Lead in fly tying, again.

[Buddy Sanders]

Maybe we need to have this discussion again.

This statement came up in thread:

"Not only is it harmful to the wildlife just like your average split-shot sinker of old, but more and more areas have outright bans on all lead fishing tackle, which already includes lead core fly line in most states."

Most of this is not true based on the evidence. Right now, only a couple of new england states have an overall ban on lead used in fly tying/fishing. There are some areas that ban the use of weight on flies for other reasons than lead contamination. There are other areas within a State where the use of lead is restricted because of concerns about certain wildlife. So far, no other state has passed an overall 'lead ban'.

The driving force in the lead contamination issue is it's effects on some game and non game birds that collect stuff from the bottom of streams/ponds/lakes or shorelines into their stomachs for digestive purposes. The main issue was, and maybe still is, lead bird shot from shotgun hunting. Only a couple of field studies have been done, although there have been lots of research papers published using the data from these few studies.

While each study found strong evidence that lead bird shot was present and was adversely effecting the animals, there was only one or two mentions of fishing tackle at all, and in those instances it was the line and hooks that caused the problem with the animals, not the lead.

There is absolutley zero evidence collected that even suggests that lead used in fly fishing is in any way causing any environmental damage. I've looked at it all, and the mention of regular fishing tackle lead is so rare as to be statistically zero. Fly fishing lead is not mentioned even once in any study done on lead contamination.

Any bans that currently exist are not based in fact. Like many such things, they are political, and can be, and are being, fought at several levels and will ultimately be reversed.

The chance that lead will be banned from fishing tackle in general is slight and getting smaller every day. It's certainly possible, especially in smaller states with small legislatures that don't pay much attention to facts, that there could be another state that passes a ban on lead. Hasn't happened yet, though.

It's certainly not going to happen in most places.

Other environmental issues are fast overcoming the lead issue and relegating it to unimportance. Which is where it belongs.

The last time this came up, I did an internet search and followed links for hours reading all the available research and the papers it produced. I encourage any interested person to do this. It's amazing how the facts, which can be found if you look at the actual research data, get twisted to the point where all of a sudden fishing lead became an issue. It's also amazing how many of the press releases, papers, and organizatiosn involved used the exact same wording from just one or two of the papers published, and none of them used, or even mentioned, the conclusions and recommendations made by the initial researchers that actually collected all the evidence.

I trie to find that original thread, but apparently I'm not searching for it correctly.

Bob Boese wrote an article about it here:

"Lead Sinkers and the Environment" - Fly Angler's OnLine


Buddy