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Chat with the experts

http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/discuss/

Great forum.

 

Zebra mussels have already found their way into many inland lakes.

I've read and heard that a new invasive species, whether it be plankton, plant, or fish finds it's way into lake Erie every eight months (on average).

 

Zebra mussels filter out the plankton and alge reducing what native fish larvae have to feed on. Although there may seem to be an improvement to a limited fishery, their over all impact is negative. They are also killing the native mussel populations by a combination of food competition and literally sealing the native mussels shut. Zebra mussels attach to any solid surface along with each other. They cause millions of dollars in clean up costs to water intakes for communities and industry all over the lakes.
I am supprised they have not shown up in more inland lakes. Just an ounce of water left in a livewell or bilge can potentially hold hundreds of larvae. The adults will also attach to the bottom of boats. So boaters can spread them around just like the freighters brought them from Europe. It is just a matter of time.
I don't know anything about gobies other than being egg eaters, bait stealers and flat out ugly, but they can't be any good.

 

The mussel problem was compounded by the arrival of Quagga mussels. As was previously metioned, just go to the Ohio Sea Grant website. More people over there with 100 times the smarts than I've got.

 

I have caught gobies in inland lakes around Cleveland, Medina and Wellington. Time will tell.

 

Its amazing on how many changes our waters go through. When the zebras first hit in-land they were like nothing Ive ever seen. They were stuck everywere! Bridges,docks,rocks ect. Berlin stinks when they lower the lake for fall. The shores were more shells than rocks. Seemed the more turb the water the better they did. After a few years the fall draw seemed to drive them deeper but they couldnt survive. Slowly they started to disappear. With all this with one clam I cant imagine what else they have endured. Ohio was a highway with all the rivers and canals to and from the lake.

 

first off I am going to say that I hate invasives, and I have been and am still waiting for the crash of erie as a fishery...again. but this time because of an invasive and out stupidity, not just us like last time
anyway
zebras and quaggas, I think the biggest problems dont have to do with sportfish. the invasive mussels donnot reproduce in the same way as native mussels. without a glochidia stage(I think thats what it is) they reproduce faster and outcompete our native mussels, often coating them and smothering them out. Also in some places they are apparently causing problems like clogging water intake pipes because they are so prolific.

gobbies if they get inland who knows, they may explode and destroy what little largemouth fishery we have in ohio lakes. or maybe for a few years we will have big bass and saugeye and no little ones before the fishing colapses. Again we run into native competition, I dont know enough about gobbies specific prefered habitats but I can imagine that if they established themselves in our rivers they would compete heavily with out darters and madtoms. however on the tributary streams this as far as I know has not become a problem. weather or not this is because they dont do well in streams or maybe they say screw current I have a lake here I dont know.

as far as gobbies competing with sunfish, again it depends but. I think that sunfish are better built for feeding in heavy weed cover or wood and the gobbies unless they totally became overpopulated would fill other niches.


I do have one idea of what to do if....forget it..when the carp show up in erie. start a commercial fishery for them. They are eaten in other countries where they are native, lets make fishsticks out of them. Carp really isnt that bad, I have had walleye that was worse than carp(I admit, the guy sucked at cooking eyes) but maybe we wont have eyes by then. plus, if we can get all the netters to fish for carp they wont be fishing for stuff you want to catch.

 

I have caught gobies in inland lakes around Cleveland, Medina and Wellington. Time will tell.

I was going to say I too have caught the gobies in inland waters also unfortunately.

 

ok i live in columbus i went fishing by were the jet express comes through.
thats all i caught was gobbies. i hear that them asian carp are in the ohio river.and i talked to a buy when fishing in erie he said that you dont see alot of the mussles anymore because the goby is eating them but he said thats the only thing good about them. PLUS he said if you catch a goby KILL IT.
AND TO riverKing I WAS watching a video on asian carp on youtube and posted and comment about the asian carp and said the same thing you did make FISH STICKS out of them .