IN THE NEWS

Proposition 65 may not ring any bells to most of you but you will feel it's effect the next time you see the price has gone up on your favorite baits. The state of California in 1986 passed proposition 65, The Safe DrinkingWater and Toxic Enviroment Act . Basicly the idea was to protect it's citizens from waste generated by big business. This act however gave the private citizen the right to sue any company.LET'S MAKE SOME MONEY!!! The current bandwagon is the manditory placement of labels on products such as "This product contains lead, a chemical know to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm." Like anybody would allow their pregnant wife to chew on a leadhead jig. "Do not place your hands in your mouth .Wash your hands after handling this product." is another one. Tackle companies have three choices here. First is to reformulate their products with a non-toxic California approved subtance. Most of which cost 7 to 10 times more than standard lead. Materials such as steel or bismuth are of course the front runners. Second they can add warnings to all their products. While that may seem most cost effective, all products currently on shelves everwhere would have to be recalled. Manufactors can not risk any pre-labled item from anywhere winding up for sale in CA. Third they can just payoff the settlements. That would cost them roughly $30k each time they walked in the door of the court room. This does not include the cost of whatever the settlement may amount to or however long it could take. So as the cost of baits rise, you now know why. By the way, just how many of these potential lawsuits do you think are going to be raised by anglers?

Ranger boats, a name long recognized with quality fishing boats has withdrawn it's BASS sponsership. Since the induction of the World Championship Fishing Series (WCF), which BASS sanctions, Ranger feels that they can no longer support the BASS events. The WCF combines fishing with boat racing, obstacle courses, ect. Ranger president Randy Hopper is quoted as saying "With WCF the emphasis has been taking off fishing and placed on racing." Ranger vice-president of marketing Bart Schad says "Frankly the WCF promotes unsafe boating practices." While I must agree that fishing and obstacle courses should not be combined I must wonder if BASS has not found an answer to jet skis. Is this fishing skill against fishing skill, or boat against boat?