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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Fishing Forum :: How many pounds?
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| Author | Message Text | ||
| troutslayer4 |
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! |
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| troutslayer4 |
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| h20 |
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| analyzer |
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. |
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| The Great Outdoors |
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. |
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| LazyLefty |
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| walllee |
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| cowdoc |
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| apugarcia |
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| Hank |
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| Savage Voyageur |
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| blutofish1 |
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| jb in the wild |
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 |