I used to remember the suggested amount but it's been a couple years since I went to the BWCA last and I didn't buy enough leeches and also didn't take care of them properly and they died three days into the trip.

How many leeches for a group of 5 going in for 7 days? I am by far the most dedicated fisherman and will be fishing mostly all day everyday, and my friends will be casually fishing im guessing. I would like to error on the side of too many cuz you can't buy more once you leave!

I have bought the leech container I forgot what the name is but it is from gander mountain - yellow/white with the rectangular black swing like clipping latch and there is no door but the lid also serves as a strainer.

Does 4 pounds ring a bell as a good suggestion? I'm thinking of packing them insulated with foam wrapped around some container over dry ice to start the long first paddle.Any tips on prolonging the leeches lives will be valued!

Sounds close.....depends on how well the fish are biting. I've never ice'd mine....but I do give them new water at portages on hot days when travelling (actually the Law now....) They are pretty tough and with a little care do quite well.

Put a call out to TGO, Jim owns The Great Outdoor bait, tackle, and guiding service in Ely. He will give you all the info you need as well as sell you the leeches you desire.

Now Izzy will tell you from first hand experience from years of fishing well, a certain lake for years. He goes in and takes his sons and I have yet to meet anyone fish as much as Izzy. He'll tell you how many he takes in.
Good luck, Good fishin, and keep your head above water.

Hope this helps.

JB



Leeches

I think 4 pounds sounds like too much. I'm trying to remember what we brought last year and I think it was 2 pounds for 5 guys over 5 nights but it might have even only been one pound. The guys at the bait shop will steer you on the right path.

I would think that 2 pounds will do. Are you going to fish with anything other that leeches? I wouldn't put 4 pounds of leeches in any of the leech containers that I would be willing to carry: I think that would crowd them and lead to early die-off. If you take that many, I'd take at least 2 containers.

Four sounds like too much. We had a group last year of eight guys and fished hard for six days. We took three pounds of large with us. You also have to consider the size of leaches you will br taking. Medium to large can be one count but jumbo size your count is lowered if measured in pounds.

I take 1 pound for the wife and I for a seven day trip. I also take 6 dozen crawlers

I'm buying my leeches on the way up on friday, do you guys suggest "large" for general walleye fishing? I've read the count can be anywhere from 10-15 dozen per pound for large. Sound about right?

I always take a pound per person for a week long trip, and an extra pound just in case.I have always used most all of them. Very seldom have I had much excess.

There are alot of variables. If you get heavy rain for a couple days, you won't be out as much. Depends on the bite too.

When we get jumbos there are 6-8 dozen per lb.

Here's how we play it out. We base camp, so we bring a large cooler for our food. We leave room in the cooler for an airbag of leeches. They keep fine from doorstep to campsite, which is 13 hours.

But get this, we leave them in that air bag for 4 days without changing the water. Yes, that goes against everything you've heard, but the key is keeping it cold. ICE COLD!!!

I open the air bag on the first morning, and take out only a couple dozen leeches. The water will be so cold, it's almost painful to reach in, and the leeches will be curled up in little balls. Never fear, a few minutes in warmer lake water, and they will be swimming around just fine.

Just take out enough for that days use. Keep the warm water fresh. But ICE cold water, even after you let the air out, keeps those babies just fine. It helps take up the air space in your cooler too, keeping your food products colder. Water doesn't change temperature as fast as air.

The wife and I usually fish with two methods. Rapalas for shoreline structure, and trolling, and leeches with slip bobbers for designated hot spots off weed beds, rocks, humps, etc. We go out in 3 hour intervals, twice a day. I'd say we burn through about 2 dozen per outing. 4 days, 4 dozen, that's 16 dozen. Except I usually figure one session is going to get washed out. So that drops me to 12 dozen. About 1 1/2 lbs. And that's two of us, fishing 6 hours a day for 3 1/2 days. But we fish about 70% of the time with leeches.

You will have 5, for call it 6 days. If nette and I did 6 days instead of 4, we'd need 2.25 lbs. But you have 5 instead of 2, so 5lbs is closer to what you might need, if everyone fished as hard as nette and I, and spent an equivalent amount of time with live bait.

My brother prefers to cast lures all trip. I don't even factor him in the leech equation.


If I were you, I'd get 3 lbs of large, or 4lbs of jumbos. If you run out, that means they are biting, and you can probably catch them on a number of other presentations. Hell you can use my canoe trick to trap minnows if you want.

Take your canoe, tip it on it's side, with just the back half or so in the water. Put a little pancake mix in the bottom of the canoe for bait. Walk away for a while. comeback, and have someone sneak up on the back side of the canoe, while the other inspects for minnows in the canoe. They will be darting in and out, wait for the appropriate moment, and yell "now". Your partner then quickly tips the canoe upright, and you should have at least half a dozen minnows trapped in the back of the canoe. you just have the painstaking task of either catching them in there, or gradually draining the water out. We have successfully trapped minnows in this fashion. But it helps to have a sandy/weedy shoreline to start, where minnows congregate naturally.

Frogs make good live bait. maybe not for walleyes, but you'll catch bass and pike on them.

Depends on how much shore lunch breading you have for all those leeches!

troutslayer4,
Depends on how hard you fish.
Normally, one dozen /person/day is about right.
If you're a hard fisherperson, make that two dz/person/day.
Don't count your travel days.
With this said, your group of 5 for 7 days should get along with two pounds of medium leeches.

Thanks everyone for your advice, now I just have to be patient about waiting until 8AM Monday morning before I FINALLY get to drive up to Ely. :) Tight lines everyone!