I just spent several hours, more like five or so, looking at the data relevant to lead and fishing tackle deaths regarding loons. I actually found more data than just the tufts studies and the michigan one.
I readily admit here that I was wrong. Lead and fishing takcle is killing loons, lots of them.
There are two areas of concern. First, is lead poisoning. This occurs when the loon inadvertanly consumes the lead. The lead is soluized (sp?) by the digestive juices and enters the blood stream. Enough lead, and it doesn’t take very much, and you have dead loon. Most of this poisoning is caused by lead shotgun pellets. They are mitigatng that with steel shot regulations, but they have been hunting in these areas with shotguns for hundreds of years. It will continue to be problem, if a lessening one, over time. Some of the deaths are from lead fishing sinkers, jigs, split shot. This is picked up by the bird for some reason, one researccher thought that it could just be that it’s shiny and round. No one knows why it happens, but it does happen. They are mitigating that with banns on lead sinkers and jigs of certain sizes.
The second area of concern is the fishing tackle itself. I saw some cool videos. Loons are fast, efficient predators. They can take a minnow and swallow it almost faster than the eye can follow. I doubt that a modren multiplying reel can pull in line faster than a loon can swim.
Here’s where it gets to be problem. The angler is knowledgeable and efficient. He’s using light line and a small hook with his minnow to offer the fish as lifelike a bait as he can. If he uses weight, it’s a small non lead shot. If he uses a float, it’s a small, delicate one that will let him detect even the gentlest strike.
A loon takes his minnow. He doesn’t see the bird, just feels the take or sees his float go down. He sets the hook. You now have a loon with small sharp hook either in it’s oral cavity or in it’s throat. The line is light, though, and the loons bill is sharp. The line parts at the bill. Good chance the loon survives, but the wound may get infected, or the hook may be in such a place where it impedes the birds ability to take in nutrition. Then the bird dies. Did everything that could be done, it jsut sometimes happens.
I’m not trying to be funny here, this is totally strereotypical, but stereotypes are valid where they really exist, and we’ve all seen or fished around this guy:
He has fished a few times, but he’s not an expert. He just wants to catch a few fish for his family. Nothing wrong with that. He’s not a bad fisherman, he’s just inexperienced. He wants to eat the fish he catches, so he’s using heavy line, like 25 pound test mono. Nothing can get away. He askes at the local tackle store what the fish are biting on. He’s told minnows, so he buys a couple of dozen with a samll bait bucket to keep them alive. The store clerk advises him of the ban on lead, so he buys some heavy lead substitute sinkers. He also buys some #2/0 snelled bait hooks, a package of 3 way swivels, some of those four inch round red and white plastic bobbers, and he’s off to the lake.
He pulls off about three feet of line from his rod and ties the hook snell to it, then ties that to the 3 way swivel. He next pulls off another couple of feet of line, an ties the non lead weight to that, then ties it to the swivel. He ties the line from the rod to the remaining eye on his swivel, then attaches his bobber a couple of feet up from that.
Our fisherman then impales a minnow and makes a really long cast. He sits back to wait for his fish to bite.
A loon comes by and eats the minnow. He thinks, as most anyone would, that he’s getting a bite from a fish. So he sets the hook and begins to reel in his fish. He’s not breaking any laws, he’s done everything he knows to do properly. This isn’t his fault.
Now, several things can happen. First is that the hook certainly penetrates the loon someplace. Where and how badly depends on how fast our angler was with his hookset, but that 2/0 bait hook is someplace in that bird. And then it’s worse. Best case seneario, the guy didn’t tie a very good knot and the leader from the hook to the swivel comes loose, hopefully at the hook. Loon might live, but that’s a big hook. If the line parts where the main line joins the swivel (that’s where the most stress is in casting that kind of rig) then we have a problem. The loon is not only hooked, but there are several feet of mono that’s attached to swivel and a heavy weight. That’s going to tangle in something and the bird, if the hookset didn’t kill it, is going to die.
Maybe nothing breaks. The angler reels in the bird. The loon is a bit upset, and it has that strong sharp beak. It would be nice to think that the angler would be conscientious and cut the line as close to bird as is safe. It’s likely, though, that he’ll cut the line as soon as he realizes it’s not a fish. That loon will die.
And it’s not just inexperienced anglers that are a probelm. Loons can catch and will catch and try to eat, all manner of minnow imitations. They’ll even eat that ball of power bait so beloved to trout bait fishermen.
So the guy who is smallmouth fishing with a soft jerkbait will kill a loon if it hits. The hooks are big, the baits is often held to the hook with a screwlock or other device to keep it in place, so the loon either chokes or drowns if the hookset doesn’t kill it.
So will most of the crankbait fishermen. Most of them may be able to get the bait out of the oral cavity, but some federal and some state legislation won’t allow you to even touch the bird. With two treble hooks, or more, it can’t swallow it and it can’t spit it out. Another dead loon.
Jig fishermen, either tipped with a live minnow or some soft plastic or strip of flesh, will also attract the loons. It’s often the hook set that does the damage, combined with any excess line. If the fisherman doesn’t see the bird, and they can get down deeper than we can often see, the hook trauma alone can be enough to kill the bird. Doesn’t matter if the jig is lead or not.
And us fly fishermen are not immune. Trolling with double hook streamers got it’s beginning in these areas. Some older accounts talk of hooking the poor loons. It’s pretty clear that if you throw a streamer around a loon, it may try to eat it. But, what then? Fly hooks aren’t all that big, and they can rust out, right? Maybe. But if the line breaks at where the tippet is tied to the leader, then you have that whole tangling problem and another dead loon. Loose mono is deadly stuf, and it’s doesn’t take much to get tangled and cause a bird to drown.
I didn’t make up these scenarios. I found a version of all them in my navigating.
I’ve seen fishing shows on TV where the host had to leave the area because the loon wouldn’t leave the lures alone.
Apparently, from all the data I found, this tackle related deaths of loons accounts for around 40 percent of dead loons examined. That’s a lot of loons.
So, what do ethical anglers do?
It’s a simple solution.
Bann all fishing in waters where loons are prevalent.
They don’t occupy every area, and there is plenty of fishable waters where you seldom see a loon. The states where they are have been studying them for decades, they have population densities and can make informed decisions on where and when to close waters.
It would be so easy to do. The fishermen could find other areas to fish. The states where the loons are have abundant aquatic habitats. There are lots of places to fish. The loons will be safe from at least that cause of their demise.
We wouldn’t be able to save them all, but it would certainly be a good start.
I’m really sorry if my earlier posts seemed to belittle the death of the loons. Now that I’ve researched it and seen the data, I pretty sure that this is the only sane thing to do.
Again, I apologize. The haunting call of the loon is a precious resource. We can’t let them be killed by us when we can stop it.
Humbled.
Buddy
