Lead fishing tackle

I have been fishing my whole life, and not until recently have I been concerned about the lead that I put into our water systems. I guess now that I’m older, I have been thinking about the welfare of our natural resources for the next generations. Honestly, if I didn’t fish for walleye in the Mississippi, I might not see this as such a big issue. I lose SOOOOO many jigheads that it just blows my mind to think about all that lead on the river bottom. I fish for everything, but hands down, I lose the majority of lead jig fishing for walleye. I think that no matter how good you are, you’ll still lose a lot jigs in the river. Anyways, I been looking at some alternatives like bismuth/tin, but I was wondering if anyone had a good source of non-lead jigs they could share with me. Another problem is that, most of the jigs I’ve seen are very standard and they don’t offer jigs with light weights and big hooks. I’ve been increasingly pushing the size of plastics that I use, and need some big hooks. Ah… the woes of walleye fishing. Losing plastic lures…well that a whole other topic to be discussed another time, but feel free.

Very good questions. Sorry I don’t have an answer but I just wanted you to know, you are not loosing anymore lead than a lot of the rest of us. I guess it is called (fishing were the fish are).
I really like the idea of larger hooks with a smaller jig head. That would be the ticket for them fat juicy
K-Grubs

Bret

you are never going to see me paying $5.00 for a pack of 4 tungsten weights . If i go with a lead alternative it will be steel!

Theres tungsten and theres brass. i don’t mind brass weights or steel for that matter but you need a much bigger weight/head to equal the same weight as lead. But the fish don’t seem to mind a ton. Maybe there should be a fishing company that takes recycled cans and melts them down to make jigs. That would be sweet. otherwise, i would say to just quit walleye fishing….I mean its one thing to waste lead on those “sewer trout” but if you are fishing with tungsten, don’t even think about it…. Bass all the way! Of course, i’m just messing with ya. I don’t mind a few walleyes once in a while when the bass aren’t biting.
good luck in your quest for different jigs. I totally agree, its disgusting to think of all that lead below the dams. My dad and I have had outtings where we each lost 5 jigs in a few hours. Everybody else is losing just as many and thats happening every single day up there

Try the hooks by Owner. Small weight, longer shaft. Puts your hook point further back on swimbaits and ringworms.
Found them in 1/8, 1/16, 3/16, 1/4 and on up. Nice jig heads.
Take care,
Brian

First of all, thanks for the responses. Secondly, I don’t want anyone to think that I’m trying to undermine your game if you use lead(or plastic). I still use both, but thinking down the line, I’m trying to make the switch now. I would think that ALL real fishermen and women would care about this issue, but I guess I was wrong. I just hope that people didn’t turn their noses up after reading this because they were somehow offended. As far as price, lead alternatives do cost more, for now. To trade the health and purity of our water systems for a little extra cash is a raw deal. If someone said,”Hey, you can either pay a few bucks more now, or have your favorite lake or river contaminated for the next generations.”, It would make me sad to be a fisherman to hear the latter. I know plenty of “outdoors” people that have 300$ rods and 200$ reels, but they can’t afford a little lead free tackle? I’m not rich, but a few extra dollars to ensure the future of fishing…sold. I respect everyone, and I hope that the future will be filled with clean, healthy water and bent rods.

P.S. Cade, if it weren’t for bass, I’d have nothing to use my old and worn out tackle on. Those “aqua goats” will eat anything that will fit in their fat mouths. Just busting your chops my friend! Long live all fish.