Which was sort of what I was doing today.
After my ride.
Which was sort of uneventful but nice.
As usual.
So anyways, I went on over to My Friend Kyle's(MFK) place to make some fishing supplies.
Even though I never go fishing.
Even though I own lots of fishing gear.
I spent the rest of the afternoon getting the lead in and getting the lead out.
Of molds.
To make fishing lead.
For shore fishing.
First you melt the stuff in a pot:
Stay away from the nasty fumes!
Okay, the fumes weren't like the toxic kind, mostly the contaminants on the lead that were later skimmed off the top.
Once the lead is all nice and liquidy like, you get the mold, the ladle thingy and pour:
That's the getting it in part, which takes a bit of skill. You don't want molten lead dripping all over the place.
The mold is split open as soon as the pouring is done as the lead hardens fairly quickly and out pops a fishing sinker:
MFK also did some special sinkers with wire in them. These types are used for shore casting.
Big game shore casting.
The wire in the lead helps the sinker grab onto the bottom. This helps for the wave action and current tend to move the bait around.
These are in the eight ounce range which is needed when you are casting anything from forty to sixty pound test line.
The shore line here ranges from sandy to reef to deep drop off so a wide variety of fishyness can be had, if you know what you are doing.
My brother in law is member of the Century Club, having landed an ulua, or trevally of over a hundred pounds from shore.
You use a rig specially designed for this type of fishing, and the wire sinker is part of the equipment.
Anyways, we made a whole bunch of lead sinkers:
Now I'll be the first to admit that lead isn't exactly good for the environment, but so far no one has come up with anything better or safer.
Some folks around actually go out and dive for lead, so it's not like it all lies at the bottom of the ocean.
It's also better than using old spark plugs, which I used to do too.
Which is sort of like how I used to go fishing.
There may be more on that later.
Well by the time we were finished, it started to rain, like really hard.
It's supposed to rain all weekend, so maybe The Flat Tire Ceramic Works will be open tomorrow.
Weather permitting.
4 comments:
When you or your friend go fishing again, please post some photos of some of the fish you catch. I've never ocean-fished before, and it'd be cool to see what you can catch there.
I only fish in rivers and lakes around here, and the trophies are walleye, northern pike, and lake trout.
Have you ever dipped your fingers into the molten lead? They did that in an episode of Mythbusters. You might want to practice with something other than your real fingers for a bit until you get the technique right.
I think they practiced with a hotdog, Steve. There was an important step in there that I can't quite remember, though...
Big Oak, I'll see if I can dig up some old pics.
Now, if I were to dip my finger into the molten lead, it just might turn into gold.
Or it may just turn a different color.
Like celeste.
Or black and nasty.
Or I may just howl like a banshee.
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