Gobey question

[Undertow]

I dont fish the big lake ever. I fished off the pier once and all we caught where goby's. So Im no expert. But at work today we where wondering if gobey's couldd ever get into the grand river. Do they prefer the deeper, clearer, and colder water of the great lakes or would they go into the grand. Also if they could get into the grand river would they help or hurt the fishing. I think they would help. It would just be one more bait fish for the larger predatory fish.
Undertow

[buckshot-0]

I'VE CAUGHT THE LITTLE B*****DS WHILE FISHING THE GRAND AT INDIAN CHANNEL. I INTRODUCED THEM TO GOOD OLE MICHIGAN JUSTICE (A.K.A MY BOOTHEEL)

[MichiganMike5]

They are already in the Grand River, Spring Lk, Muskegon Lk, etc.
Since they are not a "Prefered food souce" of any native species and they feed heavily on any available native species spawn... They are never going to be "Good" in any situation.

[ausable_steelhead]

Since they are not a "Prefered food souce" of any native species and they feed heavily on any available native species spawn... They are never going to be "Good" in any situation.

Actually, smallmouths, rockbass, and walleyes eat alot of them. We were catching smallmouths on them from the AuSable river yesterday.

[Alpha Buck]

I have seen skammies caught on them. A guy down at the joe a couple years ago was using them for bait, he landed 3 fish in about a half hour on them.

[MichiganMike5]

Please do not use round gobies for bait. not only is it illegal, the long term affects of this species are quite grim. They are extremely agressive and voracious predators that have the potential to virtually eliminate many of the native species mentioned already in this thread.
Try to imagine how our population of Smallmouth, trout, walleyes, etc. will fare in the future when they only spawn annually and a female goby can spawn weekly. Not only do the Gobies feed on available spawn from our native game species, they also feed on many small fish that would otherwise be available as a food source for the adolescent gamefish species.
take a few minutes to Google "round goby" and read some of the many concerns biologists have regarding this invasive species.
The first round goby found in the Great Lakes basin was only discovered 16 years ago, they have already expanded to the entire Great Lakes basin and beyond. Anyone notice a decline of Yellow Perch in the Great Lakes during that period?

[Alpha Buck]

I did not mean to make it sound like the round goby was a good thing, I dry out or smash every one I catch. I was just saying that some fish do eat them. I have never used one for bait nor do I plan to.

[rgillett]

What is the harm in trolling with a nightcrawler harness in Lake Huron, catching a goby on said crawler harness and then putting said goby on crawler harness to catch a smallmouth or catfish? I can understand not wanting to catch and transport live gobies from one lake to another but why can't you catch and utilize the bait from the same body of water? We should encourage the predator fish to eat gobies.....the gobies appear as though they are here to stay.

[ausable_steelhead]

What is the harm in trolling with a nightcrawler harness in Lake Huron, catching a goby on said crawler harness and then putting said goby on crawler harness to catch a smallmouth or catfish? I can understand not wanting to catch and transport live gobies from one lake to another but why can't you catch and utilize the bait from the same body of water? We should encourage the predator fish to eat gobies.....the gobies appear as though they are here to stay.

I agree fully. I've only used them for bait on the body of water I caught them in.

[Oldgrandman]

Yeah, definitely do not capture them to use as bait elsewhere. I sure don't want to start catching them in inland lakes but it will be a huge challenge to stop them. Technically it is against the rules to use them no matter what as I understand the rules.
My buddy once got sick of catching them though and simply threw a couple back out he caught and ended up bagging a couple bass so fish are eating them. Why wouldn't they?

