freeline-106 - Flipbook - Page 92
EXCLUSIVE
m essage that droppi ng le a d s
i s an environmental pro bl e m .
Now, there was defini t e l y
a n issue with swans ea t i n g
l e ad shot, of that there w a s
n o doubt, but the no t i o n
t h at large r fishing lead s a r e
a problem for our lakes i s a
c o mpletely different ke t t l e
o f fish. If we take the m o s t
d e cisive fact, chemistry, l e a d
d o es not react with fresh w a te r
( p H7 at 20 degrees and 1 b a r
o f pressure). A lead wi ll s t a y
1 0 0% in tact in fresh wa t e r.
N o decay, no release of to x i n s ,
n o harm whatsoever to th e
e n vironment. In order fo r i t t o
d i ssolve in water it requ i re s
o t her elements to be pres e n t .
A lead will however star t t o
d i ssolve in soft, sligh tl y ac i d i c
w ater. If the water co nt a i n s
s u lphide or phosphate then th e
l e ad is rendered co mpl e t e l y
u n reactive. So not all le a d s
i n every l ake are po tent i a l l y
c a using a problem. L ets a l s o
r e member that most c a r p
f i s hing leads are co ated i n
BigCarp 90
p l a st i c o r o t h e r m a t e r i a l s
to disguise them. These
c o a ti n g s w i l l d r a m a t i c a l l y
reduce any potential erosion
t i m e to n e g l i g i b l e. L e t ’s
further remember that lead
is
a
n a t ur a l l y
occurring
element found in the ground.
The second fact about lead
in drinking water is that the
w a te r w a s i n a p i p e r u n n i n g
a t h i g h p r e ss u r e. I t ’s t h i s
p r e s s u r e a n d t h e m o v em e n t
of the water in the pipe that
e r o d e d t h e l e a d . I n a l a k e, t h e
lead weight is not subjected to
t h e s e s a m e f o r c e s . So be f o r e
you jump on the dropping
l e a d s i s d a n g e r o u s f e n c e,
m a y b e h a v e a r e a d u p y o u r s e l f.
So why do we drop leads
a t a l l ? If y o u g o b a c k t o t h e
e a r l y c a rp b o o k s m a n y o f t h e m
document the use of ‘rotten
b o t to m ’ o r l i g h t l i n e l i n k s
to leads as a way to get rid
of them in snaggy or weedy
situations. Playing a fish in
such conditions is much easy
without a lead hanging off the
