Power auger

[Guest]

Hi, I am contemplating the purchase of a power auger as my arm just can't do 30" plus any more. Have had three shoulder surgeries in the last 3 years. I Would like to get something light if possible. Was looking at the Strikemaster Ultra 9" in Cabelas. Will a 2 HP 9" cut through 4' of ice OK? I can also get the Strikemaster Mag 3000 3 HP 10" locally but was wondering about the single blade. Any pros or cons to this? Thanks for any info.
Iceworm
Delta Jct. Alaska

[jeff127]

I just purchased the new 3 blade lazer nine inch auger and it slices through the ice like a dream---very little effort. I haven't cut through more than a foot of ice this year so I can't really tell wether or not it will perform on 4 feet of ice. The 2 blade 10" lazer 3 horse would surely tackle 4' with eaze but is a much heavier unit. I think the single blade augers don't cut nearly as fast and take a little more effort to punch holes than the doubles.

jeff

[Guest]

I bought a used Lazer mag on hsolist at the start of the season and couldn't be happier. It is a great auger. It has 2 blades and is a 2hp model. Only thing bad about strikemaster is the gas cap. If you don't tighten the vent valve it will leak. Also if you tighten it too much the rubber washers will break and then it will also leak. So to fix this just barely tighten the valve and you will be fine. Auger starts up pretty fast and doesn't need much of a warm up to get going.

Basstracker34

[Cyberfish]

Go for the smaller 2 hp, and get a smaller hole too, no one needs a 9 or 10 incher.
I have a 8 inch lazermag, and it works great, but I think a 7 would be even easier, but I bought mine used, so I didn't have that choice. If you are going somewhere that the ice is really 4 ft thick (this year, that would be hard to find on the north pole )
You are going to need the bigger heavy motor to drill big holes in there.

best fishes

Cyb

www.gemfishing.org

[bushbunny]

I have an 8" Tanaka auger with a 30cc engine. I have not had difficulty drilling through 3-4 ft. of ice in the past (in northern Alberta). I even used an 18" extension one winter. You do have to lift the auger at least twice while you are drilling to clear the ice chips from the hole. If you don't, when you break through, they get soaked tending to bind the auger and stall the power unit. Either a 2hp or 3hp engine on a double blade flighting should be quite adequate for your purposes. If you have a Husqvarna, Stihl, or Tanaka dealer in your area, compare their product to the Jiffy & Strikemaster. I think that you will find that the former, while somewhat pricier, offer more in reliability, performance, and all around better engines.

[Johnny B]

Iceworm,
Welcome to the Forum.

Tough decision. If you are serious about getting the lighter model, you may want to avoid the ten inch augers. Although personally, I love fishing out the larger holes, with your shoulder problems they could give you a little trouble:
1) On bare ice, it's hard to keep your footing.
2) As the blades dull the auger will torque, making it more difficult to hang onto.
3) They are heavier than the eight inch models.

However, you probably deal with thicker ice conditions than most of us and depending on the type of fish you seek, a larger auger with two blades, would be the better choice. If available in your area, they do cut much faster and cleaner than a single blade and they won't wander.

< )))><

[This message has been edited by Johnny B (edited 01-28-2002).]

[Guest]

Iceworm, Delta Junction huh? Where do you fish around there, I have been up there, and fished a few places. My fiance used to live near Delta Jnct.

[Guest]

I use an 8" Strikemaster 2hp Lazer Mag. I haven't had any complaints. It cuts through the ice like nothing. I agree with basstracker34, I already broke off my rubber washer and replaced it with a piece fishtank hose. I can tighten it down as hard as I want now without it breaking or leaking gas. Power augers sure save time and strength when your out punching 50 or so holes.
Good Fishing, Matt.

[Guest]

basstracker44.... I also purchased a strikemaster lazer mag. 6 inch I love it.
thanks for advise about the gasket on the gas
cap. i didn't know that.

[jps]

Delta Junction? Have friends living there. Mike Schultz and Scot Schultz and their families. They farm around there somewhere.I think their home is out in the country!Do you fish the river there?

