Please get the below message out to as many of our members as you can.
The proposed Senate Bill 224, if passed, would wipe out almost all of your jigs. It is critical that you let the 5 Senators on the Senate Energy & Natural Resources committee know what you think about this. If you stay silent on this issue, then you should not complain about losing your freedom. Ask the guys in Massachusetts what happens.
Senator Bob Odell bob.odell@leg.state.nh.us
Senator John Gallus john.gallus@leg.state.nh.us
Senator Jeb Bradley jeb.bradley@leg.state.nh.us
Senator Gary Lambert gary.lambert@leg.state.nh.us
Senator Amanda Merrill Amanda.merrill@leg.state.nh.us
Shown below is my last e-mail to this Senate committee . . .
Thanks for asking for our input on the proposed change in wording of SB224.
Can someone explain to me why the proponents of this bill wants to ban all painted lead head jigs of 1 oz. and yet exempt the small Clauser Minnow fly that has lead eyes? Could it be that they don’t want to tick off Trout Unlimited since this is a famous fly?
There is no way in the world that: 1. A loon is going to mistake a large 1 oz jig (or even a 3/8 oz jig) like this for a small piece of grit ; 2. there is no way a 4” – 6” perch (preferred prey of the loon) could fit a jig of this size in it’s tiny mouth, break off 12 lb. test line, flounder around attracting the attention of loon that then eats the whole works.
During their testimony on January 19, the Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) cited a masters thesis by Tiffany Grade. On page 17 & 18 of that thesis the author writes about LPC findings from 2000 - 2010, that the heaviest jig head found in a loon weighed 0.74 oz and the majority weighed less than 0.2 oz. She writes, “The longest jig head measured 1.3 in (33.3 mm), with the majority of the jig heads between 0.6-0.8 in”. She continues, “Most of the sinkers also weighed <0.2 oz (5.7g) and only one exceeded 1 oz). In other words, in 10 years they found 1 sinker in a loon that weighed 1 oz. In 10 years the LPC found that the majority of lead head jigs found in loons were less than 1” in overall length.
This tells me that our 2000 statute (RSA 211:13-b) has it about right. No surprise there since the statue was crafted after all stakeholders thoroughly discussed this issue and agreed. These facts also tell us that Vermont and Maine got it right too. The NH statute is twice as stringent as VT or ME (1/2 oz. vs. 1 oz sinkers)
What is more important is defining what a “lure” is. To the vast majority of bass anglers, a “jig” is an artificial lure that is retrieved in a lift & drop manner. A jig head is never fished naked . . . it invariably has a plastic trailer or worm attached, often has a rubber, silicone, or vinyl skirt, and may also have a fiber weedguard . . . a jig head is normally a key component of the lure.
The proposed new wording advocated by the NH Lakes Association would exempt “lead core line, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, spoons, poppers, plugs or flies.” What about chatterbaits? Is the famous ice fishing jig, the Swedish Pimple a “jig” or a “lure”or a “spoon”.
The proposed new wording for SB 224 would wipe out almost all of the jigs commonly used by bass anglers and would destroy several NH businesses without making a significant difference in the overall loon population in NH. Tungsten jigs are not available in the common weights used by bass anglers, and even if they were the costs would be prohibitive.
Please keep in mind that any changes in fishing regulations will have an impact on over 250,000 anglers who fish in NH every year: 108,000 NH residents who are 16 and older, 120,000 non-residents 16 and over, and the rest are kids who like to fish. In 2006 these anglers spent $177 million in NH.*
In the spirit of compromise, we would be willing to agree to increasing the banned overall length of jig heads from the current `1” to 1 ˝ “ and retain the current 1 oz or less ban on sinkers. Even doing this is unlikely to make a significant difference in the overall loon population which has been gradually increasing since 1975.
* 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation Data compiled by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Richard “Dick” Smith
Conservation Director
New Hampshire Bass Federation
Approved by Dan Dufour
New Hampshire Bass Federation Nation
Conservation Director
