CA planning to ban lead fishing tackle

Can someone post a legit. report that shows these high levels of lead in ocean, lakes, etc. and the effects it has on fish?  I know we have issues with mercury in the lakes but that has 0% to do with fishing.

Here you go: http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00037/wdfw00037.pdf

and http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1972#.VCXxt1fDU29

Discarded lead sinkers primarily affect waterfowl and loons, which ingest them.

After a quick read thru it, I conclude that about 2 birds per year are found with some form of lead in them based on their report.  Most of the report makes note of hunting as a primary cause of lead waste.  I would well imagine that accidental death to these very same species of birds caused by collision with cars or boats is FAR greater than lead ingestion.

I have far greater concerns over CA water pollution from farmers, runoff from our roads, or mercury in the lakes!

I'm not convinced that this is a red-flag issue.  I agree that there is room for us, as responsible fisherman, to pick up our waste and consider more environmentally friendly alternatives.  Tungsten is being used, though expensive & not as available as lead.  It does have some feature benefits for fisherman but we need to be ready to fork out $10-20 per jig head.  Steel for items such as downrigger balls makes sense.  I've been using scrap tungsten for small trout weights for nearly 20 years now but my larger ocean tackle is still lead for the time being.

Well said, elkhornson.

His post was actually a sack of horseshit. Lead balls on the bottom of the ocean are stable. It's not in the same ballpark as the lead in the paint elkhornsun used to eat off his bedroom wall.  Appeals to common sense are really weak. Try harder.