leech/worm things

[mike1234]

a few years back i used to fish a lake that had a lot of large pebble on the bottom, one summers day i noticed a small fish dart under a pebble and lifted it to see what had gone under the stone, when i lifted the stone i seen a small loach type fish and stuck to the bottom of the rock was like little blobs that where more or less transparent but with a redish colour. they seemed to stick to the rock in blob shape but when removed opened out into more of a worm shape

 

i decided to put one on the hook and within seconds my float flew under i and caught my first ever 2lb roach, i also caught bags of tench and crucians using this bait, but the water in question is now over run with idiots and i havent fished it for years, and have often been tempted to go down and get some of the leech things and try them in other waters but decided it might not be a good idea considering i dont know what they are

 

as anyone else ever seen these things or used them as bait or even know what they might be ?

[AnnaWerner]

I'm not really sure that my mental picture is correct, but it sounds a bit like our leeches when they roll into balls or simply pull themselves to a short length when disturbed. Some species I have seen are short, round, and hard as rocks when clinging to rocks (like LIMPETS, I might add!), but stretch out a little bit when detatched. Do you remember of the creatures swam with an undulating motion when they let go of the rocks, or did they simply drift to the bottom? I'm pretty sure you saw some type of leech, but what species I couldn't say. (There are a couple thousand, I think.) We sell leeches, as many species are very good bait.

[mike1234]

I'm not really sure that my mental picture is correct, but it sounds a bit like our leeches when they roll into balls or simply pull themselves to a short length when disturbed. Some species I have seen are short, round, and hard as rocks when clinging to rocks (like LIMPETS, I might add!), but stretch out a little bit when detatched. Do you remember of the creatures swam with an undulating motion when they let go of the rocks, or did they simply drift to the bottom? I'm pretty sure you saw some type of leech, but what species I couldn't say. (There are a couple thousand, I think.) We sell leeches, as many species are very good bait.

 

i didnt see them swim, they where just like little snot balls on the bottom of the rock

 

i would like to use them as bait again due to the results i had using them, but most lakes i fish now are silt bottomed and i have never seen them anywhere except that one lake which is more or less unfishable these days due to the amount of kids on motorbikes and idiots hanging about the place

 

but i wouldn't want to take something from one lake to another cos i dont want to be responsible for any diseases or if the things are pests or anything

[AnnaWerner]

Hmmmm, weird . . . Were they muscular at all (when they stretched out and became more "wormlike")? Were they segmented? You've really gotten up my curiosity now . . .

[lutra]

i didnt see them swim, they where just like little snot balls on the bottom of the rock

 

i would like to use them as bait again due to the results i had using them, but most lakes i fish now are silt bottomed and i have never seen them anywhere except that one lake which is more or less unfishable these days due to the amount of kids on motorbikes and idiots hanging about the place

 

but i wouldn't want to take something from one lake to another cos i dont want to be responsible for any diseases or if the things are pests or anything

 

From what you have said they sound like some kind of flatworm to me, but with out a pic its hard to be sure.

 

Natural bait found in a water is always likely to make a good hook bait on that water as the fish think its safe to eat it and are used to eating it. However If you take it to another water not only like you say do you run the risk transferring diseases but its not likely to work as well as the fish might not know what it is or associate it with their natural food on that water.

[Anderoo]

I expect maggots are such a good bait because they pretty much represent all the wormy, leechy, caddisy, grubby little creatures that water is crawling with.