Hey all,

3 friends and I are planning our first trip. We're going June 24th - 28th via EP 37 (Kawishiwi). Fishing, exploration and solitude are the three most important goals for our trip.

For those who have traveled this area, timeframe or both: what tips can you give us for choosing bait? What should we expect for live bait life expectancy?

After reading the boards, it seems that crawlers, leeches and GULP (fake) leeches do well...

- Brad

Live bait is like any perishable item.
Take care of it properly, and you won't have any trouble.
This includes crawlers, leeches, and minnows.
Shoot me an e mail and I can give you a phone number to reach me at.
The question has too broad to give a good explanation in limited space, and a direct conversation will help you the most.

Leeches are very good live bait and are quite hearty compared to minnows and worms. If you keep leeches in a plastic bottle and change the water every hour or so they will last an entire 5 day trip with no problem. I recommend storing them in a Gatorade or Nalgene bottle. Possibly a Leech Locker if you can bring the extra gear. I do not like the Leech Tamer bags since the bait can get crushed more easily. Do not store them in a regular minnow bucket as they will swim out through the holes and escape.

In my experience, minnows die within a day or so regardless of how you store them. Worms need to be kept in the shade and will die if they get too hot.

The entire area you are visiting has very good Walleye fishing. If you want real solitude you will have to get up north of Malberg. I suggest Kivaniva and the Kawishiwi River for great fishing and solitude in that area. Either way, solitude is relative. You are only going to see a handful of other canoes each day regardless but you won't see nobody else without a little a** busting.

I have been in at EP 37 quite a few times and I would be happy to share pictures, side trips, and fishing spots if you would like more info.

Leeches are pretty tough and will last as long as you need them provided you keep them in the water when you get to camp.

I prefer minnows and have had very good luck keeping them alive for entire trips.

Rainbow chubs seem to be the most effective and heartiest minnows. When you get them at the bait shop get them in an oxygenated bag and have them double bagged. Carry them to camp that way and when you get to camp emtry them in the minnow buckets. If you do this you should have minnows until your trip is over or run out of them.

That time of year I'd go with leeches. Just keep their water fresh and keep them out of the sun and they will easily last you a week. I like to use a Leech King back at camp for the bulk of the leeches and a put a couple handfuls in a Leech Tamer in the boat while fishing.

Fatheads are also a hardy minnow that will catch Walleyes and Smallies, even Northerns and Crappies...Stay away from Shiners- they are expensive and very fragile and tempermental.

Leeches are king. We use Bait Tamers and plastic hollow hockey pucks in the canoes so the guy in the back controls all the bait from the water bucket. We did rainbow minnows last year and over half of them died on the trip in even in our bag. They must have overheated.
We will be using both again this year too, but this time we will use a different method to keep them alive.

Whatever you do, stop by TGO's in Ely. You'll be glad you did.

My live bait doesn't last very long. They usually end up in the belly of a fat walleye.

That's the type of "die off" you want!

Leeches. Tough as nails. As mentioned above, keep their water fresh and they'll easily last a week. If going through Ely, I always stop at the Great Outdoors for my leeches.