Leaches

[Robert Riley]

There are leaches on my bass! My neighborhood pond has some nice fish, and they come with some small leaches, about 3-4 in each basses mouth. Anything I can do? Is it something to worry about?

[Team9nine]

Fairly common, though prevalence varies by waters, and no, not much you can do about it. Most likely what you are seeing is a very small leech known as Myzobdella - at least those are the ones that hang out in bass mouths around here  Mixed reports on whether they are harmful or not, though they will leave ulcerations on the bass.

-T9