Hand auger and Vexilar or Gas auger and no vexilar

[Kylersk]

Which route would you go?

[Fergus Mor McErc]

I'd go with the hand auger and the Vexilar. You'll eventually get a hole through the ice with the hand auger but no amount of staring down that hole is going to accomplish what the Vexilar will.

[Matt Johnson]

Hand auger and flasher. With the new hand augers nowadays, you can still cut through several feet of ice rather quickly (maybe not 20-30 holes, but enough to fish). And the flasher is a must in my opinion.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[iffwalleyes]

Not me I would go with the gas auger. Plenty of us started fishing without a Vex. At least with a gas you can get plenty of holes to hole hop. Also keep your eyes open chance are you can find a used gas auger and used vex. Then you get the best of both. That is my opinion I don't know how much you fish that should be another deciding factor. If you plan to go every weekend all season by the end of the year you will be getting tired of drilling 20+" of ice. I had over 4 feet last year at Lake of the Woods at the end of the season.

[northernnels]

power augers are a must. Try checking out the local pawn shops. I found my magnum 111 for a steal, it still had the paint on the muffler. You may also find a vex or some other depth finder. vex and the marcum rock .. good luck Nels.

[BigDaddy]

How good of shape are you in? If you don't mind the exercise, start with the hand auger. The ice will be thin early on and you won't have any problem. Things could change for you during the year and maybe a power auger becomes possible.

You may find someone with a power auger willing to help you out. I know that I've offered to punch a few holes for guys when I see them working a hand auger. Likewise I'll always remember when guys have punched holes for me.

[buzbunni]

I had neither a power auger nor a flasher unit last year and I still had fun.

This year? I am the proud new owner of a Marcum LX-3 AND an LX-i. I can't wait to pounce on those sneaky scaled buggers. I may get a power auger later this year, and I may not. I feel I made the correct choice in waiting on the power auger, but then, new "stuff" is great whatever it is .

[Dennis Steele]

A must is a sonar!

With a good sonar like Marcum or vex you can scan for fish through the ice first.Then you'll only have to drill one hole!!

[upnorth]

Three years ago I poo pooed the flasher thing; figured I needed an ice house more. Now if I forget the flasher I just don't feel like fishing.

But there is nothing like late winter fishing up north here when there is 3+ feet of ice and being down on your knees trying to get through that last 6 inches of ice with a hand auger

I kept my eyes on the local want ads until I found a cheap used gas auger, it is old and sticks a bit as I break through the bottom but it is way better than a hand auger.

So yes you can have your cake and eat it too

[Surface Tension]

I started out 30 years ago with a spoon auger and no sonar. I used the spoon auger for a couple years then bought a Mora which I still use today. Once the ice gets 12" I use my power auger but isn't a necessity. I found sonar to be a necessity for suspended crappies in my early days of ice fishing. Later I found how useful sonar was when targeting gills over weeds and without it I was fishing under the gills at times. Sonar has also become a great aid for Lake Trout through the ice and has changed my techniques. I use sonar to get trout to chase my lure that would otherwise lose interest and swim away. So sonar will enable you to target suspended fish and it allows you to adjust your presentation to their mode. As Dennis pointed out you can shoot through the ice to locate a desired depth and structure.

I would go with Sonar first then get your power auger and later on a underwater camera if you feel you need one.

[Piker]

If you fish from a permanent house and re-drill your holes you'll have to get the gas auger. I'd rather the Vex, but I tried the hand auger route and ended up fishing through only about half of my holes one time and they were the size of a potato. If you only fish portables, though I think I'm in the Vex camp. Get the FL-18 though, or you'll kick yourself next year.

[wormfood]

Hand auger and Vex. Just carry a bottle of water with you to get a clear surface on the ice and spot check the area you want to fish to find the structure/pattern you are looking for and only drill the holes you need. Yeah, by the end of the season you'll be cutting through some ice but at least you'll know what the bottom looks like before you drop your line.

[Seabass77]

Definately get the hand auger and vex. Especially since you live in the cities. You usually can't even drive out till the end of January in the cities. The hand auger is fine for 10" of ice or less. Get a lazer hand auger. They cut great. Just keep the blades sharp. The vexilar will put more fish on the ice for you, guaranteed.

[The Grebe]

Boy, you do ask the tough questions! I started out with an ice chisel...thick ice on Mille Lacs was a challenge, but the boys expected it of me and I did'nt let them down.

A power auger was out of the question, to expensive for a young man trying to support a family on a laborers wage! That and they were pretty cumbersome at the time.

The spoon auger came next and after using them afew times, I stayed with the chisel.

