I agree with the leech ID - I've been wondering whether they would serve as a good forage item for some time. I know up North they are hard to beat for YP or WE fishing, and SMB love them, too.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
Thanks for the I.D. guys. The only leeches I'm familiar with are the ones used for bait up North. They seem to be flatter than the ones in the pictures.
Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer.
The ones from the swamp that have the orange strip are the best for fishing we have found. Our water up north is tea stained so that could be the key to why they work so well.
I have seen them as big as 7"s swimming and about 3/4" wide. Those get really big and I do wonder if the orange bottom is why the walleye love them so much. They don't nibble these they just nail them.
We have good luck with a burlap bag with a chicken leg in it. Leave it for a week in the swamp area. When you pick it out of the water they cant get out of the burlap fast enough. You just open up the bag and pick them out.
I have seen them with two orange strips down their backs as well not just the one stripe.
Interesting...I wonder if large leech species could serve as a good forage base? Sounds like leeches can use fish as hosts, but one of their preferred targets are turtles and frogs and mammals.
For the record, I've never caught a fish with a leech attached. I have caught some BG with leeches in their mouths, very small ones [under .5"], but the stocking of FHM and crayfish apparently led to leech population control - haven't seen them since.
Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau
We had some leaches in our pond this spring. I think that they came in with the turtles. I have not seen them any longer this year. I think the young perch made short work of them.
I do know if you have perch you will not have leaches. If you do happen to get a leach on you swimming do not pull them off. Splash them with salt or burn them with a lighter. They will let go and not rip a hunk out of you.
Leaches can get onto you, I used to get them a lot when I was younger swimming in some questionable water. But hey leaches are easy to remove so I wouldn't worry to much about it can just grab and pull or rumor has it urine works(however I believe this to be just like the jelly fish sting relief hoax...never tried it myself though). It's not like the leach is a brain eating amoeba or a flesh eating bacteria...now those are things that concern me these days.