Lead-Free Fishing, PROPER TACKLE DISPOSAL & Barbless Hooks
Modern Tackle Tips Every Angler Should Know
Get The Lead Out
If lead fishing sinkers or jigs are banned in Canada’s national parks and wildlife areas, why stop there? It makes no sense. The damage extends well beyond those boundaries. And we should know. We have first-hand experience with losing a loon to a lead sinker. Residents at the time had managed to capture the sick loon and brought it to a rehab centre where it eventually died but not before breaking everyone’s hearts with its cries.
And lead indiscriminately kills other birds, not just loons - 78 species have suffered from lead poisoning! We urge everyone to please stop buying and using lead tackle.
To help address this serious threat, the Echo Lake Association has joined the Wolfe Lake Association’s GET THE LEAD OUT program.
See below for more information:
Recycle Fishing Line & Lead
As if lead poisoning and speeding boats isn't enough, we lost yet another loon recently, this time from drowning after getting tangled in fishing line
In an effort to stop another loss from lead poisoning and tangling, the Echo Lake Association installed a fishing line/lead tackle/lead sinker/artificial bait recycling tube on the lake, and our fingers are crossed it will keep any more fishing line and sinkers out of the lake!
If anyone has a better name than fishing line/lead tackle/lead sinker/artificial bait receptacle, let us know. In the meantime, 'Lead Zeppelin' it is 🙃
Angle Smart, Choose Barbless
Most mortalities among released fish occur as a result of excessive bleeding when hooks have been embedded in the gullet or gills. Many of the fish are released only to swim away and die.
Unfortunately, fish aren't the only animals getting snagged by barbed hooks. Our resident Snapping Turtle, who hangs around Whitfield Bay and at Hammond Bay, was seen recently with a fishing line attached to it. If you spot it PLEASE CALL ROB PREISNER AT 416-823-1739, OR EMAIL elamuskoka@gmail.com.
We ask that the barbs on your hooks be filed off or pinched down with pliers, allowing safe and harmless removal of the hook. Better yet, upgrade your tackle box with specially made barbless hooks. They can penetrate more smoothly, and sometimes make it easier to hook fish!
To effectively make the switch to barbless, here’s what you need to know: Switch To Barbless Hooks
... Or click the button below for the pdf version: