14 replies to this topic

[palyo]

Has anyone been catching Gobi's in the Grand. A week ago I caught 3 and last night another. These were caught just a mile or two downstream from the Shand Dam. I've been fishing that stretch for over 50 years and never seen one before. It's my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong) they differ from sculpins in that gobi's have a suction cup on their bellys. It's disconcerting that in my last 4 trips to that spot (I go there an avg. of once per week) I have caught no trout and have not seen any other fishermen catch any either.
I know there's a theory that they won't hurt the trout fishing in the Grand because the spawning program has been a failure and that all, or mostly all of the trout are stocked or they wouldn't be there. Therefore the gobi's will not hurt the trout population by eating their eggs. However, they are supplying a huge source of food to the trout. If this theory is correct we should have larger trout but they will be much harder to catch as they have plenty of gobi' to eat.
If they are gobi's they have infested that stretch as you can see them scyrrying around as you walk. They are also notorious for stripping the worms off hooks. I now have to take 2 dozen worms instead of one dozen and I am catching no trout at all. I am very concerned about them decimating the eggs of other fish such as bass, pike, and the burgeoning walleye fishery that seems to be developing downstream in the Elora to Kitchener stretch.
Has anyone else experienced this?

[grubman]

Welcome Palyo

We have the topic called Goby Invasive?
I have emailed the MNR about how we as angler's are to dispose/euthanize them. I have'nt had the chance to call them. When I do I'll pass on the info to everyone here. So far I have been told that it is illegal to toss them onshore. Method of culling is a matter of ethics. Also to dispose of them properly, what ever that suppose to mean.

Here is their address for Peterborough District:
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
Natural Resources Information Centre
300 Water Street, P.O. Box 7000
Peterborough, ON K9J 8M5
1-800-667-1940
TTY: 1-866-686-6072
Fax: 705-755-1677

I'm not sure if they are aware of the spread, you might call and inform them. The USGS has also been tracking Goby expansion on a map. I have heard of the Grand and the great bass fishing it is. It's going to be a tough battle to get rid of them, if not impossible. Very unfortunate that the Grand is now infested too.

[RedSkullz]

OUr part of georgian bay is infested with the gobblers...doesnt matter if you throw a worm down in 10 fow or 60 in certain areas, its gobbled before it hits bottom. You have to wonder just how infested the water is with these things. Using worms you could catch 100 gobies in 5-6 hours in a couple of spots i know. One thing i have noticed about gobies is that they are day time feeders only. The same spots i fish that you cant even hit bottoms with a worm without catching one, as soon as the sun is almost set the gobies stop biting completely and the cats/occasional eye's stroll in. Worms tend to get more action than large minnows though.

[Alfiegee]

This comes as a surprise to me.I was under the impression the the gobis arrived in the bilge water of freighters that came to the Great Lakes. I thought dams and natural obstructions prevented them from moving upstream in places like the Grand. I fish between the dams at Dunnville and Caledonia quite often and have yet to catch a gobi in that stretch of river. Shand is upstream near Brantford or Cambridge isn't it? If they're up there then I'm sure they can float down to where I fish easily.
I buy my minnows from reputable bait dealers and have never come across gobis in my bucket. I guess maybe people who catch their own minnows may have transported them upstream too.
As for disposing of gobis, which the MNR instructs us to do. I usually cut their heads off and place them in a plastic bag and then toss them in the nearest trash barrel or bring them home and bury them in my garden. I have heard they can survive for some time out of water so I never toss them on shore as they may flip back into the water.

Alfie.

[palyo]

This comes as a surprise to me.I was under the impression the the gobis arrived in the bilge water of freighters that came to the Great Lakes. I thought dams and natural obstructions prevented them from moving upstream in places like the Grand. I fish between the dams at Dunnville and Caledonia quite often and have yet to catch a gobi in that stretch of river. Shand is upstream near Brantford or Cambridge isn't it? If they're up there then I'm sure they can float down to where I fish easily.
I buy my minnows from reputable bait dealers and have never come across gobis in my bucket. I guess maybe people who catch their own minnows may have transported them upstream too.
As for disposing of gobis, which the MNR instructs us to do. I usually cut their heads off and place them in a plastic bag and then toss them in the nearest trash barrel or bring them home and bury them in my garden. I have heard they can survive for some time out of water so I never toss them on shore as they may flip back into the water.

