Description
Genuine GloLead®
GloLead® is an innovative lead sinker developed specifically for tuna longliners and serious commercial fishermen. Designed and tested in Australia, delivering faster sink rates, improved crew safety, and full compliance with Australian longline fishing regulations. It provides a modern alternative to traditional leaded barrel swivels while improving efficiency, safety, and environmental outcomes.
Under current Australian regulations, tuna longline operators are required to use a 60-gram lead swivel positioned within 3.5 metres of the hook to ensure bait sinks rapidly and reduces interactions with seabirds and turtles. The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has recently approved a new regulation allowing the use of 40-gram weights placed within 0.5 metres of the hook. It has been specifically engineered to meet these requirements while offering greater flexibility and improved performance for longline fisheries.
The 100-gram version sinks faster than comparable longline weighting methods, helping bait reach depth more quickly and efficiently. Faster sink rates reduce seabird interactions while improving hook-set consistency. Unlike traditional leaded barrel swivels, GloLead® contains no swivel, eliminating the need for two crimps per snood. This significantly reduces rigging time, lowers material costs, and removes common failure points in longline gear.
The branchline feeds directly through a smooth central bore in the GloLead®, allowing the weight to slide freely without the use of crimps. This innovative design accommodates a wide range of monofilament diameters from 1.2mm to 2.5mm, ensuring compatibility with most commercial longline configurations while minimising line wear or abrasion.
Each GloLead® features high-visibility glow technology that provides excellent visibility in low-light and deep-water conditions. The glowing design enhances bait presentation and assists with line handling during both setting and hauling operations, offering an additional advantage over standard non-illuminated lead weights.
Available in 40-gram, 60-gram, and 100-gram versions, all sharing the same streamlined shape and performance characteristics. The 40-gram features an empty cavity in the base that fits neatly over a crimp at the hook, concealing the crimp and creating a clean, hydrodynamic profile. The 60-gram is filled with lead to the end of the tube and can be positioned anywhere within 3.5 metres of the hook, making it a direct replacement for traditional 60-gram leaded swivels. The 100-gram offers maximum sink speed and can also be placed anywhere within 3.5 metres of the hook for deeper or faster-setting applications. All models glow and are designed to improve efficiency and safety on deck.
Crew safety is a major advancement offered by the GloLead® system. Traditional leaded barrel swivels can pose serious risks if a fish bites through the line, a hook pulls free under tension, or a line breaks during hauling. In these situations, conventional weighted swivels can recoil at high speed toward the vessel, causing damage to boats and severe injuries to crew members.
Specifically engineered to reduce the risk of dangerous fly-back. If the line breaks in front of the hook, the GloLead® and hook will not fly back toward the boat. If the hook tears free from a fish’s mouth, the GloLead® is designed to safely dissipate the stored energy in the stretched line, preventing recoil. This safety feature applies across all 40-gram, 60-gram, and 100-gram models and represents a significant improvement over traditional leaded swivels.
Invented in Australia by experienced Mooloolaba fishermen working in collaboration with an AFMA scientist. Originally known as LumoLead, the product has since been rebranded as GloLead®. The original Australian inventors have appointed Fishing International as the sole and exclusive global distributor, making it available to commercial fishing operations worldwide.
GloLead® is a cost-effective, AFMA-compliant, and safety-focused alternative to traditional longline weighting systems. By combining faster sink rates, simplified rigging, improved crew safety, and glow technology, GloLead® represents a major advancement in modern longline fishing equipment — and it glows.
