BY JOHN MYERS, NEWS TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Minnesota anglers say they're willing to switch to lead-free jigs and sinkers, but it's still hard to find the stuff at many bait shops and fishing lodges across the state.
Though Minnesota companies lead the nation in manufacturing nontoxic tackle, bait shops and anglers have been slow to catch on to the product. So the state has jumped into the fishing tackle distributing business, offering at-cost tackle displays to mom-and-pop bait shops and other sporting-goods stores.
State-sponsored displays filled with Minnesota-made lead-free tackle will appear in stores within the next few weeks.
"We're pretty positive about our efforts to educate anglers about lead tackle. Most of them know about the problem now, and most are willing to do something," said Kevin McDonald of Minnesota's Pollution Control Agency. "The No. 1 gripe we hear from anglers is that they can't find the stuff to buy it. We have Minnesota companies that aren't getting their products into the stores."
Since 1999, the state has taken an active role in trying to persuade anglers to scrap lead tackle and use nontoxic alternatives such as tin, bismuth, polymers and tungsten. The effort is aimed at reducing the amount of lead left in lakes for loons and other birds to ingest.
At sport shows, park and refuge headquarters and sporting goods stores across the state, McDonald and others have passed out tens of thousands of free samples of lead-free tackle. At the tackle exchanges held each summer across the state, anglers are encouraged to bring in their old lead tackle to be disposed of safely.
A survey conducted at a March sports and boat show in Minneapolis found that84 percent of respondents said they would buy lead-free tackle this year. More than 90 percent said they were aware of the problem of lead killing loons.
"People at the tackle exchanges would say, 'Thanks, you've convinced us.' But then they'd come out of the store and say they couldn't find the nonlead tackle on the shelves," McDonald said.
But at the same time, several Minnesota companies that have been busy making lead-free tackle say demand so far has been sluggish.
Big stores such as Cabela's and Gander Mountain have carried a few lead-free products for years. So the PCA is targeting bait shops, campgrounds, lodges and tackle stores to get them to carry the completely stocked store displays.
"We aren't getting into the fishing-tackle distributor business for the long term. But we are going to prime the pump," McDonald said.
Lead-free tackle from four Minnesota manufacturers -- Water Gremlin, Northland, Gravity-Heikkala and Outcast -- will hang on the displays that will cost the stores $450 or $850 -- the state's cost -- depending on size. Store owners will be able to double their investment if they sell all the tackle, thanks to the low costs manufacturers are offering the state.
Anglers can expect to pay20 percent to 200 percent more for lead-free tackle than for the traditional product. But that's only a matter of dimes per package of jigs or sinkers -- a tiny fraction of what anglers spend to fish.
Nontoxic Dr. Drop-brand sinkers will cost anglers about $2.99 for a package of 10, while a pack of six 8-ounce bismuth Nature Jigs from Northland will cost $4.50.
Buck Benson, owner of Buck's Hardware in Grand Marais, said the state is filling a needed niche with its lead tackle education program and by marketing lead-free tackle. His store will be among the first to feature one of the displays.
"We had good response with the tackle exchange in the past. A lot of guys came down to see what the new stuff looked like," Benson said. "But the reality is there just isn't much out there for us to get at the wholesale level.... What the state is doing is going to help the retailer stock unleaded tackle for the consumer. We haven't been able to do that before."
The goal is to get the displays into 100 stores this summer, McDonald said. The displays also are expected to be at all Quetico Provincial Park visitor centers and at several Minnesota refuge and park offices as well.
One of those, Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge near McGregor, is hosting a free tackle exchange today at the McGregor Community Center and will offer nontoxic tackle during the summer. The refuge is a hotbed of fishing, birdwatching and hunting activity.
"We're trying to let folks know that if they use lead tackle they may be harming the wildlife that they enjoy so much," said the refuge's Michelle McDowell. "This fits right in with our environmental education mission."
