Jump to content

non lead swimbait hooks


massbass10
 Share

Recommended Posts

Here in Massachusetts there is a ban on lead fishing tackle minus spinnerbaits and buzz baits and a few ther things. Weighted hooks are included in the "ban" and I haven't found many trustable 10/0 weighted SB hooks without lead for the weight.

 Any suggestions would be appreciated

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your that worried about it I would solder some extra weight on until you got to 1.1 ounces. Anything over 1 ounce is fine. Or you can buy steel split shot/ some sort of wire and crimp/wrap it on to the shaft for the desired weight. Or you can carry around a copy of the law and argue that technically the hook is part of the swimbait, which is allowed under the law. Or you can plead ignorance like 99% of other people in Ma. There aren't enough ep to enforce it. Plus most of the EP I talk to don't even know what the law covers themselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly like Frog Man said you have a good case for just saying the hook is part of the swimbait, and therefore exempt. The law itself is so vague and open to interpretation that unless you are carrying raw lead weights or jigs under 1 oz I don't see how it is in an way enforceable. I have switched all my bullet weights and jigs over, but for swimbait hooks I take an owner beast and wrap lead wire around the shank until I get the desired ROF. The spirit of the law was to limit loon fatalities due to swallowing small lead weights off the bottom...I'd like to see a loon swallow an 8" WRS rigged on a 12/0 owner beast hook. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coming from just a bit north of you, I'm glad you're worried about lead. I switched all my lead gear out a while back... even retired Grand Pa's lead gear he gave me. I use Steel wire wraps, copper wiring or  a combination of both to get the weight needed. Personally, the days of lead need to go. Tungsten and like metals are the way to go, if we start going much higher in atomic number we are just F***ing the environment and the fish we love.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Both the U.S. Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency now classify the element as an "emerging contaminant" of concern."

 

All metals are bad. Tungsten was once thought chemically inert but now, just like lead, there's concern. In 20 years they'll say that we were crazy for touching tungsten and a pack of 3 uranium flipping weights will be $30.

Edited by MA Frog Man
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Mass law exempts some types from the ban such as spinnerbaits and spoons, etc.  One of the exempted items listed in the law is "swim baits".  So an argument could certainly be made that a weighted hook attached to a soft swimbait is exempted.  On the realistic side, no duck is going to ingest a 10/0 weighted hook.  The ban makes some sense in the very few Mass waters that loons frequent but little sense elsewhere.  Our Boston politicians at work!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coming from just a bit north of you, I'm glad you're worried about lead. I switched all my lead gear out a while back... even retired Grand Pa's lead gear he gave me. I use Steel wire wraps, copper wiring or  a combination of both to get the weight needed. Personally, the days of lead need to go. Tungsten and like metals are the way to go, if we start going much higher in atomic number we are just F***ing the environment and the fish we love.

Elevated copper levels in the bloodstream are also toxic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 On the realistic side, no duck is going to ingest a 10/0 weighted hook.

That's a perfect description of politics though Wayne. Worried about the little piece of lead, when it's the 10/0 hook it's attached to that's going to kill you first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i generally just wrap wire on the shank and say its steel if i would ever get questioned but pleading ignorance was my #2 option. I figure if a loon eats a 10/0 hook it has more worries than 1/2 oz of lead.

The equivalent of doing the dozen blazing wing challenge at your local watering hole

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...