What is you guys take on the Governement trying to ban lead?

Fly Patterns
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1

I got this email from Cabela’s a few weeks back and have been thinking about it with a bit of anger, but I guess we need people to respond to this if they care about using lead in barbell eyes or heads at all.

I know that for sure I am tired of the Government in things they don’t need to be in and spending our money for making things hard on so many guys that make lead heads and such. I don’t pour my own heads and buy all I use. Not every angler would want to see their stuff go up in price because they had to buy tungsten for everything. I have experamented with using tungsten beads for heads, but it’s a lot higher than lead.

Anyway I would be interested to see what you guys think about this issue.

Skip

Here is the info I got from Cabela’s…
I just wanted to say I sure hope everyone is putting in their 2 cents about this issue because if they ban lead it will be very bad for us.

Some of you have seen this I feel sure, but I want everyone to see it. Below I will copy and paste the email from Cabela’s.

Keep America Fishing:
http://capwiz.com/keepamericafishing/issues/alert/?alertid=16355526

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September 2, 2010

Dear Cabela’s Customer:

Occasionally, an issue of such importance arises we feel it necessary to contact our loyal customers. With our fishing rights at stake, this is such an issue.

On August 23, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and others to ban lead from ammunition and fishing tackle, including sinkers, jigs, weighted fly lines and components containing lead, such as brass and ballast in lures, spinners, stick baits and other fishing products.

On August 27, the EPA denied the petition regarding ammunition, but let stand the petition to ban lead in fishing tackle and has opened a short period for taking public comment.

Such a ban would cause prices of fishing products to skyrocket. Alternative metals can cost from six to 15 times more than lead, and most do not perform as well. For many, fishing would no longer be the affordable sport it is now.

Please join Cabela’s and Keep America Fishing in opposing this ban by submitting your comments to the EPA no later than September 15, 2010. You can easily do so by clicking here.

It is a fast and easy way to assure your opinion is heard.

Cabela’s is working in conjunction with the American Sportfishing Association and Keep America Fishing to protect our tradition and heritage of fishing.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Cabela’s

2

It is more government BS based on junk sceince and envoronmental waccos trying to get control of everything we do in our personal lives. The best solution is to get rid of the EPA completly. It is part of the lefts plan to control your every thought and action and the environment and health care is the means to do that.

So, does that mean that the envirpnmental waccos with sailboats with lead keels for balist are going to scrap them? Does that mean the environmental waccos are going to give up cell phones that are assembled with tin-lead solder? Does that mean that the environmental waccos will give up their SUVs that have computers assembled with lead solder. Of course not. Silly me for thinking we are going to get rid of all the lead in the environment.

Sorry for the rant. I want my freedom back.

fishbum

3

Oh I do too and am sick of the ones you speak of. I look around at all these hook sitting in lead next to me and thing wow that would just take away what I like best doing, tying crappie jigs and flies. Of course it would take away fly tying, but I want to do it all.

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4

Get the Lead Out among other numerous poisons and toxins that by indifference of humans, entered our land air and water! Then over time, the land, air and water will become cleaner, and safer for future generations… let this be our gift to the future, that our generation stopped polluting our world, and started cleaning it up!

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Hi All,

Where and how can we write to the EPA to complain about this idiocy. I think it is political correctness/junk science carried to the extreme.

Regards,

Gandolf

6

This is another example of the leftist government sucking up to the tree huggers to buy a block of voters and promote business for the makers of alternative materials in which they probably already have financial interests.
I realize this website is to be non-political but in this particular instance it can’t be avoided if you seek an honest answer.
In my own area there was a great deal about the lead shot from the Remington Arms Gun Club settling in Long Island Sound because the animal life might ingest it. Or, that the lead might be disolved in the moving tidal water and pollute the ocean.The way many of us figured, that would be unlikely because the bottom was light sand and the thought was that the heavier shot would settle and be inaccessable to the wildlife and the moving current. The tree huggers won the battle.

7

Pfft.

If they ever manage to get a nationwide ban, while I won’t buy more lead, I certainly won’t toss what I already have, nor would I stop using it.

The places I do most of my fishing are way out past the ends of the roads. If they really want to go that far to catch one guy still using lead twist-ons, they’ll have to earn it. :stuck_out_tongue:

8

I think this goes far deeper than just the Politically correct tree-hugging crowds. That group is being “used” by the anti-gun anti-hunting crowds because it “appeals” to many folks who are just a “little” left. Makes them feel good about themselves and they sleep better I think if they sign a petition to rid the world of lead.

I am an outdoorsman 1st. I hunt as much as I fish, and bought my 1st car with money earned from a trap line. This is far more important then whether or not we as fly fisherman can still buy tiny spools of lead wire & that one packet of splitshot a year.

9

http://www.flyrodreel.com/blogs/tedwilliams/2010/september/let-them-east-lead-and-die

10

I am all for taking care of the the environment (not including the crazy stuff that is going on in the world today). I think this should be a local issue handled at the state level.

