Slugs and leeches

[Anderoo]

On my last trout fishing trip I had a good fish around the shallows with my landing net, through the new weed and under the gravel. As well as the usual nymphs and shrimps there were loads of small to medium sized brown leeches. It struck me how similar they look to slugs. Do you reckon that's why slugs are a good chub bait on these type of streams - a case of mistaken identity? A few slugs must fall in from time to time, but I was watching chub in this river from a little bridge, and they were really turning the gravel over while feeding, perhaps after the leeches. I reckon it's worth a go in the season...

 

On another note I also caught quite a few little stone loaches (I do mean little - 2cm at most!), which was nice to see.

[Russell Fitzpatrick]

probably be quite hard to present properly,when used for cats you have to use a dumbbel rig to stop them tangling everything and burying themselves.

 

good idea tho! maybe a legered one on a small ish hook with a small drilled cork ball above it?

 

the chub could be feeding on nymphs and shrimps tho!(can you hair rig em??!)

[chavender]

ifyou feed the leaches first they'll easier to keep on the hook and won't try too tie themself's up or wiggle off and be more dormant probably making them easier to ledger .

[Dick Dastardly]

I fish (or used to) regularly with leechs.I know of no fish in European waters that will take them other than Cats.....and even these spit them out PDQ when they realise it isnt a small struggling fish theyve picked up.

 

Slugs Ive caught chub on but only ever when Ive been stalking.

[corydoras]

reckon it's worth a go in the season...

Be careful that they are not the medicinal type. I think tyey are a protected species.

[D Dawis]

Here in Minnesota, leeches (the non-medicinal kind) are standard bait along with minnows, worms, and waxworms. They will catch crappies, walleyes, sunfish, bass, and a number of other species. When "in season" they are available in almost all of our bait stores.

 

 

D Dawis

[Newt]

D Dawis - welcome to AnglersNet.

[Dick Dastardly]

Yes welcome to Anglers Net.Looking forward to reading your posts.Newt has told me before what a good bait they are regarded as in the US.Its strange how European fish dont like them.Same name but different species maybe?

 

As to the law on using them.The medicinal leechs I use are artificially bred.The only leechs Ive found "wild" are very small in comparrison.That said I know of one water that has been designated an SSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) due to the leechs that are present.Looked in there too (I know I shouldnt but they are just so expensive to buy here!) and all I could find were the small brown ones again!

[Vagabond]

Leeches

 

As readers of "Drop me a Line" will know, Dick Walker got excited about leeches many years back.

 

I tried them too - four different sorts of leech - fish leeches I removed from trout; horse leeches; Erpobdella leeches (one of the commonest); and medicinal leeches (they were not protected species then).

 

Never caught anything on any of them except small perch. That is probably why leeches are rated in the States - most of the target fish are either percids (basses, freshwater sunfish and the like) or catfish. Those fish go for leeches, cyprinids are less keen on them.

 

Slugs

 

Have never caught anything on them except chub. For chub, slugs are superb. Norma supplies me with slugs that raid her delphiniums, big brown ones and big black ones. Either will catch chub - use freelined or a swanshot link leger, depending on the current. That reminds me - the rivers open next week - yipee!!!

Edited June 12, 2006 by Vagabond

[Anderoo]

Interesting stuff. I'm surprised that chub won't take them - maybe the ones I saw feeding were after shrimp instead. They really were rooting around in the gravel.

 

I also didn't know the medicinal ones (the big black ones, I assume you mean) are protected. As kids, we used to catch loads of them in little nets from the dykes at the bottom of our gardens.