1. Baitshop to the fishing spot. I know shop blows air into bag. How much time do I have before I need to take them out?

2. We have used several methods for keeping leeches alive and have had little success. What have you used with good success?

You need to be anal about changing water in your leech locker (or bucket). Dump most of the old water and replace it with fresh water multiple times per day. If it's a hot day, the challenge goes up exponentially.

At night, change the water again and make sure the bucket is in a shady area so the late day and/or early morning sun doesn't roast them. Obviously, change out the water again to start the day.

If you don't stay on top of this, your leeches will roast and become the most god-awful smelling glob of stench that you've ever dealt with.

All the efforts to keep your leeches fresh will pay off when you're catching walleyes like a mad man. Leeches under a slip bobber rig = ACTION!

Agree with Jackfish, regularly change the water and the leeches will last with no issues. Keep them out of the sun.

I've tried the Bait Up container in the past and did not care for it. Nalgene or similar bottles work just fine.

I learned about Bait King from this site. We’ve had good luck.

Bait King

Get a leech locker/bait bag that stays in the water. Get some paracord and tie it to your canoe and let it float as you fish. Tie to a tree/root overnight and you’re good to go.

I’ve had multiple over the years and they work great. Obviously, you need a plan for any portaging (some lockers will accomplish this…not the bait bag) but not too hard to figure out a solution.

So how many pounds can you safely store in a Nalgene? I have a leech locker, but I am thinking of 1-2 hours in a Nalgene.

If you're base camping, bring a small cooler and frozen bottles of water. We keep the main air bag on ice as long as possible, and just pull out whatever we need for the day. When they're cold like that, they keep very very well.

We buy the leeches a day before our trip, so we have them, and they go right in the fridge to get the water nice and cold. The leeches curl up in little balls when they're cold, but they relax once you have them in lake water.

As others have mentioned, I change the water frequently. We usually go out for 4 or 5 hours at a time, and I probably change the water once or twice while we're out (depending on cloud cover, or lack thereof). When we get back to camp, I put them on fresh water again and make sure they're in the shade. Then when we head out for the evening fishing run, I give them fresh water again, and then again before bed. They keep well over night, because it usually dips into the 50's.

The ones I have on ice, I don't change that water at all. As long as the ice is still good, the leeches in the cooler will keep very well, without evening changing that water. I can usually keep ice into day 4, which is kind of day 5, because we have a travel day. Once the ice is gone, then you have to change the water in the main bag too.

Be careful, i've used mesh bags for minnows, and kept them in the lake, and have had the bags destroyed by something (snapper, seaguls, eagles, not sure).

I don't know what time of year you go, but later in the summer (August), i find it's much harder to A) find leeches, and B) keep them alive.

We've had some success trapping minnows in the past, but it depends on the campsite we get. I've even used a canoe to trap minnows.

Trapping Minnows!!! Great idea! Youtube video?

I don't know what time of year you go, but later in the summer (August), i find it's much harder to A) find leeches, and B) keep them alive.

And C) leeches are less effective.

Also, put a small rock in your leech tamer or Nalgene to give these guys something to rub against. Don't use tap water.

I just use an empty Gatorade bottle. The lid stays on tight so no one escapes and I stash it under my seat in the shade when paddling. So far it’s worked out well. I change the water at least twice a day, more if it’s hot, and they last just fine. It works much better than my mini bait bucket whose lid falls off. It’s a bonus I can shove the Gatorade bottle in any pack when we portage :)

Nalgene, two caps.

So you think we'd be okay, four of is going in with a Nalgene....how many leeches can we safely fit in a nalgene?

We are leaving tomorrow!

Like bri, I also use a nalgene with 2 caps. I have put 1/2lb of leeches in the nalgene which is crowded but it works. Also sinking the Nalgene in 15-20ft of water while in camp or at night works really well to keep them cold and fresh.