[Guest]

Hi JPS, yes we do know the Schultz's. Not personally, but my daughter went to school with a couple of their kids. We're a small town, you kind of know everybody. Do I fish the river there? We fish the Clearwater River during the summer, it's the mainly loaded with grayling, kind of like a trout, but with a large dorsal fin. Flyfishing there is probably some of the best within a hundred miles. Right in our backyard. The Tanana is the major glacier run off river here. We get silver and dog salmon in the late fall usually after it snows and when the river is a little clearer. Between May and November, it is brown like coffee from glacier silt. I don't do any icefishing on the Tanana, but some people do for burbot. Knowing someone in little Delta Jct., I guess it's a small world after all.

Iceworm

[Guest]

Hi Up North Redneck, Up north like up here or MN area? I fish mainly in Quartz Lake, 5 mile drive, good fishing, rainbows, char. Also snowmachine across Tanana River when it is frozen into George Lake for pike. My favorite is 25 mile snowmachine trip up the Good Pasture River into Volkmier Lake, pike. Pretty good pike fishing in these lakes, but no good size to them. 36" would be large. Was your friend from Delta, or near here?

Later,
Iceworm

[Guest]

Iceworm, I am from MN, worked for a while in ND, and go to school in SD. My fiance used to live between the grystal and the Tanana a ways off of the Alaska Hwy. I fished Craig lake and a lake south of Delta, near Paxton, I can't remeber the name. When I was up ther, they also showed me Quartz lake and the clearwater river. The clearwater river does live up to it's name.

[Uncle Grump]

Iceworm

You're not alone w/ sore arms/elbows - darned
arthritus. I just got my first gas auger - I
found a Strikemaster Mag2000 (2hp, 8") at
the local Wal-Mart for $176 (clearanced).

I know its not the biggest or fastest, but if
I keep the blade sharp, and keep the engine
maintained - it should do me and my boys fine
for years.

Had I gone to anything larger - ie 3hp, and
larger auger, the price would have jumped another $100+, and I didn't have that kind of
cash to put down.

Snow storm is moving in tonight, so its not
likely I will get to play w/ it this weekend.

[Guest]

I stand by the old jiffy 3 hp. Stay away from getting any 10"er. Get a 7 or 8". Several of us here on Devils Lake are even going to 6" holes. No need to remove any more ice than you need to. It takes much, much less effort to cut smaller holes. We had to put on extensions last year and to drill a 10" hole 40 plus inches deep is really a waste of energy and time.

------------------
Kevin Neve's Devils Lake Guide Service
fishingminnesota.com/kevin-neve-guiding/
e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 701-473-5411 or 701-351-4989
Minnewaukan ND

[Guest]

I have both the original Mag 3000 3hp 8" chipper blade and the Strikemaster LazerMag 8" dual shaverblade.

The 8" Chipper tends to vibrate a bit more and needs a bit more pressure when I'm drilling hard ice, so that may be a consideration with your shoulder.

The 8" Dual Shaver blade is a 2hp, a bit lighter (26lbs) than the 3hp (around 30lbs), and when the blades are sharp it pretty much slides itself down the hole.

Both will tend to torque a bit breaking through the bottom of the hole, but I can't tell the difference myself.

The LazerMag Triple blade 9" is a little heavier than the 8" dual and about $90.00 more in price. Both have the powerpoint to get you started, but myself, I just couldn't justify the extra bucks for the third blade.

Hope this helps!

Ice a Few!!!

[Steve Foss]

I've used a 3 hp Strikemaster XL-3000 for the last few years. It's a 10-incher. Cuts just great. And good for all the room you have when a fish comes up the hole alongside the Vexilar transducer line, but it IS more work than an 8-incher. Also, I use the round Frabill 10-inch diameter tip-ups, and you've gotta cut a REAL clean 10-inch hole to lay a 10-inch tip-up on it. If I ever need to replace the auger shaft, I'll get an 8. You can get a whopper of a pike or a laker through an 8-inch hole, I'll bet.

------------------
Steve ([email protected])

[al jr]

Ice worm My parents and i lived in a tralier house near delta in the early eighties we still have friends up there that farm bison. Ive fished quartz lake and was very impressed. I live in st cloud mn. my father lives in the meadow lakes ak area now and he has a jiffy eight inch auger that he has had for as long as i can remember. catching rainbows, silvers and large pike is almost as fun as walleyes and crappies in mn. i'd by an eight inch jiffy.