Fishing Forum

Can anyone tell me if leeches are legal to use in utah. I couldn't find anything in the proclamation so I am assuming they are. But we all know what happens when we start assuming!!
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Not sure what the difference would be between using a nightcrawler or a leach? They have to be legal.
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]From the 2010 Guide Book: “Bait means a digestible substance, including worms, cheese, salmon eggs, marshmallows or manufactured baits including human-made items that are chemically treated with food stuffs, chemical fish attractants or feeding stimulants.”[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 4]I believe that any reasonable person would conclude that leaches are, in fact, a digestible substance.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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I think the gray area is if the leaches can be kept alive and swimming. Minnows are bait but it is illegal to use live minnows. I dont use leeches but would assume they have to be dead or man made.
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Quote:I dont use leeches but would assume they have to be dead or man made.

Why?? Worms don't need to be dead. Crickets, wax worms, spikes, caterpillars, leaches are fine, and don't need to be dead.
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Live swimming bait might get loose and become introduced to the ecosystem. That was my reasoning. Like I said I dont use leaches.[]
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Live leeches are perfectly legal. Used to get some real nice ones out of a pond off the first Spanish Fork Exit on I 15. These were big green/brown/black mottled ones,great bait for walleye. The small black ones that are prevelant in waters like Strawberry, Schofield, etc are great for bluegills. You can order them through the mail, but they are a bit pricy that way. Still they are a great bait and legal.

they are in all the fresh water systems on the glob,, just ice em down a bit,, so they dont hurt as bad, hook em threw the lips on a lindy rig,, n hang on ,,, catfish candy,, ive had a boat load of bull riders n iron workers screamin like lill girls ,, they bite hard i guess ? lol (cowboy)
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[quote Therapist]Live leeches are perfectly legal. Used to get some real nice ones out of a pond off the first Spanish Fork Exit on I 15. These were big green/brown/black mottled ones,great bait for walleye. The small black ones that are prevelant in waters like Strawberry, Schofield, etc are great for bluegills. You can order them through the mail, but they are a bit pricy that way. Still they are a great bait and legal.[/quote]

Thats good to know. Thanks. I have seen them in walleye stomaches before, but I really did not know for sure if you could use them alive. I think they would be great to use on a lindy rig or a bouncer with a shorter harness, and smaller blade fished a foot or so off the bottom. Who knows????
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The pond in spanish that the took out?? What is the name of the website would anyone like to go in on some leeches for spring walleye pm eme.....[sly]
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Leeches and nightcrawlers are both annelids. The reason that leeches are sometimes prefered over nightcrawlers is that they are much tougher and present a different look. Nightcrawlers will wiggle a bit, give off odor, but they are fragile, easily taken off your hook and difficult to keep in hot weather.

Leeches on the other hand are very tough, really undulate when hooked through the sucker end, and survive much better in hot weather with a bit of ice. They survive on the hook when under attack by panfish. They also have better action under a slipbobber when you want a very subtle presentation for walleye. If you can find a good source , they are great bait.

I did a google search and it looks like they sale around $35.00 give or take after shipping for one pound. Which equals anywhere from 10 to 20 dozen depending on the size. If anyone is interested in a bulk order the price decreases. I am willing to go in!!
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Be careful and do some research before you order. And make sure you will be home every day when the shipment comes. I had one order that the post office left in their building for a weekend and they were all dead when I got them. Another order came while I was gone and sat on the porch an extra day. Lost about half of that order.
And make sure you are allowed to keep a big styrofoam container of squiggly blood suckers in the fridge. Some(most) women have issues with that.
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Good advice, Thanks!!!
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My little bride of 42 years would remove my nards with those leeches, if I put them in her refrigerator. What is the matter with using Gulp leeches?
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I caught the biggest catfish of my life on a live leach on the Jordan just out of Utah Lake.
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I may have to order some live too. I spoke to my brother whom lives in Minnesota and works at a shop that sells live bait. They sell all sorts of live minnows and leeches. He usually takes 2-3 pounds of leeches with him to his yearly walleye trip to Ely. Their supplers have not started trapping leeches yet since the swamps that they get them from are still frozen. When I lived there years and years ago live leeches were way better than crawlers. But my favorite was a big lively sucker minnow under a softball sized bobber. But back to the leeches, If you keep them in the fridge and change the water often enough they will survive a long time. I don't understand why one of the tackle retailers don't carry them live.
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Alot of the commercial leech trappers get their leeches from the upper peninsula of Michigan from what I hear. It will be a while before areas that far North thaw out enough for trapping. There are a few spots at Utah Lake to trap some large ones when the warm springs open up a little. I had some good traps a few years ago, but havent tried it the last few seasons.
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[#502800]We used to go wading in the constant flow ditches in Box Elder County when we were kids......We would pick the leeches off our legs when we came out on the bank.[/#502800]
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This is what we used to do in Colorado. Its just this simple...Check out a video:

[url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BUBihECPJM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BUBihECPJM[/url]

Shawn M
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