hand auger size

[Guest]

i'm just getting in to ice fishing am buying a hand auger. they have 8" lazer's on sale, but i noticed my dad has a 6". what are the advantages and disadvantages of both???

[wormfood]

The bigger the hole, the more ice you'll be removing. I've got a 7" lazer and I wouldn't go any bigger.

[hawgTime]

hey velcor

Welcome to FM.

I wouldn't go any larger than a 6", expecially since you plan to use it through the entire fishing season which means you will probably be drilling 2ft of ice by the end of the season. For every inch in diameter you increase, it feels like it takes twice the energy to drill a hole.

hawgTime

[Steve Foss]

Depends on what you are fishing for. If you fish only panfish, stick with a 6-inch. If you ever fish waters with decent walleye and pike, take the 8-inch.

Truly, the wider the auger, the harder the drilling, but sharp auger blades make the differences in size less noticeable, and remember that no matter what size hole you drill, if you stay in that hole awhile the cold will start to freeze it around the edges, shrinking the diameter.

Along with my 10-inch Strikemaster XL-3000, which is a power Lazer auger, I have a Strikemaster Mora 8-inch hand auger, which I keep sharp, which usually goes with me in the truck in case I have an auger motor breakdown, and which and out-of-shape guy like me can push through 2 feet of ice.

Believe me, when that unexpected 10-pound pike or 7-pound walleye hits, you're going to want that extra two inches of hole.

[#Boater#]

Absolutely,
I have the 7" lazer and would never go bigger. I wish I would have bought a 6"...8" will kill ya after three or four holes in a row. It also helps to have a good footing like ice cleets.

[This message has been edited by #Boater# (edited 02-01-2003).]

[Norco]

Last winter I bought an 8 inch and what a nightmare, man your shoulders and arms hurt after drilling. I then bought a 6 inch and it was great drills fast and with sharp blades half the effort is required from the 8 inch. If you plan on doing alot of ice fishing I would take the initial pain of spending a few hundred dollars and buy a power auger, what a difference. You can usaully find a used one for half the price of a new one.

Good luck Fishing!!

[LaVoi]

I personally own a power auger, but was told that if a person is to buy a hand auger it is well worth the extra thirty bucks or so and get a good hand auger. About size, don't worry, six or seven inches would be plenty, earlier this year I was fishing in subzero temps and I have a ten inch auger but my holes froze up to I would say about a four inch hole, and we still pulled a 31" pike out of the hole and back in. Just my $.02

[Northlander]

Ya a 7 inch Lazer hand Auger is the ticket. Not as hard to drill as the 8 and a little extra room from the 6. You can get a pretty big fish threw a 7 inch hole with some patience. Sharp blades is the key. With a hand auger that usually means changing blades after 50-100 holes depending on thickness of ice etc.
If you can at all afford it get a good light power auger. If you are going to go bigger than 8 inch on a power auger I suggest you get a 3 horse. Legthens the life of your auger that way. Stick with Strikemaster or Jiffy. They both seem to have proven themselves threw the long haul.

[NoodleSalad]

I prefer an 8" Lazer. If it's a weight issue (long hikes an so) The weight difference is not much. An 8" hole is always nice. 10" come powers. One could go smaller, I see no reason why not- unless you have problems cranking. Otherwise you are probably better of staying home. I just like to go big! -NS-

[Guest]

thank you all who have replied; i appreciate the info. one thing i have not heard mentioned and wondered about is the amount of light let through and whether or not it has any effect on the fishing ie. the bigger the hole the more light. any insight would be appreciated. thanks.

[NoodleSalad]

What about the shade you bring to the ice? Or the light from the lantern? I don't know. I have not had the time to do a study while fishing-- -NS-

[NoodleSalad]

You are definately at the right place though! Keep with it and you will be raking them in no time! -NS-

[Guest]

i sense the sarcasm noodlesalad. i suppose i should clarify the fishing that i mostly do: daytime, tip-ups, for pike and bass, where a lantern and shadows don't really have much effect. but if i am reading between the lines correctly, i would infer that the size of the hole does NOT matter. thanks.

[MonsterMechanic]

Velcor,

I heard something once and it has stuck with me. Think reality. Draw a circle with a 6" diameter, now make that size of a hole with your hands and fingers. Now, imagine how big of a fish it would take to fill that hole. A 6" girth on a fish would most definately be a trophy fish, no matter what species you'll be catching here. The reality of someone catching a fish with a girth larger than 6" is slim to none. In todays world we are taught that bigger is better. That may be true for women, but when it comes to ice fishing, save your energy for other purposes and make the task of hole drilling easy... go with the 6". If you ice fish, then you have a scope. If you get ice build up in the hole, scope it out, it takes about 10 seconds. Also, I own a 6" strikemaster hand auger that I can drill a hole with almost as fast as any power auger on the market... and I will take up any challengers on that too. Only listen if you want too and as always...Catch 'em fast!