Then the fin bore came along and we thought that it could'nt get any better then that...by myself, I could cut 10 to 15 holes through thick ice, during the course of a fishing trip...my personal best was 17 during the thickest ice period of January. For years the fin bore was where it was at!

We found out early on, after cutting through some monster ice, that it was easier and faster with two guys on the fin bore...syncronize the effort and cut the hole twice as fast, with half the exertion. But if you wanted to strike out on your own, which I did and still do, it was up to you to cut all your own holes.

Finally when we realized that fishing is supposed to be a relaxing and renewing endeavor (with age comes wisdom) we went to the more light weight, affordable, power auger.

At no time during our ice fishing ice age, did we have a locator and we still caught fish, lots of fish. A couple of my fishing partners still donot have a locator and they still do alright.

Me, I made the transition and I certainly don't regret it. If I leave without the locator, I will come back and get it, I just don't go fishing in the boat, or on the ice without it...it's worse then forgetting the cell phone!

But, if I had to choose it would be a gas auger. I could always get a lake map (I do that anyways) and expect to do pretty good.

I could hit old spots I'am familiar with, I could use landmark trianglization, or my GPS to glom onto spots where others are/were fishing. Or I could follow the crowds and stay on the edges. All kinds of options...power auger.

[Deitz Dittrich]

If your only giving us the 2 options I would go with a hand auger and a Flasher... HOWEVER!!!!! I would go with a used gas auger and a flasher. Keep you eye on the items for sale...

[Eric Wettschreck]

I've been ice fishing all my life. I bought a vex this year but a gas auger about 5 years ago. I've never used a vex but I've still managed to catch fish. IMO I'd go gas auger and no vex. Then, save your pennies and buy a vex later on.

[Dan Thiem]

After much deliberation- I would go with a 6" Lazer hand auger and a Vexilar FL-18. Reason is because you can cut a lot of holes without too much work with one of those Lazers. And I've always wonderd is there anything down there? How deep is it here? How deep are the fish at? All them questions are answered very easily with the Vex. Tough decision. My freinds that don't have a Vex or Marcum call me a cheater.

[pikehunter]

I had the same situation and went hand auger/vex more than five years ago and still haven't felt the urge to upgrade the auger. Just keep the blades sharp; at the end of the year it will be a chore to drill 20 holes a day, but I've done it three times a week throughout the season without a problem. Another thing is, a used gas auger you can always have problems with. I have friends who went that route and there's nothing worse than getting to your spot and your auger won't start. My "Arm-Strong" model always works.

One other point ... power augers are pretty heavy. Even when I fish with someone who has one, we leave it on shore if we're walking out, I just hate lugging that much more weight around.

[sunnyj]

I'd rather have a used power auger than a used Vex. You can fix the auger yourself, orrrrrr have a friend fix it for you

just my 2cents

[SLAYERFISH]

I'd go with the gas -I've got a vex and a flasher and often i dont bring either.I rarely get skunked,Usually the most important thing is depth and all i do is lower the kasty or pimp down and reel up and you know the depth.If you get snagged, you got structure-the simpler the better!Besides i drill 30-40 holes per day or more,often the ice gets 24" or more.

[Matchman]

Here's a thought: search hard and find a great deal on both. Most flashers are pretty indestructible so finding a good used one is pretty easy. You can also find good deals on power augers here and in a lot of different places. I got a StrikeMaster LazerMag Express from DRock in New Brighton. The power head was a demo that they serviced and the drill bit was also a demo that had brand new blades on it. I got this for about $130 less than new. How can you go wrong?!?!

[hanson]

Darn tough question.

I have to think back to how I've 'evolved' as an ice angler and evaluate which tool helped me the most and I would probably say the gas auger. It got me out on the ice more. Once I was out there, I was more willing to move around and try different areas. I then caught more fish.

My first experiences ice angling were with a spoon blade hand auger. Once I got a couple holes open, that was it. I was done augering for the day. But when grandpa gave me his Jiffy model 30, I wanted to go out and cut as many holes as I could.

The flasher has definitely helped me catch more fish, but I think being able to put more holes in the ice was more important earlier on.

[Deitz Dittrich]

If you use a flasher properly.. you shouldnt have to drill as many holes!

[SLAYERFISH]

Whats a flasher gonna do if theres no fish near the hole?You gots ta move-IMO

[Deitz Dittrich]

Quote:

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Whats a flasher gonna do if theres no fish near the hole?You gots ta move-IMO

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It is possible to mark fish through the ice before you even drill if you have clear ice. Also, many times there are open holes that people are not using that you can check before drilling your holes...

IMO the flasher is still more important than a power auger. Expecially with todays good hand aug... I still think the best option would be to buy a used gas auger and get the flasher.