Why Goby's Should Matter to Great Lakes Anglers!

The Proof is in The Research.

Round Goby Fishing Research Summary

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Data From Across the Great Lakes, Combined with Angler Knowledge.

"Round goby became the dominant prey of smallmouth bass after its invasion (observed in 73.3% of diets), and crayfish were only observed in 5.8% of diets in the post-round goby time period."

1. Changes in growth and diet of smallmouth bass following invasion of Lake Erie by the round goby

Derek P. Crane, Coastal Carolina University
Donald W. Einhouse, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, January 2016, Journal of Great Lakes Research 42(2)

"Round goby represented 86% of the stomach contents of smallmouth bass and 29% of largemouth bass, confirming that round goby are an important food source for piscivorous fish in Lake Ontario, and likely the other Laurentian Great Lakes."

2. What’s for dinner? Lake Ontario bass indulge on invasive round goby

The Habitat Section of the American Fisheries Society, Brett Culbert, January 23, 2018 · Updated January 16, 2018

"... large adult SMB in Lake Ontario now feed almost exclusively on Round Goby during the summer months."

3. Comparison of diets for Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass in Eastern Lake Ontario using DNA barcoding and stable isotope analysis

Erich J. H. Nelson, Jeremy Holden, Robert Eves, Bruce Tufts, August 3, 2017

" In the May–June period, Alewives and Round Goby represented 31% and 67%,respectively, of Lake Trout diet, on a wet-weight basis "

4. Shifting Diets of Lake Trout in Northeastern Lake Michigan

Miles K. Luo, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Charles P. Madenjian, U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, James S. Diana, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Matthew S. Kornis and Charles R. Bronte, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Green Bay Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, North American Journal of Fisheries

"Round gobies composed 62% of the diet by wet-weight of burbot collected among all sites combined, while traditionally important prey, such as alewife, lake whitefish, and crayfish, composed only 8%, 6%, and 5% of the diet, respectively"

5. Burbot Growth and Diets in Lakes Michigan and Huron: An Ongoing Shift from Native Species to Round Gobies

Stephen R. HenSleR* and David J. J ude, University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment, J i he, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, American Fisheries Society, 2008

"Round gobies were the most frequently observed diet item in lake whitefish (48.9% occurrence in fishes with nonempty stomachs) and were the most important diet item by dry weight"

6. Winter distributional overlap facilitates lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) piscivory on invasive round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) in Green Bay, Lake Michigan.

Gabrielle Lehrer-Brey and Matthew S. Kornis, Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin (Received 28 January 2013; final version received 1 May 2013

"In 2022, 336 Walleye stomachs were examined of which only 49 (15%) contained food remains (Wilkins 2023a). Round goby was the dominant (57%) walleye diet item..."

7. Feeding ecology of the walleye (Percidae, Sander vitreus), a resurgent piscivore in Lake Huron (Laurentian Great Lakes) after shifts in the prey community.

Steven A. Pothoven1 | Charles P. Madenjian2 | Tomas O. Höök3, Aug, 19 2016, Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

"Small yellow perch preferred the smallest round gobies available, ... , whereas large yellow perch consumed larger round gobies and excluded the smallest prey size. "

8. Size preferences and behaviors of native yellow perch foraging on invasive round gobies.

Michael J Weber, John M. Dettmers, David H Wahl, Sergiusz J. Czesny, Journal of Great Lakes Research, Volume 37, Issue 3, September 2011, Pages 584-587

"Largemouth Bass diets are more varied than Smallmouth Bass, with ten distinct prey species identified in 2022. Round Goby (49%) and Gizzard Shad (27%) made up the majority. (27%)"

9. Report of the Lake Erie, Forage Task Group, March 2023.

Zak Slagle (co-chair), Heather Luken, Peter Jenkins, Michael Thorn (co-chair), Arthur Bonsall, Tom MacDougall, Jeremy Holden, Jan-Michael Hessenauer, Jim Markham, Mike Hosack, Mark DuFour, Kristen Towne, Forage Task Group. 2023. Report of the Lake Erie Forage Task Group, March 2023. Presented to the Standing Technical, Committee, Lake Erie Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

"The round goby ... has become an important prey for piscivorous species in the St. Lawrence River, representing from 21% to 64% of the diet of sauger, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch."

10. Aquatic invasive species in the freshwater section of the St. Lawrence River.

Isabelle Desjardins, Annick Drouin, Véronik de la Chenelière, Marc Mingelbier, Anne-Marie Pelletier, Marc-Antoine Couillard, Annie Paquet, Olivier Morissette. Published by authority of © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 2018

"Lake Whitefish that had reached approximately 400 mm in length incorporated fish into their diets,... During 2002–2006, Round Goby (38%), sculpins (34%), and Stickleback (18%) were the primary fish eaten, whereas Round Goby accounted for 92% of the fish eaten in 2007–2011. "

11. Increased piscivory by lake whitefish in Lake Huron.

Pothoven, S.A., and Madenjian, C.P. 2013. N. Am. J. Fish. Manage. 33: 1194-1202. DEVELOPING RESEARCH PRIORITIES FOR LAKE WHITEFISH IN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES: RESULTS OF A WORKSHOP SPONSORED BY THE GREAT LAKES FISHERY TRUST AND GREAT LAKES FISHERY COMMISSION. Michigan State University, February 27-28, 2018

"In Lake Huron, rainbow smelt populations have steadily declined since the early 1990s, and alewife densities fell by over 99% from 2002 to 2004; as a result, round goby and other fish species now comprise a large portion (>30%) of lake trout diets "

12. Spatial variability of lake trout diets in Lakes Huron and Michigan revealed by stomach content and fatty acid profiles.

Austin Happel, Jory L. Jonas, Paul R. McKenna, Jacques Rinchard, Ji Xiang He, and Sergiusz J. Czesny, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 29 March 2017

"Smallmouth bass diet percent occurrence in 2022 was dominated by Round Goby (87%), which is typical for the species "

13. Report of the Lake Erie, Forage Task Group, March 2023.

We feel the research speaks for itself.

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Why Goby Should Matter To Anglers - Research to Back the Talk