The Great Lakes

[Rockbass6]

I've had gobies hit my line and had perch, sheaphead, walleye hit them after. They arn't learning, they always ate them. Gobies are a very slow and easy catch. I have caught tons of different kinds of fish with gobies in their stomach in Lake Erie everything pretty much eats them they cover the bottom in the rocky areas. Biggest perch I ever caught I caught on a goby..14.25 inches. I didn't know the goby ate the minnow and bam a big perch hit the goby.
Another technique is if you catch them kill them. They float to the bottom and the perch come over and eat them..and your minnows. They are here to stay, our big mistake we are going to pay for forever most likely, may as well live with it. I have killed every goby I have ever caught. Another good thing you can do is rip off the fat head and use the tail for bait, I don't see anything wrong with that?? haha perch will slam it you can count on it!

 

[buctrose]

You area actually suppose to kill any invasive when you land one. So putting it back into the water if even on a hook should not be done

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

You area actually suppose to kill any invasive when you land one. So putting it back into the water if even on a hook should not be done

That is the law, Which I think needs to be changed. You cant do any more harm by using a invasive where they already are. The law is out dated and needs revised.

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

I've had gobies hit my line and had perch, sheaphead, walleye hit them after. They arn't learning, they always ate them. Gobies are a very slow and easy catch. I have caught tons of different kinds of fish with gobies in their stomach in Lake Erie everything pretty much eats them they cover the bottom in the rocky areas. Biggest perch I ever caught I caught on a goby..14.25 inches. I didn't know the goby ate the minnow and bam a big perch hit the goby.
Another technique is if you catch them kill them. They float to the bottom and the perch come over and eat them..and your minnows. They are here to stay, our big mistake we are going to pay for forever most likely, may as well live with it. I have killed every goby I have ever caught. Another good thing you can do is rip off the fat head and use the tail for bait, I don't see anything wrong with that?? haha perch will slam it you can count on it!

erie Is a little different ecosystem the Michigan. Some species may already have been eating them but not all. With alewife populations lower then before, predators key in on other prey.

 

[Rockbass6]

erie Is a little different ecosystem the Michigan. Some species may already have been eating them but not all. With alewife populations lower then before, predators key in on other prey.

Alewife populations may be low, but gobies are in all the lakes. Ever since they came into the great lakes waterway system they were a small fish, bigger fish eat smaller fish. I can't believe the fish commission even waisted money on those studies it is common sense. We have alewife smelt exc..I guess we stock too many steelhead, the creek right by my house is rated in the top 5 in the world because there is so many it is sick. You may want to change your fishing spots too, it is sad, but the big perch are eating freshwater shrimp and gobies, neither is native. Try the goby technique kill them all and throw them near your line it attracts fish.
The system as a whole is a mess.

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

the fish that ate gobies from the get go include walleye, smallmouth, and brown trout, and a few others. Other salmon and trout have had to learn. Kings and coho are normally an open water fish spending there time suspended in deep open water. But they to have been known to eat the bottom dwelling gobies. As this is not a normal thing it is an adaptation that they have. As I have learned from keeping multiple fish together it only takes one smart one to show the rest.
Also why would I want to change spots, as the rule is go where the fish are. Alewifes to are invasive yet we can use them for bait. Its only a matter of time till we can use gobies, cuz theres no use, there not going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[spotfin]

What species of fish are actually native to the Great Lakes? Most in this thread have been introduced.

 

[Rockbass6]

What species of fish are actually native to the Great Lakes? Most in this thread have been introduced.

Some natives are...Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, Burbot, Bowfin, Yellow Perch, Rockbass, Silver Bass, Northern Pike, Musky, Walleye, Sheaphead, Sunfish, Lake Sturgeon..There are many more that I know I am not thinking of.Deepwater Sculpin, lake hering.
Some that are thought to no longer be with us, the blue pike, the cisco species, harelip sucker. I think that 2 lake trout species are the only two native species of trout, all the others were introduced I am not sure on brook in the great lakes, they are native to PA maybe long ago they were here, don't see them much at all, I can see why the trout came it is a multi-million dollar business up here with the steelhead. A lot of the other non natives came by ignorance or mistake white perch, goby, freshwater shrimp, alewife...

 

[JIM]

You can always count on Tamer for a good story about catchin fish. This section is better than Field and Stream Magazine

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

You can always count on Tamer for a good story about catchin fish. This section is better than Field and Stream Magazine

lol