9/20/2009

'Going Green' movement catching on with anglers

By Roger Mallon,Reading Eagle

Anglers are debating how much they want to participate in the "Going Green" movement. No matter what their opinions are about global warming, conscientious anglers generally opt in favor of conserving the resource, namely protecting the health and habitat of the fish they catch.

In April biologists at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, akin to Pennsylvania's Fish and Boat Commission, issued a strong notice to anglers encouraging them to switch from soft plastic lures to biodegradable ones.

"There are estimates that as much as 20 million pounds of soft plastic are being lost in freshwater lakes and streams annually in the U.S.," the notice claimed. "The average life expectancy for these soft plastic lures is more than 200 years."

Biologists at Unity College in Maine are focusing their research on trout and salmon.

"We found that fish retained the lures in their stomachs for 13 weeks without regurgitating them," the notice said. "They also began to act anorexic and lost weight within 90 days of eating a soft plastic lure.

"Without regard to the chemical toxicity of ingested soft plastics, the fact that these lures are occupying space in a trout's stomach limits the amount of space available for natural food. There is a lot of veterinary medical evidence that foreign bodies in the digestive tract cause ulcers, weight loss, and anorexia."

The movement toward reducing contamination in our water resources has expanded to products other than soft plastics. Biodegradable fishing lines are now on the market, as are nontoxic fishing weights, jigs, hooks, spinners, spoons and other lures. Biodegradable hard plastic lures are on the horizon.

Anglers wanting to "Go Green" have many questions, though. Are biodegradable lures as effective as soft plastics? Will they last as long? Are they more expensive? Where do I buy them?

One of the world's top selling biodegradable lures is Berkley Gulp, which offers a variety of shapes, colors and sizes at competitive prices. Berkley Gulp is a widely accepted brand.

Big Bite Baits in Alabama has an impressive selection of Biobait lures, many especially made for bass anglers, with a biodegradable formula that releases scent into the water at a much higher rate than traditional plastic without drying out. Biobaits are available online at BigBiteBaits.com

Biodegradable fishing line is available from BiolineFishing.com and enjoys a good reputation for strength and low memory compared to monofilament lines.

For terminal tackle like weights, jigs and snaps, the ECO product line from South Bend, Ind., is catching on among conservation minded anglers. An assortment of weights made of tungsten, bismuth, steel, etc., are available at GreenTackle.com.

If new products don't reduce catch rates, most anglers will opt for protecting the resource with eco-friendly, biodegradable lures and tackle.