What the claim comes down to
Some weights and jigs are sold marked lead-free — the corpus shows « BLEIFREI » in the title of one pilker. The marking says the weight is made of something other than lead.
What that changes is size at a given weight. Lead is dense. A substitute that is less dense makes a bulkier object for the same grams, and one that is denser — tungsten — makes a smaller one. The corpus shows the dense end explicitly, on micro tungsten jig heads and tungsten beads.
There is no single class behind the words. It is the maker’s claim about its own material.
What it does not promise
It does not state which metal was used, unless the maker names it.
It does not promise the same drop rate. A bulkier weight sinks differently and holds differently in current, and no listing publishes a comparison.
It does not promise compliance with any particular rule, because rules on tackle materials are set locally and this site does not interpret them.
And it does not promise a price parity: on this corpus the lead-free pilker is not the cheapest on its shelf.
Where it shows up on this site
On the pilker shelf, where weights run from a modest figure up to a very heavy one and where bulk at the top of that range is what decides whether the jig stays under a drifting boat. On the lead shelf, where the shapes — pear, teardrop, shot, running, drop — already carry most of the behaviour. And on the jig head shelf, where tungsten is bought for the opposite reason: a smaller object at the same weight.
How it is read here
A page prints the marking as the maker printed it, names the metal where the maker names it, and says what the material change does to the size at a stated weight. It makes no statement about where a material may or may not be used, and it never presents a marking as an approval.
The questions that keep coming back
Is lead-free tackle required where I fish?
That is a question of law and of the water’s owner, and it differs between two lakes in the same valley. This site does not answer it. What the pages do is print the marking the maker printed, because it changes the product.
Does a lead-free lead of the same weight behave the same?
Not exactly. Lead is dense, and a substitute metal at the same weight is either bulkier or, in the case of tungsten, smaller. Bulk changes how a weight drops and how it holds in current.
Why does tungsten appear on the jig head shelf?
Because it is denser than lead, so a tungsten head is smaller for the same weight — which matters when a trout is inspecting a small lure. The corpus shows a micro tungsten head set and a tungsten bead set.
Is the marking verified?
It is the maker’s own claim. No body issues it product by product, and this site reports it as a claim with the maker named.
Last reviewed 22 September 2026