1000 Islands Smallie

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

My buddy Larry was fishing with worms and caught 4 or 5 Gobies while up there and they are a problem... Got to check out the Ned rigged TRDs, how do you fish them??

Check out the new teacher... youtube.
A bunch to check out there.

[reason162]

Great smallie Gerry!

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Yes,, Round Goby... SLR/Great Lakes/Finger lakes/Oneida Lake, have been decimated by this invasive..

I've heard many people say zebra mussels + gobies have dramatically improved smallmouth waters throughout their range. 30lb+ bags are normal for pro tournaments now...where low 20s won tournaments couple decades ago.

Sometimes I catch a skinny summer smallmouth and wish we had gobies in NJ.

[thmyorke1]

Gerry, Ned rig is as simple as any jig really, try and leave it on the bottom like a finesse bait. You can hop it around, let it sink, and swim it too. Fish just love the small slim profile.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by reason162

Great smallie Gerry!



I've heard many people say zebra mussels + gobies have dramatically improved smallmouth waters throughout their range. 30lb+ bags are normal for pro tournaments now...where low 20s won tournaments couple decades ago.

Sometimes I catch a skinny summer smallmouth and wish we had gobies in NJ.

Absolutely incorrect.. The bass are WAY bigger, its true as they gorge on the Goby hordes.. However, the Bass numbers are a fraction of what they used to be.. In Cayuga Lake I used to regularly catch 20+ SMB in a few hours while fishing for panfish.. Could not keep them off the hook.. This is every trip, in all seasons,, They are about gone now in cayuga ..

Haven't caught one in years, and the fishery for them has collapsed pretty much.. Anyone that says Gobies and Zebra mussels have "improved" the fishing has no idea what they are talking about.. I suppose top flight pro bass fishermen that could catch bass out of a toilet might like the new much larger average size, but most every day fishermen have found a lot less fish to catch of all non Salmonid species.

The only fish not impacted numbers wise are the trout and salmon that are stocked. The Gobies eat the eggs and fry of everything else, and simply out compete other species due to their highly aggressive behavior. The Zebras eat all the plankton that the alewives eat. These lakes have been ruined as far as I am concerned, unless you like to troll 100 feet down for trout, which is not how I like to fish.
Bottoms are simply paved with Gobies sitting on a bottom completely encased with billions of Zebras... No longer any sign of spawning Bluegills, Rock bass or Black Bass , where at one time, the beds covered the bottom as far as the eye could see.. Nothing but Zebras now from 1 fow to over 400 feet. Not what I would call dramatically improved by any stretch of the imagination... A quick pic of what our lake and river bottoms look like today..
This video is real.. if you drop a worm into the water it is attacked on all sides by hundreds of gobies.. Thats what spawning fish have to deal with.. No you do NOT want these bastards in NJ...
bob

https://www.caryinstitute.org/sites/...fact_sheet.pdf


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeqgjvGC6qs

[Fortunate Son]

Damn nice fish Gerry.

Bob, what's your opinion of Owasco? We stayed there 2 years ago and I liked it. Haven't hit Skaneatles yet, and I was overwhelmed by the size of Seneca the year before. Good to know that Cayuga is worthless.

Last year we visited Onandaga in the southern ADK, and while I found fish, it was tricky to navigate at the end of the summer with the annual draw down.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Fortunate Son

Damn nice fish Gerry.

Bob, what's your opinion of Owasco? We stayed there 2 years ago and I liked it. Haven't hit Skaneatles yet, and I was overwhelmed by the size of Seneca the year before. Good to know that Cayuga is worthless.

Last year we visited Onandaga in the southern ADK, and while I found fish, it was tricky to navigate at the end of the summer with the annual draw down.

cayuga is still good for trolling deep for trout and LL salmon.. Warmwater fishing has been affected severely by the Gobies and mussels..

owasco is still a good warm water lake for bass, panfish, Pike.. good for trout trollers as well, but probably not as good as cayuga... The gobies have not severly affected this lake as yet, but it might just be a matter of time...

[FASTEDDIE29]

That’s a bruiser Smallie Gerry! Holy crap! Gotta be over 5 lbs.!!! WOW!

[NJSquatch]

that is a tank! did you get any measurements on her?

[Hookmanski]

Originally Posted by thmyorke1

Gerry, Ned rig is as simple as any jig really, try and leave it on the bottom like a finesse bait. You can hop it around, let it sink, and swim it too. Fish just love the small slim profile.

x2, I usually bounce them across the bottom but have also had success deadsticking them while drifting and using a slow retrieve to drag them along the bottom. I find they usually bite on the fall.