On April
22, 1970, the first Earth Day was organized and celebrated. It was
a movement towards promoting the initiative of respecting our planet
and concerns over the pollution of our water, land and air. As stewards
of our planet it’s our responsibility to insure
that we leave as little carbon footprint as possible for future generations.
As anglers it’s our goal to protect the resources so that our
children and their children can enjoy fishing. In Denver, Colorado,
the Wright & McGill Company, manufacture of Eagle Claw Fishing
Tackle, has taken to becoming more environmentally friendly to heart
with greener products and packaging for the angler; in fact, they
have even received numerous Gold Awards for their commitment to environmental
excellence and compliance.
Wright & McGill
Company (www.eagleclaw.com)
has an impressive list of innovative, environmentally friendly products.
It’s part of their Fish Green initiative. TheseFISH
GREEN products are everyday tackle that can be and will be used by
anglers. The following is six products are a direct results from
the Eagle Claw Fish Green initiative:
Bioline
It just doesn’t get any better than to have the first ecological
friendly biofilament fishing line. It is 100% biodegradable fishing
line. Bioline is constructed from a special formula of 100% biodegradable
polymers. It has superior knot strength and castability; in addition
to being extremely abrasion resistant. Unlike monofilament, Bioline
will retain its maximum tensile strength for the first year of use
then bacteria will begin to break down the line and be completely gone
within five years from sunlight, bacteria and moisture. One more positive
attribute is it has fluorocarbon invisibility.
Timeline of fishing line biodegradability:
Bioline- last 5 years
Monofilament- last 600 years
Fluorocarbon- last 600+
Circle Hooks
Circle hooks may have done more to increase the survival rate of fish
than any other product angler’s use. Eagle Claw knows how important
it is and even manufactures specifically engineered circle hooks that
can be used at billfishing tournaments. Eagle Claw also encourages
anglers fishing for sailfish, marlin, striped bass, and salmon to use
circle hooks to reduce the mortality rate.
Barbless Hooks
Get this…Eagle Claw is the world’s largest producer of
barbless fish hooks. That means they sell millions of barbless hooks
a year to anglers. It’s been proven that fish caught on barbless
hooks are easier for anglers to release unharmed.
Snell Packaging
Eagle Claw has done something remarkable that will make a positive
difference along streams or reservoirs everywhere. The have designed
and have a degradable snell pack. That is taking the initiative in
making environmentally friendly packaging.
Lead Alternatives
Every angler needs sinkers of all different sizes, shapes, and style,
but what the environment doesn’t need is excessive amounts of
toxic weights in rivers and reservoirs. More and more anglers are switching
over to non-toxic weights in response to becoming more environmentally
friendly. Eagle Claw is meeting the needs of anglers by offering a
wide selection of non-toxic sinkers.
Conservation Tools
Wright & McGill knows it’s all about conserving our environment
and recourses. One product, the Lazer Tools Saltwater Reef Kit, was
designed to aid anglers in releasing saltwater fish fast and easy.
It all adds up. The Lazer Tools along with certified approved, non-offset
circle hooks when used appropriately will decrease the mortality rate
and increase the number of fish.
In the end, it’s all about protecting our environment. That’s
exactly why everyday should be Earth Day. Wright & McGill Company
is one fishing manufacture that is stepping forward to supporting catch
and release, habitat restoration, and conserving our
natural resources. Hopefully other companies and not just fishing manufactures
will step forward to work toward reducing our carbon footprint so future
generations can enjoy fishing.
Brad
Wiegmann is a full time fishing guide on Beaver lake and
Lake SWEPCO in Northwest Arkansas. Brad guides for Largemouth,
Spotted, Smallmouth, Stripers and White Bass. He is also a free-lance
writer who's weekly column "Speaking of Fishing" appears
weekly in several local newspapers. You may also see him doing
seminars, working outdoor shows or featured in outdoor magazines such
as BASSMASTER Magazine, Outdoor life and Arkansas Sportsman. He
also fishes the FLW Tour, Stren and local open tournaments. He
is currently on the Pro staff, promotional staff and guide programs
of numerous tackle manufactures, lure companies, and fishing related
companies. You can contact him at (479) 756-5279, at bwiegmann@cox.net or
visit his website at www.bradwiegmann.com for
more information.
