Stripers Forever Massachusetts – follow this link to our website to read the response by Massachusetts DMF Director Paul Diodati to our letter protesting the fishing technique known as yo-yoing. Yo yoing was perfected by commercial striper fishermen and, unfortunately, has been adopted by some recreational anglers. We appreciate the cordial tone of Mr. Diodati’s reply but we see little to encourage us that the DMF is willing to take any real
proactive approach to end this destructive practice. The bureaucratic mumbo jumbo in the last sentence of paragraph 3 makes it pretty clear that the Division, under Director Diodati’s leadership, is not yet prepared to step up to deal with this issue and to take the opportunity to set an example in the management of the striped bass resource. Our just-completed fishing survey indicates that over 70% of responding MA anglers report catching smaller striped bass than in previous years and two thirds caught fewer per hour of fishing effort. We’ll be sure to share the results of our survey with DMF before the start of the 2008 season.
