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There is a thread on this forum about using leeches in Utah that is about 8 years old. I was wondering if there is any new information/rules about using live leeches in Utah since then? I also had a few questions about using leeches. Supposedly ribbon leeches in particular are really good bait under a slip bobber. I have seen posts that say blood sucking leeches are not good bait (ribbon leeches are not I guess). Do we have ribbon leeches in Utah waters in trappable numbers? Ribbon leeches can be purchased online by the pound but I really don't know what I would do with a whole pound of them. Is there a local supplier where I can buy a dozen to try? Pretty sure my wife would not have a positive reaction to finding a bucket of live leeches in the fridge...
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Leeches are a great bait for walleye and catfish. They are Annelids ( segmented worms). Used a great deal in the upper Midwest for walleye. You hook them through the sucker ( rear end of the leech) on a bait rig or back troll them. I used to have a great source just off I15 in Spanish Fork, but they went and made a Parking lot out of it. Haven't found another source since. You can purchase them from various bait dealers through the mail, but they are pretty expensive that way. Nightcrawlers are cheaper and work almost as good !!
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[quote wall3y3]... Ribbon leeches can be purchased online by the pound but I really don't know what I would do with a whole pound of them. ...[/quote]
If earthworms are almost as good, then moot point. But, if there might be advantages and I figure you are thinking that, then perhaps a group buy would be a way for several of us to try them. If we thought of this some days ago, then we could have divided them up at our Willard Spring Flotilla on Saturday (unless someone knows of a local source and will agree to bring them).
Could leeches that escape proliferate where they don't belong?
Now you've done it. I have a hard enough time looking for a lady who can put a worm on a hook. Perhaps with the new Tomb Raider movie, I should at least raise my standards for courage to at least putting a leech on a hook.
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Leeches are killer bait. Walleyes love them but honestly all fish species do too. They have some advantages over worms too. They are more lively and will stay alive on a hook longer than worms.
I think technically you don’t have to keep them real cold either like you do with crawlers. Just change out the water they are in every week or two and they will do fine.
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[quote Gemcityslayer]... Just change out the water they are in every week or two and they will do fine.[/quote]
How do you feed them?
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I’ve kept them for months and months and they didn’t need food (they didn’t die or get real skinny anyways)... But some people will put a little cube of steak or chicken in the container. I used to do that but realized later it’s kind of unwarranted since they can go so long without food. They make such good bait I can never keep them around for too long...
You can buy them in Eastern WY at gas stations near walleye lakes.
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I used leaches lots and lots in Colorado for everything from trout to perch to Walleye to ......... There is a reason fly fishermen use so many leach patterns.
I found that for Walleye, leaches worked best in the early spring, but worms worked better in the heat of the summer. In Idaho (I think they have outlawed importing them now), I found that Smallmouth loved the leaches all year round.
Washington State outlawed importing leaches because they feared a disease (VHS) might be transmitted. To my knowledge, no evidence exist that VHS has ever been transmitted by anything other then other fish, but they would rather not take the chance.
A pound is really not that much if you fish a lot, but I bet the shipping is expensive.
But, they will catch fish.
PS, ribbon leaches do work better then blood suckers, like horse leaches, etc. I suspect it is scent, not color, shape, action, or size. For some reason, catfish seem to like the blood suckers as well as Ribbon Leaches, but I can't ever remember catching a Walleye on a Blood Sucker.
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Wow thanks for all the replies! Like gemcityslayer mentioned and from what I have read leeches have the following advantages:
- better action, this is the primary reason I would like to try them and why I want to try live over artificial. I remember how amazing live minnows worked when I was stationed on the east coast and have often wished there was something similar I could use here.
- more hearty than worms and stay lively in the water
- stay on the hook better than worms
There are several places that sell them online. I noticed that at least one of them will not ship to Utah. The going price is around $40 a pound for jumbo. None of them show availability yet - looks like they start trapping them around now.
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