DNR Asks Winnebago-Area Ice Fishers For Help Tracking Gobies

Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources are asking ice fishers on Lake Winnebago to report any catches of the round goby, an invasive species from Eastern Europe feeds on the eggs of native Wisconsin fish.

This summer, gobies were found near a dam just to the north of Winnebago. They’ve also been found in nearby Little Lake Buttes Des Morts.

Kendall Kamke, a DNR fisheries supervisor, said the agency wants to know if the goby is established in Winnebago.

“Winter is a particularly hard time to do any sampling. We’d like to get an idea if they’re above the dams on Winnebago and have actually breached and gotten there,” Kamke said.

DNR officials are asking anglers who catch gobies to take photos and email them or drop them off at the agency’s Oshkosh office.

Kamke said they also want to hear about goby catches in other areas near Winnebago including Little Lake Butte Des Morts and the lower Fox River “to kind of put pins in a map and track where exactly are we getting reports from.”

Hundreds of people are expected to be on the lake for the sturgeon spearing season which opens in mid-February.