Yo-yoing, a fishing technique commonly used by commercial striped bass fishermen in Massachusetts and elsewhere, should be outlawed, according to Brad Burns, president of Stripers Forever, a national nonprofit organization that advocates treating striped bass as a game fish in state waters.
In a letter to Paul Diodati, director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Stripers Forever states that yo-yoing — a technique in which weights or sinkers often containing large amounts of lead are inserted into dead baitfish and connected to a treble hook — kills excessive numbers of striped bass.
According to Stripers Forever, undersized bass that swallow a yo-yo rig can’t be released and larger fish that escape with these rigs in their bellies are doomed.
Further, Mr. Burns states that yo-yo weights often contain large amounts of lead which can be fatal to stripers and affected fish are a potential health hazard to anyone who eats them.
Both the Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters Association and the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby earlier this year expressed concern to Massachusetts fisheries regulators about yo-yoing.