# Leeching



## Vernon.Miller (Apr 25, 2007)

My recent trip to Devils lake got me to thinking. If I could, how would a person raise leeches? reading a little bit, it sounds like it could be as easy as buying some and making them bigger, but does that mean I would have to have then for more than 2 years before they start reproducing?


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

Vernon, I don't think they are hard to catch if you have the right species in the lake. A friend from MN used to get some beef bones and put them in a gunny sack. He'd sink it marked with a float and pull it early in the morning. Bet if you googled 'trapping leeches' you get a bunch of info.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I'm going to try catching them this summer. At nearly $4 a dozen they are getting pricey. There are a couple ways of catching them. Some guys use large (coffee can) cans, punch them full of holes, bait them with chicken liver or fish heads and flaten the open end, attach a rope and toss in the water. Another method is to get some aluminum sheeting (printing plates) and accordion fold it, bait with chicken liver, put a couple heavy rubber bands around it to hold it closed, attach a rope and toss in the water. From what I have read you toss them out at sunset and pick them up before sunrise as leeches are night feeders. Fishless waters tend to be the best.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

I was thinking they only live 2 years but could be mistaken. Some time ago the paper had an article about a fellow at Duluth that bought the small ones and raised them in ponds to jumbo size. He was getting dead turkeys from farms and running the birds through a grinder.


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