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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: portaging leeches
 
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kanoes
03/14/2007 07:41PM
 
simple question....weight-wise?...

how many leeches could i safetly (mortality speaking) carry in one 32 oz. nalgene?

changing water probably every other portage. too often, or not often enough?

air temp wise, this will be a mid-may trip.

thanks Jan
 
Arkansas Man
03/15/2007 06:58AM
 
Here's what I do on a group trip... On the way in I have the leeches put into a plastic bag with oxygen, and put it into a gallon plastic jug, (the kind mayo or pickles come in from DQ) this protects the bag, and give me a place to store them at camp. I simply take out what I or the others want to use to fish, and put the rest in the jug in a shady spot and change water twice a day. I have carried in up to 1.5 lbs that way and had no problems. I then put trash in the jug on the way out!

Bruce
 
Cedarboy
03/14/2007 09:26PM
 
Thats alot of water to drink every other portage, but I guess if is a hot day you would do it. I just use a small leech locker, dunk it in the lake at each portage, drain out the excess an put it back in the canoe until the next portage. I have never had a problem with keeping them alive,the fish eat them up too fast.

cedarboy
 
crappace
03/15/2007 09:04AM
 
I bring my leach locker into the bait shop with me, place the plastic bag inside it, have them put the pound of leaches in it with water and o2 and close it up, then screw the lid on. We base camp and it rarely takes us more than 6 hours to get where we are going and things have been fine this way. The leach locker stays at camp in a shady part of the water tied to shore with a rock in the bottom to sink it. We bring those mesh bags out with us for our day trips.
 
moheep
03/15/2007 12:30PM
 
My group brings around 4 lbs in oxygen bags every year and they do just fine. Keep them as cool as possible
 
EPFD217
03/15/2007 04:21PM
 
Last year we did a full-on traveling trip portaging every day and traveling large distances. We brought in a pound of leeches in a leech locker. It worked well. I used the most leeches on our last day and gave the rest to some people coming in. They lasted 4days or more. JUst change water daily and dunk them after every portage.
 
Trygve
03/14/2007 07:47PM
 
If you changed the water that often you could hold at least a pound.

Specially in May.
 
jdevries
03/16/2007 11:25AM
 
Anyone use the Fat N Sassy Leech bedding instead of hauling around bags full of water? I've never used it but it seems like it would be a lot easier to portage and care for them.

http://www.frabill.com/cgi-bin/frabill/1061?store=spring

Jim
 
wa0yle
03/16/2007 12:52PM
 
We double bag them (usually 1 pound) and stick 'em inside the Duluth
pack. So far, no spills.