There may be streams back east that are getting pounded because of large fisherman populations. One size never fits all

The NRA has beat back this latest attempt to ban lead bullets

11

Unfortunately, too many folks have the mentallity that “it doesn’t really affect me too much”…so I’m fine with it. Just how long do you think catch & release fly fishing will last when the “gotta have another fish to kill” crowd and hunters go away? Do you really think they will stop and leave those folks who slam a hook into a fishes mouth and tire him out as he fights for survival…“just for his own personal enjoyment”? Simply because he “lets them go afterwards”? Think they don’t collect “mortallity rate” studies? Anybody that says we would survive on our own “elite” standards, I would say is sadly mistaken. What the “Saran Wrap” generation needs to understand, is that we are on the list as a blood sport as well.

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Quite simply this is another example of the executive branch of the federal government issuing regulations (legislating) which it is not constitutional empowered to do. Such regulations cost us all thousands of dollars each year, cost the USA jobs and limit the competitive ability of business in the world market. The 10th amendment should be invoked by the states, as previously stated this should be a local decision.

13

Remove lead from the environment?.. Where do they think it comes from? Lead ore from places like the sweetwater mine is 98% pure.

Concerns about it dissolving? Lead pipes from the Roman days are still in service in Italy

So maybe the problem is that it could be ingested by wildlife? I can see that with bird shot, maybe split shot in some locations, but a 3 oz bank sinker isn’t likely to be thrown any place a duck can go. The only fish that I’ve heard of ingesting lead were in BASS tournaments, and I think they had help.

When I shoot I send and ounce of lead into the wild, fly fishing that would last nearly a year for me. This is just junk science without real thought about how the world really is.

14

I have another link for anyone that wants to comment to the EPA.

http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480b3974b

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15

http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/tech-mainmenu-30/environment/4462-groups-asked-epa-to-ban-lead-in-hunting-ammo

SKIP/All,

Please see the above URL. I believe it is saying that the EPA has declined to address the issue!!

Best regards, Dave S. (fishdog54)

16

The only problem with this is that it has declined to look a ammo because I know the NRA jumped on with both feet and us as fishermen don’t have an NRA. I have copied this from that page and it says now they are still looking at fishing sinkers which is probably a catch word. I certanily hope you are right, but would like to see that they have declined the matter entirely?

After some consideration, the federal agency determined that it lacked jurisdiction to consider petitions to ban the lead content in hunting ammunition. It is, however, now considering whether it may ban lead in fishing sinkers.

Skip

17

Skip,

Thanks, I missed that! I will have to dig around some more. Whats next? Hackle? After all, they did find salmonella in all those chicken eggs!!! Maybe this should be moved over to Sound Off!!!LOL! Although we never did determine which came first, the chicken or the egg? !!!

Best regards, Dave S. (fishdog54)

18

Maybe we should outlaw electric cars since they run on batteries and too much lead in them for sure, LOL!

Skip

19

Normally I do not comment on political issues in forums like this because I don’t think it is the proper place. But, since this does slightly involve fly tying materials…
It is time for some generation to step up to the plate and stop the insanity of what we are doing to our environment. When I was in college during the oil shortage and gas lines, if you had told me then that the vast majority of us, 30-plus years later in 2010, would still be driving the same type of vehicles that used the same type of fuel that caused the problem then, you could have knocked me over with a feather. There would be no way we would put up with a chance of this happening again. My generation will come up with an answer. Well, we are still in the same boat because my generation was lazy and dropped the ball and didn’t mass develop - or demand - cars that use some other type of non-petroleum fuel. We also didn’t press - or demand - the development of wind and solar power instead of carbon dioxide-releasing fossil fuels either. Einstein said the true definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. My generation has done the same thing previous generations have done and left our filth to be suffered by our kids and grandkids. A big difference is that now we know what the dangers are and we still do it. Our parents may not have known. Our kids will have to live with what we didn’t do that we should have and will have to clean up our mess that they inherit from us that we should have stopped and, at least, tried to make right.
I can’t believe that anyone could believe that, with what we know now, lead is not a very dangerous pollutant and can be deadly to fish and animals - humans included. Since this is a “Fly Tying” forum, here is how I see it concerning us fly tiers - if paying (which I have done for a number of years now) $3.15 for a spool of lead-free wire instead of $2.85 for lead wire (J Stockard prices) or $3.19 instead of $2.50 (at Cabela’s) will help, at least in a very small way, to alleviate some of the burden we put on future generations who may also enjoy fly fishing and other outdoor activities and the beautiful, non-polluting creatures that we love who live there, it will be my pleasure and my responsibility. And, if paying extra for lead-free products will prevent me, the flyfisher, from buying my next $800 fly rod or my next $500 tying vise - or if paying extra for lead-free sinkers will keep the spinfisher from buying more lures, or the hunter who pays extra for lead-free ammunition from buying another new gun, then so be it. Do without. We deserve to “suffer” much more than our children and grandchildren deserve to. I just refuse to believe that we can be so selfish and lazy and not be willing to help clean up after ourselves for those who come after us.
Sorry about the length.

Joe

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Don’t matter to me,. I don’t use it.