The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife unanimously voted to ban the use of lead sinkers, lead weights and lead fishing jigs with a weight of less than 1 ounce. This will include all lead heads under 1 ounce. The ban will go into effect in 2012.

     What does this mean to you. It means you will be forced to use alternative substance weights and jigs i.e. steel, bismuth or tungston. Unfortunately the bismuth and tungston weights come at a much higher priced tag than lead.

     One last note on this. I do not advise trying to fight this ban. It is for obvious reasons a good idea given leads proven impact on aquatic birds. However, it may be a good idea to write your local resprentative regarding this ban. Why? Because all though the ban on sinkers and weights can be easily addressed by the purchase of alternative substance weights, jigs are another story. Very few options are avaliable. In most cases you can't find a lead head substitute as there currently are none. Also, through many studies it has been determined that birds do not ingest the jigs due to the wed guards and or hooks. I would strongly encourage all to contact there local reps. and ask them to change the regulation to allow the use of lead jigs.

     I have been using tungston weights now for over four years and all though the cost is higher they are a better weight period. With much increased sensitivty and smaller size they are a much more functional option the lead.

Henry Fristik

     I do agree with you on the lead pollution. The biggest problem faced is the cost to make alternative weighted jigs. Tungsten has an extremely high melting points. Tungsten alone has the highest melting point of any metal in pure form a 6,192 degrees F. Bismuth's melting point is 520 degrees F, much lower. However Bismuth is brittle making it a low value metal for fishing applications. The only metal found to be a lead equivalent without hazards to the environment is tungsten. But due to it's high melting point simply making molds and pouring them isn't an option. It must therefore be machined which of course is costly. This is why tungsten weights cost so much for so little product. There have been attempts made at making tungsten compounds, but they are brittle and break easily. Not to mention that the only company currently to offer a tungsten jig head sells one jig for $6.00. I don't know where you fish but I fish a lot of tournaments and can tell you from experience I spend a lot of money on lost tungsten weights and jigs already.

     The tackle industry has been trying for over ten years to come up with alternative metals for jig heads. Most notably due to tungsten's success, not for being non-toxic as much as for it's overall better performance than lead. So these bans aren't forcing tackle companies to move in different directions like you might think. They've been working on this for many years already and as of yet have come up empty handed. In the end based solely on cost alone you will find that the movement for alternative jig heads is stagnant at best. It costs too much to machine them and for anyone other than die hard tournament anglers too much money to spend buying them. I understand that the environment is important and money shouldn't be a stopping point in order to help protect it. But let's be real, most people have little extra money right now as it is. If you think they want to spend it on a jig that used to cost $3.00 – $5.00 for several jig heads and now to only by 1 for $6.00 your mistaken. They will just keep using lead, and with a lack of enforcement (especially in Massachusetts) they will more than likely get away with it. Until a cheaper alternative is found this will be a hot topic.