6" vs 8" kdrill

[nofishfisherman]

Anyone fish out of a 6" hole versus the standard 8"?  I'm looking at the Kdrill and am debating the 6" vs 8".  Wondering if the 6 is going to be enough or if I'll be regretting not going with the 8.

 

I am not a hardcore ice guy.  I've got young kids so getting out a few times a year is about it for me and then the occasional trip up to Red Lake with the guys.  I also fish for a little bit of everything.  Tip ups for pike and then panfish and walleye.  

 

I see some obvious pros and cons for each.  My biggest thing is I want something easy, reliable, and thats going to last awhile.

 

The biggest pro for the 6" is that I found it onsale for $169 today versus $219 for the 8"

 

Thoughts?.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

6" will fit most everything swimming in through the hole. However, if you ever hook up with a big fish, you're going to really wish you had those extra inches.... I personally would go with an 8" and have that piece of mind, vs. going smaller and being in a bind if you hook into a fat walleye, pike, trout.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

On the other hand, you could stick with the 6" and if you're ever fishing waters that have trophy fish potential you could always cut the 3 hole clover leaf. 

[rl_sd]

The biggest issue that I see with a 6" hole is freeze up.... especially in a wheelhouse.

[nofishfisherman]

I opted for the 6".  Picked it up at Joes Sporting Goods for $169 which is $30 less than I've seen it anywhere else including online. 

 

It should work for most of the fishing I do and on the odd occasion when I do need a bigger hole I can put 2 side by side. 

[vtx1029]

Its really only 5.5" not a true 6" hole...

 

[nofishfisherman]

9 minutes ago, vtx1029 said:

Its really only 5.5" not a true 6" hole...

 

 

Yep, I'm aware of that, and the 8" is only 7.5".  I went as far as drawing a 5.5" circle and a 7.5" circle to get a better feel for the actual size of the hole before buying.

[nofishfisherman]

Well I finally had time to get out a few times with the new kdrill.  So far I love it. Drills so much easier than any gas auger I've used.  The first time out the wife and kids were out with my and my wife even asked to try it. She's never drilled a hole in the ice before with any other auger but couldn't resist trying the kdrill.  

 

The last time out I spent time drilling holes just to see how many I could get on 1 fully charged battery.  The ice was around 2 feet thick and I got exactly 30 holes from one battery. 

 

I was glad I went with the smaller 6" the first time out after my 20 month old son inevitably stepped in a hole as kids are prone to do.  He got wet up to about his knee but he just picked himself up and kept on going about what ever mission he had created for himself.  

 

So far I'm really glad I made the purchase and I'll be selling my old jiffy model 30 soon.

[Trump34]

I have both the 6" and  8"  I prefer the 8" if I'm stationary like in a wheel house.  The 6" is a clear winner for hole hopping.  It drills faster with less resistance offering you more holes with equal batteries.  You will really enjoy it.  

[nofishfisherman]

14 hours ago, Trump34 said:

I have both the 6" and  8"  I prefer the 8" if I'm stationary like in a wheel house.  The 6" is a clear winner for hole hopping.  It drills faster with less resistance offering you more holes with equal batteries.  You will really enjoy it.  

 

If I had a wheel house I'd for sure have gone with the 8 but since I'm always either in a portable or just hole hoping on a bucket the 6 seems to be the best option.  You can really put a lot of holes around a piece of structure in very little time.

 

One thing that I really like that I didn't think about at first is throwing the drill in reverse and pushing all of the slush down the hole.  You have a pretty clean hole with no scooping.

[paceman]

Do you guys find the 6" hole a little crowded with the vexlar hanging in there as well?

[nofishfisherman]

If you have your vex in the 6 inch hole you're jigging you'd want to pull it up when you caught a fish to avoid tangling and possibly losing the fish.  Or if you're setting up somewhere for awhile drill a 2nd hole next to your jigging hole and put your vex down that hole.  Then you've got it out of the way.

[eyeguy 54]

i just run the cable alongside the ice a foot or so. no float. pretty rare to tangle but once in a while it happens. 

[Getanet]

I have a 6" Nils, not a Kdril, but I usually cut 3 holes in a triangular pattern. Put my transducer down the middle hole and set my flasher right on top of it. That way you get a nice view of of both lures on the flasher, plus you never have to deal with the transducer when pulling up a fish.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

27 minutes ago, Getanet said:

I have a 6" Nils, not a Kdril, but I usually cut 3 holes in a triangular pattern. Put my transducer down the middle hole and set my flasher right on top of it. That way you get a nice view of of both lures on the flasher, plus you never have to deal with the transducer when pulling up a fish.

Are you using the black cutting head or the red one with the power point?  I have a hard time cutting the clover leaf with the black cutting head (8" nils - orange auger).  I am thinking about getting a replacement red blade with the power point next season for this reason. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by BRULEDRIFTER

[eyeguy 54]

I have the nills also. Mine has the black head. No luck trying to hook up holes. It cuts back into the open hole. 

I dont ever run my ducer all the way to the bottom of the ice. I find it also helps to reel up on the opposite side of ducer. 

 

[Getanet]

44 minutes ago, BRULEDRIFTER said:

Are you using the black cutting head or the red one with the power point?  I have a hard time cutting the clover leaf with the black cutting head (8" nils - orange auger).  I am thinking about getting a replacement red blade with the power point next season for this reason. 

 Black cutting head. I don't hook up the holes either. I just got three separate holes. The first two are about 2 feet apart (which I fish out of) and the one I put my flasher down is in the middle of them, slightly farther away from me.

[Duffman]

Years ago we used a 4" hand auger for our transducer hole in between our fishing holes. No idea whatever became of that thing, but it was a nice option to have.