[crappie todd]

the light issue is a valid one. you might note sometime those with portables that flip the top up might be getting a few more fish than the guy sitting in the open. OR, it can be the opposite .It's always worth checking out. Open or closed. or slush in the hole.
All I know is.... yes , it makes a difference.
I do know one particular famous pan fisherman that even has his name on the fish trap houses you see on the lakes.. He likes some slush in his hole.
CT

[metro 1]

I went to the MN state fair years ago and in the 4-H building they had a huge northern mounted ( I don't remember the weight & size so I'll try not to guess), it was big! the kid had all the statistics ,what , when , where,on what , written in a 6" diameter hole that the fish came through on the board the fish was mounted on . It was a great eye opener for me and a beautiful mount. metro

[fiskyknut]

Velcor
My .02 cents, get whats going to suit your targeted species. I fish LOTW almost exclusively, I have a Nils 8 inch hand auger that I use early in the season and a power Mag111 auger in which I use both an 8 inch and a 10 inch bits depending on what I'm going after. Monstermechanic spoke of the 6 inch hole size, well mathematically 6 times pie {3.14} gives you 18" plus a bit. Earlier this season I caught a Wally just over 30 inches which had a 17 inch girth so I guess this fish would have came up thru a 6 inch hole with a bit to spare. Last year I got a 46 inch Pike with a 22 inch girth, it would have never came up a 6 inch hole, but would an 8 inch. With this being said I think the main thing is the fact {IMHO} that turning a large fishes head into the hole is the toughest part of getting it onto the ice, so this is the biggest advantage to the larger holes. I suppose another factor is fish are not always perfectly round either and you do get a bit of freezing around the hole too. I was fishing thru an 8 inch hole thru 10 inches of ice when I got that Wally mentioned above, he came up no problem thru it, but it was getting his head to turn into it that was the tough part of the fight, this is probably when most fish are lost also. So what will suit your fishing best? I saw on your profile you are a student, so this summer try to save up a few beans and set yourself up with the auger/augers that is geared to where and what your after.

And trust me on the turning their heads into the hole thing!!!!

Regards....Fisky

[BLACKJACK]

I'll put in a vote for a FIVE inch hand auger. I have a five inch Strikemaster and I use it until I can drive on and carry my power auger, which is at about 14 inches. Those big hand augers are too much work, even with sharp blades. The majority of the fish that you catch will go thru the smaller hole. And lets face it, the most people will let the blades get dull before they replace them. Go drill 6 eight inch holes in 20 inchs of ice with dull blades - you'll be selling off your first born to get a power auger!

[Pig_sticka]

with the 6" lazer hand auger me n my friend drilled atleast 20-25 holes in 2 feet of ice. just switched off every hole and we didn't get tired. it was worth it because we both limited out on nice crappies.
stick with the 6 though, 5 inch would be nice but is a little too small for catching nicer fish.

[the big dipper]

Anybody have a 4" hand auger to sell, or feedback on same? I have two young boys that I would like to use a 4" hole for sunnies/crappies (less wet boots and gear down the hole). Also it might be nice to punch a small hole along side my 8" hole in the fishtrap for the vex puck.

[Perchpapa]

I have an 8" Eskimo Barracuda and it is brutal torture when the ice is 24" thick. One time a buddy and I went fishing and the ice was about 15" and he had a 6" Lazer and He drilled in half the time I drilled mine.

Perchpapa

[Bobb-o]

i currently have a 7" mora hand auger and am drilling through aboot 3 ft of ice right now and am having no problem with it. only thing is it cuts down on the amount of holes i drill to aboot 20 instead of 30

[juggs]

You probably don't need anything bigger than a six incher and it will save on the labor. I own a five but fish mostly pannies. Never had ANYTHING get stuck in the hole until about a month ago when I pulled up a pound and a half crappie. He made it but with some drag. The weight isn't a guess as I had a digital scale in my tent. Probably the biggest crappie I caught through the ice. I've caught good sized walleye, bass, pike, roughies through that five inch hole. I talked to a guy this weekend who was using a FOUR INCH auger--now those holes looked small.

[Guest]

Bobb-0,

Drilling 20 holes through anything over 10 inches, you must look like Popeye.

[Guest]

I am looking to see if any of you with 8" lazer auger want to sell them. I want to mount it on my older power auger. I need the strike master lazer style. I used to use a hand auger than I got a free power and no more by hand for this kid. They will keep you in shape during the winter.

Red

[This message has been edited by redfisher (edited 02-04-2003).]