Alfie.

I contacted the MNR and was told there had been other reports on the Grand. I heard from another source that they got into Lake Bellwood by fishermen emptying minnow buckets. They could not have come upstream from Lake Erie due to waterfalls in Elora and Fergus. They're a horrible looking little fish. The suction cup on their bellys is really odd. If you plan on fishing the stretch below the dam to the first bridge before the end of the season I suggest using something other than worms. It's amazing how many worms they can strip without getting caught.

[grubman]

I don't know if the MNR is even tracking the Gobies or have any plans to do anything about them, aside from telling anglers to kill the ones we catch. But you can add your sighting to the USGS map. Here is a link.

http://nas.er.usgs.g...stribution.aspx

It would be sad to see the Goby getting into the Kawarthas.

[Porter86]

I've caught a few of them off the Bronte Pier on the east side, never at the grand, or anywhere along bronte creek before. I didn't know to kill them so we threw them back in going, WTF are those, then we found out as we were leaving to kill em. I hope they dont destroy the grand, that would be a shame!!!

[Alfiegee]

I've caught a few of them off the Bronte Pier on the east side, never at the grand, or anywhere along bronte creek before. I didn't know to kill them so we threw them back in going, WTF are those, then we found out as we were leaving to kill em. I hope they dont destroy the grand, that would be a shame!!!

I've caught them up to Petro Canada park on the Bronte. I hope they don't destroy the Grand, but if they are there, I fear there isn't much we can do other than destroy the ones we catch. That sounds so evil. I usually use medium minnows when fishing the Grand and they are about the size of a gobi, maybe that's why I don't catch any. Getting some minnows tomorrow, but also going to fling a fly on the Grand tomorrow. I hope some rainbows are in, but a nice bass or pike would be great on a 6 wt fly rod.
Hope I see you in Caledonia in the morning Porter, I'll be getting my minnows about 8.

Alfie.

[Porter86]

HAHA...and if there not the size of gobi's there the size of small bass haha.

[palyo]

I went fishing in downtown Fergus Sat. evening. Caught 2 more Gobi's. Used them for bait for a while but no luck. This is at least the 5th consecutive trip between Fergus and Shand Dam without seeing a trout, much less catching one. Sat. night there were 2 other fisherman. They caught nothing either. I will get skunked (meaning no trout) maybe twice a year. (I fish the Grand an average of once per week. To go 5 or 6 times in a row without catching anything but Gobis is very worrisome. They are moving downstream fast. I"ve been fishing that part of the Grand for over fifty years and never saw a gobi till a couple of weeks ago. Now that's all I catch.

[NADO]

Its actually illegal to use gobies as bait, you are just supposed to kill them. Its not like they will charge you for posting online because cleary you didnt know that but be careful with doing that. If the MNR were to come by like they do once every 200 times you go fishing they would probably give you a big fine.

[Mykester]

I can understand not allowing gobies to be used as bait to prevent spreading, but you should be allowed to use them as bait on the same water of body you caught them on. Killing one isn't going to make any difference, and you'll have damaged the goby enough by using it as bait that it won't recover.

[Smelly-Fingers]

Invasive species must be terminated.... Regardless if used in the same body of water

[NADO]

Ya its a dumb regulation for sure, but a regulation non-the-less. They make it a regulation to help prevent people from using them as bait in a different waterbody.

[palyo]

They don't seem to be very good for bait anyway. I went fishing near the Shand Dam Wednesday evening and finally caught a trout after 5 or 6 skunkings. It was only about 10 - 12 ". Unfortunately I caught a bunch more gobis. The last couple times out I've used the gobis for bait but nothing biting them. There are so many of them that the big fish can eat all they want whenever they want so they don't seem very effective.