vb4me 1 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Does anyone use anything other than lead sinkers either for enviromental reasons or financial or just ran out of sinkers so need a temporary replacement type of thing. Just curious as i was cleaning out an old tackle box and I found a couple of lead free ball sinkers that I bought many years ago while on a hippy kick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dylan 0 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Does anyone use anything other than lead sinkers either for enviromental reasons or financial or just ran out of sinkers so need a temporary replacement type of thing. Just curious as i was cleaning out an old tackle box and I found a couple of lead free ball sinkers that I bought many years ago while on a hippy kick I have heard stories of people using old spark plugs. lolwould have to think that if anything else was used, it would have to be bigger in size due to the weight/mass of lead. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vb4me 1 Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Ive heard of the old spark plug trick too. There are alternatives available made from steel and powder coated or bismuth but are more expensive than lead sinkers but I have only seen them in ball or bean sinker form. Have just read about someone making mini sand bags for sinkers. The Americans have tried phasing out lead since 1994 which is interesting cos we still dont have much of an alternative available. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pwilly 0 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 i have been thinking of alternatives after reading report in the last wildcoastI have seen the biodegradble ones at big w but as vb4me said only in ballsi have used nuts when ive had nothing else they work fine also making my own berley springs out of wire to save sum buckshow much of an effect does losing sinkers in the sea haveI am mainly thinking of not using lead because of having little kids around especially after reading WCcheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vb4me 1 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Hey pwilly have just got my copy if wild coast and saw the article on lead. Having younguns around is a good reason to minimise the lead as they always seem to stick fingers in/around mouths after touchin stuff. don't know about in the sea but apparently in America the reason for banning small leads is that water birds pick them up like stones to help digestion then dying from lead poisoning. Does lead leech in the water? ??? would it contribute to higher lead levels in fish surrounding an area that contained a lot of lost sinkers? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kelvin 2,200 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Solid lead is inert. It needs to be ingested for toxicity to occur Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pellipeeli11 0 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 gidday all Kelvin Im not haveing a go at you or anyone else mate but solid lead,lead paint,lead minerals,lead dust etc ,if handled can all be absorbed thru the skin .particularly thru the soles of the feet,It can also be ingested as you correctly state.Also from handling lead sinkers and very serously in fumes/vapours created when making your own sinkers. for further info I found an article on this in my latest fre**hwa**r Fis**n* magazine today ,Cheers mate peelipeeli 14 PS we have had a lot of experience with this raiseing children in Broken Hill :)Dylan when my son was too young to concentrate on fishing in the Darling river i would tie a spark plug on his line and he could pull it in and cast it out for hours on end,I still maintain,When your (very young) kids are learning to fish you dont go fishing to catch fish but you go on a picnic and teach them to fish cheers peelipeeli 14 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ranger 48 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Solid lead is inert. It needs to be ingested for toxicity to occurI don't know bugger all about this subject, but studying physics-uni SA we had to wear gloves when handling lead.......Why? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kelvin 2,200 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 I agree that lead fumes are also an issue in term of lead toxicity and that melting lead to make sinkers needs to be done in a well ventilated area.My understanding of lead toxicity (excluding inhalation) is that absorption through intact skin is almost negligible. Usually toxicity occurs from small lead particles from paint, dust etc sticking to the skin and then people ingesting it. From my brief glance at the medical literature, the main cases of acute poisoning have been from children eating lead sinkers or pellets. Chronic poisoning occurs from the slow buildup of lead dust and then children sticking their fingers in their mouths.The body needs an acidic environment (stomach acid) to breakdown solid lead and increase the bioavailability of the lead.This is why lead is still readily available as sinkers and jig heads. As long as you wash your hands before eating you should be ok.Having said all this, I used to close lead split shots with my teeth when I was a kid. Not something I will be doing anymore Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pellipeeli11 0 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 well said Kelvin Im the same now with all my lead especially the black/grey dust in the sinker tray or box cheers pp 14PS sometimes i think it might be too late for my memory though :-\ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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