08/20/2026
Are Goby Baits That Important for Great Lakes Anglers? Let’s See.
Most avid Great Lakes anglers already know gobies are an important food source.
But here’s the question:
Does your tackle box actually reflect how important gobies have become?
• In Lake Erie, Round Goby accounted for 87% of smallmouth bass diet occurrence in 2022.
• In Lake Ontario, Round Goby represented 86% of smallmouth bass stomach contents in one study.
• In Lake Erie, Round Goby made up 49% of largemouth bass diets in 2022. (Grumpy Baits)
Yet look inside many tackle boxes and goby baits still represent a surprisingly small part of the selection.
A worm, craw or tube in a “goby color” may catch fish — but is it really representing the forage?
A Round Goby has a very distinct anatomy, profile and movement. It has two dorsal fins, bulging eyes, a tubular body and a vertically oriented caudal fin. It spends its time hopping, scurrying and sitting along the bottom rather than swimming freely through the water column.
That matters.
Back in 2019, we saw a gap in the market. There were very few true goby imitations, and none offered the combination of anatomical accuracy, sizes and colour options we believed Great Lakes anglers needed.
So we created the first complete family of anatomically correct Round Goby baits.
Since then, we’ve continued developing new goby styles, sizes and colours — designed for multiple species, multiple techniques and multiple seasons.
Cast and retrieve.
Drop shot.
Ned.
Vertical jigging.
Ice fishing.
One forage. A lot of ways to fish it.
The goby isn’t new.
The question is whether your tackle box has truly caught up.
See the attached research summary and see with your own eyes!
And if you’re looking for anatomically correct goby baits with the variety to match different Great Lakes fisheries, check out www.grumpybaits.com
— Marty Draeger
Founder, GRUMPY Bait Company
