Selling certain lead jigs is no longer legal in Maine

By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff

It became illegal to sell painted lead jigs on Sept. 1, thanks to a new law passed by the Maine State Legislature earlier this year.

It was already illegal to use or sell sinkers and unpainted jigs made of lead that weigh an ounce or less or are smaller than 2.5 inches long. The new law closes a loophole in the 2023 use ban that still allowed painted lead jigs that size to be sold and used.

The new law prohibits the sale of that category of painted lead jigs now, but won’t disallow use until September 2026.

Lead tackle is responsible for about a third of the adult loon deaths over the last 25 years, according to Maine Audubon. The laws banning lead tackle, plus new boating laws that limit wave action that can wipe out nests on the shoreline, will increase the species chances of survival, the organization has said.

The loons eat fish that have the lead tackle in or attached to them or they pick up sinkers and small jigs from the bottoms of lakes and ponds when they eat the gravel they need to digest their food, the organization said. However they ingest it, lead tackle is lethal to loons.

Lead sinkers and jigs don’t include artificial lures, weighted line referred to as lead core or weighted flies, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, which has been partnering with Maine Audubon to help the loon population thrive.

The lead tackle laws apply to inland, not tidal, waters, MDIF&W said.

The department offers several suggestions for non-toxic tackle, including modern metal alloys such as tungsten, tin, bismuth and steel. The department also recommends that fishermen not use zinc tackle because that metal can poison wildlife as well.

Maine Audubon is offering to help retailers who sell the now outlawed tackle by buying back the small painted lead jigs through the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, in cooperation with the DIF&W. Retailers can contact Maine Audubon wildlife biologist Laura Williams at lwilliams@maineaudubon.org.

Besides being aware of the new tackle law, the MDIF&W reminds fishermen that general law fishing regulations for rivers, streams and brooks changed on Aug. 16 to artificial lures and flies only. Bait fish, smelt and worms cannot be used Aug. 16-Sept. 30. Check the general laws for daily bag limits and lengths for the water you are fishing.

The bag limits for brook trout and landlocked salmon change to one each daily to protect the fall-spawning fish.