exotic species

[Guest]

Has anyone caught or noticed any exotic species in Mille Lacs? What species are in the lake and how much threat do they impose?

[Guest]

I contacted Mille Lacs Large Lake Specialist, Tom Jones, from the Aitkin DNR office to get an answer for you.

He said there are rumors of Round goby in the lake. But, as far as he can tell, it is just that...a rumor. The species that have been caught and questioned are scalpins and small bourbot.

Tom said the exotic species that are in the lake have been there for awhile. They are Carp, (European) and Muskie, (not native to Mille Lacs).

If river rough would invade the lake, there would be a threat. The exact results are hard to guess because it is so unpredictable. River rough are egg eaters and could pose a threat to the game fish if conditions were right. River rough are not good for other fish to eat, so they would eat other species, thus a chain reaction negative effect would begin.

Tom also informed me that as of this week, there is still 50 inches of ice at Lakeside!
(He guesses ice out to be sometime around April 30).

[Guest]

Lisa,

The reason I asked, because I caught what I believed to be an exotic species. I brought it home and looked it up on the DNR's site. I am 98% certain it is a round goby. I put it in a bag of water and froze it to preserve its appearance if anyone wanted to identify it. What is Tom's number? I'll give him a call and see if he wants to take a look. What is a scalpin?

Thanks...

[Guest]

You can reach Tom Jones at the Aitkin DNR office at this number: 218-927-3752.
He will be interested to hear about your discovery. Please tell him hello from me.

A scalpin is one of those small darting minnows that hang out on the lake bottom. They are kind of "spiny" and not much good for anything that I know of.

I observed one while using a Vista Cam. It was trying to take a bite out of my fathead one day out near Hennepin Island in the deep hole. It came up out of the mud and tried to bite, then would hide behind a small rock for awhile. Then it just disappeared into the bottom again. They move very quickly and dart along the bottom. That's about all I know about the little guys.

Please post what you find out about the fish in the bag!!

[Guest]

It sounds like you were right and it is a Scalpin. I haven't had anyone actually ID it yet, but I talked to someone on the phone. The Scalpin and the Goby look very similar. The two main difference between the two are: 1. The first dorsal fin on the top of a Scalpin is more rounded, and the first dorsal fin on a Goby is more triangular when standing up. 2. There are two pelvic fins on the bottom of the Scalpin, and the Goby has only one pelvic fin centered on its underside. Other than this the fish look very similar. I haven't found the time to take the trip to have it identified yet, but after talking with someone from the DNR over the phone, I am pretty confident it is a Scalpin, which is a good thing. The Scalpin, although small and ugly, provide food for larger fish and pose no threat to a lake. The effects of a goby would be worse because they grow larger and would do more eating than being eaten.

[Guest]

Thanks for sharing what you found out, flyingfish!

I think we all learned something today.