alot of folks are gonna get into trouble based on this

Regulatory Actions To Protect Loons
In 2001, the Fisheries and Wildlife Board prohibited the use of all lead sinkers* for the taking of fish in Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs, the loons' primary habitat in the state.

In 2009, the Fisheries and Wildlife Board unanimously voted to prohibit the use of lead sinkers, lead weights, and lead fishing jigs with a mass of less than 1 ounce in all inland waters of Massachusetts. This regulatory change will not take effect until January 1, 2012.

*Note: Lead sinkers do not include lead-fishing related items including, but not limited to, artificial lures, jigs, lead-core line, keel trolling weights, or weighted flies.

How manny folks are going to misread the *Note*



 
toadfrog

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First I'd like to sling some lead in the form of a pipe at the guys that come up with those crappy laws . Then when or if I get out of jail . I'll use pewter . If that isn't outlawed at the same time .
 
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blt

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If I was told right, the low melting point of the tin/bismuth would make it hard to powder paint. Do not know for sure, just something I was told by another tackle maker.
 
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Fatman

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The original report made a statement that to switch over to lead free material it wouldn't cost more than $400 a year NOT I ran all the prices. Plus LEE says that there are some metals not to be melted in there pot
 
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Fatman

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When I read the millions description in terms of dead birds, I sent an email to the loon group asking to see pictures of all these supposedly dead birds.. Needless to say never got an answer.

I'll have to try and find an email a guy sent me where he got some of the data on bird deaths by different means. Fishing line and nets accounted for more dead birds than any supposed lead ingestion.

I post the info if I can find it.
 
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blt

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It's been a while since I did the research, but if I remember right, it was like 2000 degrees to do tungsten. No thanks. If they would keep the above 1oz. is still ok to be lead, I would do only above 1 oz.

I saw an e-mail that they claimed 10-20million birds die a year from lead. You would think you would have to wear a hard hat outside, they would be falling everywhere! Nice they gave a little wiggle room in the numbers.....a 10 million buffer lol. I have even less respect for the people that run the sates and this Country that would even believe that stat. Do NOT get me started on the boys on the hill in DC. Is common sense a lost cause in this great Country? If what they say is true, Indian River Inlet would be a dead zone for fish. There is a few pounds of my lead there lol. "If you aint losing jigs, you aint doing it right"
 
B

blt

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That statement is for the inlet lol. When I fish at the pier, unless a blue crab or horseshoe crab snips your line, no loosing jigs there. Just a nice sandy bottom.
 
redman

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Well fellows we haven't yet played Cowboys and Eco-Nazis yet. But have a feeling that if this all keeps going in the direction it is we could have history repeat it self. I am not talking about the American Revolution I am talking about the French Revolution. You can only torment people so long. But then again there could be this http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/11...es-to-people-preparing-for-possible-collapse/ If it is then all bets are off and it will not matter what they want it is if they want to eat or should I say what we want them to eat. Most of them think milk grows in cartons on trees anyway. Real freedom is self Reliance and the ability to survive. After all my people have been doing it for a few thousand years.

Redman
 
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Hawnjigs

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Lead free metals are expensive compared to lead - bismuth about $22 and tin $17 per lb. The alloy I use works out to about $1.25 per OUNCE at those prices. Not so bad for small jigs, $.08 for 1/16 oz. but jumps to $.63 for 1/2 oz.

Bismuth melting point is 520*F and tin 450*F, so both are powder paintable as pure metals. Alloying the two metals together reduces the melting point down as low as 281*F for a 58% bismuth-42* tin alloy.

My switch to lead free only fishing in fresh water back in 2004 was a CHOICE not influenced by laws. I can understand how you guys are upset if your choice to continue using lead might be or has been taken from you by government.
 
AtticaFish

AtticaFish

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Hawn - I would suggest you say that it can be done, but just different temps/times need to be used if you plan to bake/cure the heads. You might scare alot of us away who like to make purty colored heads. :P I have successfully painted several of your H-U heads that were bismuth-tin mix with no problem.... other than it is very tricky to spread glitter evenly on the flat surface of the bottom side. haha! Have not melted off a head yet - have been curing the bismuth-tin mix heads at 250* for 25 mins. This time/temp is given on the powder paint package as an alternative if you are using non heat resistant glitter or fiber weed guards.

There are very few weights and NO jigheads available in my area that are non-lead. About the only thing i know of that is sold as being made with tin is a few sizes of split shot. That all would change quickly if a lead ban of some sort came into effect, but as of now ordering them online is about the only place i know of to get them.

Can't imagine how much lead i have left in my local river over the past 15 years. :blush: I do not eat the fish from the local river regardless - the entire watershed is made up of farm land.... both crop land and livestock. To top it off, every farmer wants their feilds not to hold water so they run tile drainage systems - loads of nasty run-off from straight up manure as well as the garbage they spray on the fields. One lake to the SW of me had a ban up for awhile to not even touch the water, let alone eat the fish. They had a major algea bloom and the water looked nuculear green for awhile. Portions of L.Erie got the blooms as well and had to post warning signs at public beachs. Even if i personaly left a pound of lead in my river each year.... that would be a drop in the ocean compared to how many thousands of pounds of phosphates end up in the river from agriculture. I would rather Big Brother spend some of our tax money to solve that problem first.
OK - I'm done. :rolleyes: :sleepy:
 
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