Round gobies entered the Lake Erie \/ Lake St. Clair system somewhere around 1990, and, since that time, have taken a major grip on the Great Lakes.Round gobies are an extremely prolific forage fish present in all of the Great Lakes. This exotic species was accidently introduced to the Great Lakes system by way of ocean-going freighters’ ballast water. As freighters travel from the Black and Caspian Seas to the Great Lakes, they are forced to discharge of their ballast waters due to the shallow depths of Lake Erie and St. Clair. When doing so, all the organisms and fish that were drawn into the ballast water are forced out. Today, such ballast discharges are better regulated to prevent the movement of exotics.<\/p>\n
It’s estimated that the round goby was introduced in the Great Lakes system around 1990. All species of predator fish, including bass, walleye, muskies and large trout shifted a portion of their feeding habits to include gobies, with the most noted transition occurring in smallmouth bass. By 2005, biologists confirmed what fishermen already knew: up to 90% of the diet of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie is comprised of gobies. Today, fishermen for all major Great Lakes species are seeing noted shifts in their quarry’s habits. Walleye, lake trout and pike fishermen are catching goby-eating fish.<\/p>\n
While fishing the Western Basin of Erie in the mid 90’s, Balog observed smallmouth bass spitting up gobies by the dozens, rather than their normal diet of crayfish and shiners. It was evident the bass preferred the easy-to-catch, high protein exotics to their native forage. At that time, Balog developed the first ever goby bait, the Drop Shot Goby. But after a few years of fishing with the bait, even with the incredible success of the technique, Balog theorized that there had to be a better, more realistic way to mimic a goby to the bass.<\/p>\n
In 2003, Joe Balog began to entertain the thought of a true goby swimbait. He needed a heavy, bottom hugging lure that closely mimicked the exotic. Balog presented the idea to many lure manufacturers, including some of the largest in the fishing industry, with limited success. No one could build Joe what he wanted. Some got close, others just presented crude hunks of plastic. In 2009, Balog solicited the help of one the leading manufacturers of swimbaits in California. The designer had created the most realistic swimbaits to ever hit the market, and continues to do so with the Goby Replica\u2122<\/a>. The bait is heavy and hugs the bottom, just like the real thing. It lays at rest upright, balanced perfectly on its pectoral fins. Those same fins lightly kick when the bait is moved, just like a real goby. Each lure is hand-poured and painted to exact specifications. The Goby Replica\u2122<\/a> is truly the next frontier of Great Lakes fishing. Field tests in 2010 and 2011 have led to incredible catches. The Goby Replica\u2122 has finally arrived!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n