Rocks for Weights??

Great topic. In fact you beat me to it.  I have been brainstorming a way to use rocks on sinker releases while trolling.  There is great potential here. The problem is finding the densest rocks.  It would suck dragging a baseball sized rock while trolling; especially on a kayak. I like the twine sling idea. This would be easy to incoorporate some swivels into this.

Well...I was thinking more in the lines of Rockfishing and bouncing for halibut before the wind starts to blow too hard. I mean i usually only use a 2-4 ounce weight. If I can find a comparable stone that can do the same, I will switch over. Trolling around with a Big Stone is probably out of the question. I would just use a downrigger.

I'm gonna try and find a workable solution for this. I'm not a super hardcore environmentalist, but I'll be responsible where I can. 

I  spend a lot of time devising ways to clean up lead-contaminated soil.

I would love to understand this more. Doesn't lead come from the soil?

By the way I love the idea of being less impactful on the sea and also the survivalist style looking rock weights (I love to make my own gear) Great thread!

"I'm not a super hardcore environmentalist, but I'll be responsible where I can."

Thank you.

I have played with this a bit. Epoxying eyelets on rocks and using them. Its cool and all and workd but I always seem to go back to Lead. I don't know why, maybe cause its easier. Find someone that installs granite countertops and get his cut offs.

I  spend a lot of time devising ways to clean up lead-contaminated soil.

I would love to understand this more. Doesn't lead come from the soil?

By the way I love the idea of being less impactful on the sea and also the survivalist style looking rock weights (I love to make my own gear) Great thread!

I'm talking about soil that has been contaminated with lead by human activities. One of the projects I'm working on right now involves a few acres of land that was used as a trap shooting range for several decades. The lead concentration in shallow soil is about 100 times higher than the ecological screening level (the level that's said to be protective of wildlife).

Lead is present at low levels in just about all soil, and a typical "background" concentration might be something like 2-5 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg). The concentrations at this shooting range site are up in the thousands.

From an environmental perspective, lead is bad news. On the islands they have a technique called dropping stone. It could be adapted for trolling but why not just use a downrigger?9

I think that large, thick rubber bands would do the trick to hold the rocks in place. If they got stuck, they would pull away from the rubber bands (attached to a swivel) and you'd just lose the rock...

Fred "True" Trujillo

From an environmental perspective, lead is bad news. On the islands they have a technique called dropping stone. It could be adapted for trolling but why not just use a downrigger?9

Downrigger for salmon but drifting for butts or rf is what I'm looking for Scott.  I think there are also some eco friendly weights out there that are biodegradable and non lead. I might give that a shot but rocks seem like such a simple and natural solution.

Lead is present at low levels in just about all soil, and a typical "background" concentration might be something like 2-5 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg). The concentrations at this shooting range site are up in the thousands.

Thanks for the reply Alex.  How do you test the soil?  I would be interested in helping devise ways to clean it up.

rocks seem like such a simple and natural solution.

I agree, leave a rock on the bottom and there is no impact. I'm going to play with this process myself. I have already found ways to use rocks for weight while diving so I can use the least amount of belt weight possible but I had never thought about the end of my fishing line. I have seen people using spark plugs and little brown bags of sand but I thought they were just being cheap. Never thought about the lead I was losing, it's kind of embarrassing actually.

Lead is present at low levels in just about all soil, and a typical "background" concentration might be something like 2-5 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg). The concentrations at this shooting range site are up in the thousands.

Thanks for the reply Alex.  How do you test the soil?  I would be interested in helping devise ways to clean it up.

rocks seem like such a simple and natural solution.

I agree, leave a rock on the bottom and there is no impact. I'm going to play with this process myself. I have already found ways to use rocks for weight while diving so I can use the least amount of belt weight possible but I had never thought about the end of my fishing line. I have seen people using spark plugs and little brown bags of sand but I thought they were just being cheap. Never thought about the lead I was losing, it's kind of embarrassing actually.

We test the soil by collecting samples and sending them to analytical labs. We also use hand held instruments called X-ray fluorescence spectrometers (we just call them XRFs). XRFs give you a good estimate of the lead concentration in the field without sending any samples to the lab.

As for cleaning up the soil, that usually involves digging up the contaminated soil and sending it to a landfill. Lead isn't a contaminant that typically gets treated "in-situ"; the contaminated soil usually just has to be removed. Depending on the concentrations, you can also "stabilize" the lead by mixing certain chemicals into the soil. This essentially binds the lead in place so it doesn't leach or spread (lower toxicity). Google ECOBOND if you're curious.

It ain't cheap, either... Cleaning up this old trap shooting range is going to cost about $3,000,000 when all's said and done. And it ain't like I'm getting rich doing it....

Wow, very cool thanks for responding Alex.