[MichiganMike5]

"We should encourage the predator fish to eat gobies....." Ok Rgillett, I just got to ask..... Are you suggesting that using gobies as bait encourages predator species to view gobies as a preferred food source? I'd really like to hear the logic behind that theory. In your opinion which predators would be more "encouraged" by hitting a goby bait, the walleye you catch and keep or the Bass you catch and release?
There is little doubt that the round goby is hear to stay, or that many species are using gobies as prey, Neither fact makes a good argument for voluntarily enhancing their odds by returning them to the water. IMHO

[rgillett]

"Encouraging the gobies to eat" was a bit "tongue in cheek" for those of us with a sense of humor. I was not suggesting we could "school" the predators to eat gobies. To put out a blanket edict that "thou shall not use gobies as bait" doesn't hold a lot of water either. By catching a gobie from a body of water, putting it on a hook and using it in the same body of water does not increase the odds of gobie reproduction. Thou shall not use gobies is a knee jerk reaction to a problem that could of been prevented by better legislation (enforced) of ballast evacuation from foreign vessels entering U.S. waterways.

So next time I catch a gobie on the crawler harness, instead of taking it off and hooking it better, I just leave it there and continue using it, is that illegal? The gobie impaled himself voluntarily!

[MichiganMike5]

Well I actually did chuckle when I read that line and thought " Is this guy serious?" thats why I had to ask. The "Thou shalt not use Gobies as Bait" edict may be a knee jerk reaction to failed enforcement, but it is the DNR of our state and that of most surrounding states which have issued the edict, not me. I simply agree with their logic on this topic for one reason... It is based on the reccomendations of many marine biologists who have spent alot of time studying the impact of this species. Obviously, many of these scientists feel that there is some potential benefit to be realized if fishermen do not return a goby (dead or alive) to the water. One fact that many fisherman are not aware of regarding the goby is that the female gobies eggs remain viable long after the death of the fish and that both male and female of the species will continue to leach out their eggs/silt after death. This single reason is why the DNR suggests that any goby taken be sealed in a plastic container and disposed of in the trash.
While I agree with the assumption that one angler returning a few dead gobies to the water will likely not have a notable impact on controling the population explosion of the gobies... I also have to hope that, if we all try to do what we can to protect our native fisheries and habitat, that as a group we may be able to acheive some positive results.
I'm really not trying to point fingers or be argumentative.
My passion regarding the goby invasion was kinda sparked last year when I participated in a Goby tournament out of Muskegon just for fun. My partner and I anchored near the reef just south of the piers and fished from 7am til 12pm w/o relocating once. We ended in 4th or 5th place out of maybe 30 teams with a full 5 gal. bucket of gobies weighing 38 lbs. and the winners had nearly 2 buckets that weighed something like 50 lbs.
What really blew me away was that 60-70 fishermen removed about 600 lbs of gobies from the water during a 6 hr. period. We sat in the same exact spot and continued to pull doubles of gobies until our arms were sore! It is common knowledge that this rocky reef used to be a favorite spawning site for Yellow Perch, At that time, if you dropped an underwater camera down it almost appeared that the rocks were kinda vibrating or moving because the reef was so thoroughly inundated with round gobies. I remember as a kid fishing off the piers in Lk. Michigan and thinking there was an endless supply of perch that would be there forever, unfortunetly that is no longer the case.
The Yellow Perch are now few and far between and it is uncommon for a youngster to fill a limit of keepers from any of the piers in this area.
Hopefully, If we all do what we can, things will turn around in the future.

Mike

[Gone Fishing]

Whoa, 600 lbs of Golbies in 6 hrs. I didn't realize they where infesting L Michigan to that degree. They seem to have peaked in many areas and have declined some. Hopefully over time, mother nature can correct some of man's bungles.

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Originally Posted by rgillett

"Encouraging the gobies to eat" was a bit "tongue in cheek" for those of us with a sense of humor. I was not suggesting we could "school" the predators to eat gobies. To put out a blanket edict that "thou shall not use gobies as bait" doesn't hold a lot of water either. By catching a gobie from a body of water, putting it on a hook and using it in the same body of water does not increase the odds of gobie reproduction. Thou shall not use gobies is a knee jerk reaction to a problem that could of been prevented by better legislation (enforced) of ballast evacuation from foreign vessels entering U.S. waterways.

So next time I catch a gobie on the crawler harness, instead of taking it off and hooking it better, I just leave it there and continue using it, is that illegal? The gobie impaled himself voluntarily!

Would be illegal to use as bait "if" you knew it was there. But I do see your reasoning and agree.