Menasha lock won't reopen for start of season

MENASHA – The Menasha lock will remain closed for the start of the 2016 boating season because of the presence of round gobies in the Fox River.

The closure, which has been in place since Sept. 3, prevents boaters from passing between Lake Winnebago and the Fox River (Little Lake Butte des Morts).

Tim Rose, chairman of the Fox River Navigational System Authority Board, said the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will monitor and survey Lake Winnebago for round gobies as soon as the ice goes out. If no round gobies are found, the lock will stay closed indefinitely to prevent the invasive species from reaching Lake Winnebago.

“If they find something, then it probably won’t stay closed,” Rose said.

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http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/local/2016/03/08/menasha-lock-wont-reopen-start-season/81501926/

Unfortunately, that has been a case of when; not if. When gobies hit bago, the dynamics of that system will change greatly

yep. Given the track record on Lake Michigan, it’s pretty clear the walleyes and smallies will adapt to a new forage base. However, I’m concerned about the perch and other panfish.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what do the gobies change in the systems they enter? I thought I heard they are in Green Bay, and that is the only body of water that has them that I have fished that I am aware of. Being from MN I haven’t heard much about them. Here it is zebra mussels, and the big head carp that are the invasive species that are the hot topics.