If you find yourself with a bunch of lead tackle that is or soon will be illegal to use while fishing, you have options.
Maine Audubon plans to be at the next three sportsmen’s shows in the state, where the group will give you lead-free alternatives to your lead sinkers or jigs.
Maine Audubon and other conservation groups have long supported banning lead sinkers and jigs small enough that loons can ingest them. The birds can scoop them up off the bottoms of lakes and ponds and die from lead poisoning.
New laws in place are protecting the loons, including new boating laws that reduce the amount of wave action that floods out their nests and the laws regulating lead tackle.
It is illegal to use lead sinkers and unpainted lead jigs that are 2.5 inches or less or weighing an ounce or less. As of Sept. 1, 2024, it became illegal to sell painted or unpainted lead jigs. As of Sept. 1, 2026, it will also be illegal to use painted jigs in those sizes.
Maine Audubon will be at Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show Friday-Sunday, March 14-16, at the New Balance Field House, University of Maine Orono; Aroostook Spring Sportsman’s Show, Saturday-Sunday, March 22-23, at The Forum, 24 Chapman Road, Presque Isle; and State of Maine Sportsman’s Show, Friday-Sunday, March 28-30, at the Augusta Civic Center.
