Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post

DZ · 01-10-2013, 08:36 AM

You guys are good. Yes I am referencing the YoYo technique. I just wanted to keep the description generic so as to just describe/show the potential harm/effect without naming the method. I could not come up with an analogy to some other fishing method that potentially could have the same effects.

The reason I posed this question was because the RI Striped Bass Advisory Panel (of which I’m a member) reviewed a request from RISAA’s Legislative Committee on Tuesday to enact a regulation that would alter how yoyo rigs can be constructed – basically stating that all foreign materials added to the bait (menhaden in this case) had to be attached to the anglers running line so that if the bait was lost, the foreign materials would be recovered. Massachusetts enacted a similar regulation last season.

Well, to make a long story shorter the Advisory Panel decided that there was not enough “scientific evidence” or “studies” to indicate that bass (and other fish, birds, mammals) were/could be harmed by having lead weights or sections of coat hanger in their digestive tracts. I tried to convince other members of the panel that even without scientific evidence; the yoyo method was essentially a wasteful/unethical method because of its potential by-kill effect. I anticipated that the R&R pinhook lobby would fight this regulation but I never anticipated that other recreational panel members and recreational fishermen that were present would have a problem with the proposed new yoyo regulation. By a vote of 8-1 (me being the 1) the proposed new regulation was sent back to the RI Dept of Marine Fisheries asking for more scientific evidence that ingested lead weights can contaminate bass and sections of coat hanger in the stomach can cause harm to fish/marine birds, etc. To say the least I was a little bit shocked but again this is Rhode Island and I’ve been in this game a long time so I’ve seen this before.

What I gathered at the meeting was that use of the yoyo method is apparently rampant in RI waters by both commercial rod and reel AND recreational fishermen – so much so that both groups argued that their catches would be severely affected by the proposed change. Sounds like many of these fishermen (both Comm and Rec) are very dependent on this method for their success rates.

BTW, looks as if the recreational and commercial striped bass regulations in RI will stay essentially the same. Only a slight change in commercial R&R seasonal start dates.

Thanks for all your responses.
DZ

01-10-2013, 08:36 AM	#2
DZ Registered User iTrader: (0) Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 2,574	You guys are good. Yes I am referencing the YoYo technique. I just wanted to keep the description generic so as to just describe/show the potential harm/effect without naming the method. I could not come up with an analogy to some other fishing method that potentially could have the same effects. The reason I posed this question was because the RI Striped Bass Advisory Panel (of which I’m a member) reviewed a request from RISAA’s Legislative Committee on Tuesday to enact a regulation that would alter how yoyo rigs can be constructed – basically stating that all foreign materials added to the bait (menhaden in this case) had to be attached to the anglers running line so that if the bait was lost, the foreign materials would be recovered. Massachusetts enacted a similar regulation last season. Well, to make a long story shorter the Advisory Panel decided that there was not enough “scientific evidence” or “studies” to indicate that bass (and other fish, birds, mammals) were/could be harmed by having lead weights or sections of coat hanger in their digestive tracts. I tried to convince other members of the panel that even without scientific evidence; the yoyo method was essentially a wasteful/unethical method because of its potential by-kill effect. I anticipated that the R&R pinhook lobby would fight this regulation but I never anticipated that other recreational panel members and recreational fishermen that were present would have a problem with the proposed new yoyo regulation. By a vote of 8-1 (me being the 1) the proposed new regulation was sent back to the RI Dept of Marine Fisheries asking for more scientific evidence that ingested lead weights can contaminate bass and sections of coat hanger in the stomach can cause harm to fish/marine birds, etc. To say the least I was a little bit shocked but again this is Rhode Island and I’ve been in this game a long time so I’ve seen this before. What I gathered at the meeting was that use of the yoyo method is apparently rampant in RI waters by both commercial rod and reel AND recreational fishermen – so much so that both groups argued that their catches would be severely affected by the proposed change. Sounds like many of these fishermen (both Comm and Rec) are very dependent on this method for their success rates. BTW, looks as if the recreational and commercial striped bass regulations in RI will stay essentially the same. Only a slight change in commercial R&R seasonal start dates. Thanks for all your responses. DZ
	DZ Recreational Surfcaster "Limit Your Kill - Don't Kill Your Limit" Bi + Ne = SB 2 If you haven't heard of the Snowstorm Blitz of 1987 - you someday will.