What power auger to get?

[hanson]

Trapperdirk-

I might have been typing too fast on that reply of mine.

I know you fish in Canada where the ice lasts longer and is thicker than most of us have to deal with in MN, especially this year. Add to that thick ice, bigger fish (larger pike, walleye, and lakers) requiring a bigger hole to reasonably catch them. 3hp + 10" is the way to go, I can't argue with that. For most of us Minnesotans, its overkill.

[Ralph Wiggum]

One of you guys that is unhappy with your Strikemaster should cut me a good deal on it.

[jltimm]

You have the Jiffy and a Nil's? Talk about the complete opposite Augers! Lightness and fast cutting vs heavy and slower cutting. I also agree with the 3 HP being the goto for extreme ice conditions, but I have never seen them here, especially in the last few years? I cannot believe after handling a Nil's that you would deal with the weight and bulkiness of that big Jiffy?

[trapperdirk]

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You have the Jiffy and a Nil's? Talk about the complete opposite Augers! Lightness and fast cutting vs heavy and slower cutting. I also agree with the 3 HP being the goto for extreme ice conditions, but I have never seen them here, especially in the last few years? I cannot believe after handling a Nil's that you would deal with the weight and bulkiness of that big Jiffy?

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LOL lad well I do have one of each . They each will have they're respective jobs and duties to perform and if anybody traps on here they will be first to tell you its a hardtime fitting a ten inch square 330 conibear down thru an 8 inch hole for starters . LOL I like big holes on cold days and big game species but the Nils will get use on other days especially on search and destroy missions .

I also was on a small splake lake the other day and it had alot of crud inbedded in the ice and I didn't like the thoughts of putting the Nils blades going into that even though I have a spare cutting blade . I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to get thick ice this year myself though because at the moment even just chiselling is working so far but ice it be and walkable but most years I hit the 3ft mark by seasons end and years ago 4ft wasn't out of the question . This year is the first year I recall getting on the ice so late and the bigger lakes ice if any is mighty thin . I'm only on small back lakes at the moment .

TD

[capmorgan]

It depends on how big a hole you want and how much your willing to spend. Definately the Nils master is the best for speed and it makes a 8 inch hole. If your looking for a cheaper 8 inch Strikemaster would be a good choice. If your looking for a 9 or 10 inch I would go with the Jiffy Stealth Stx.

[upnorth]

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And to the Eskimo cutting more holes faster than the Strikemaster? Must have been a odd occurence, because the Slice the Ice competition, the Strikemaster comes out on top.

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What I was really getting at is I had my auger started and cutting with a lot less trouble than the guy with the Strikemaster. And the truth is so what if they can pop a hole 3 seconds faster than the competitiion, in the grand scheme of things does it really matter?