jhol Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 OK lets here it from everyone, what size augers are we all runing and why? I have an 8" I think a 6" hole is a little small and a 10" hole seems like I would be likely to lose many more things.Thoughts??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northlander Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 8" because Nils doesnt make a 9". I have learned ways to deal with it. I always overlap 2 holes and put my ducer in one of them. Keeps from having fish get in the cord all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
only ice Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I have a 8, but I love fishing in a 10. Problem bigger auger more weight, and more money.I could have a 5 inch hole and still drop stuf down the hole. One thing bad about a 10 is a very small child, GOD Forbid could fall in the hole, and you may twist you ankle a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muc33 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I too run 8". Except when I have gone Pike fishing on Tip Ups in SD. Then we use 10", just easier to get them in the hole. Other than that, I hate 10's because my feet are fairly small and I can lose a foot in one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipperybob Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 It's easier to punch through the ice with a smaller hole. I do know that on the coldest of days that after three hours of fishing and your 8" hole becomes 4" hole, it can freeze up pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portageman Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 90% of my fishing is for pannies. I use a 5" Lazer hand auger. That thing can RIP! My father in law uses a 4" lazer hand auger - a little extreme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deitz Dittrich Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 8" is fine for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvey lee Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I use to use a 10" Jiffy and have used an 8" Nils now for 3 years and have not run into any issues. Lighter and faster through the ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wishing for walleyes Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 9 inch hole for me.Perfect for landing eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toughguy Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I like my 9"er. It will fit 99.9% of anything swiming in MN lakes and it's a lillte smaller than a 10". I would choose an 8" over a 10". For some reason 10" just seems too big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EYESTALKER Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Portageman, I too have one of those 5" hand augers...best drillin' auger out there. But as the ice thickens I turn to my Strikemaster 224 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walleyewild Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I have an 8" and 10" I use the 8" all the time, rarely use the 10". Never had a fish I couldn't get through an 8" hole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Drummer Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 8" for me too! my vexilar fits in a 10 inch hole so i would hate to loose that down the the hole! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoozebutton Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 8" for me too! my vexilar fits in a 10 inch hole so i would hate to loose that down the the hole! I switched to an 8 last year because of that. I still have the 10 for those big pike but mostly use the 8 now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwhjr Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 8" so my feet stay dry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiggawhat Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Ditto on the 8" hole. No good going knee deep in a 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecil Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I have bothan 8" and a 10". Only had one fish that wouldn't fit in a 8" hole in life (wouldn't come through 10" either). Use the 10" for permanent house and 8" for all other times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighbor_guy Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 8" gas and a 6" hand. I use them both, A LOT!!I seam to prefer and favor the 6" for panfish in the portable, or when things are spooky or preasured. Then it is time for the jiffy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Foss Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I've used a Strikemaster XL-3000 3 Hp 10-inch for more than ten years. Faster than any 3 Hp/10-inch I've seen, and I absolutely LOVE how easy it is to steer fish into and up the bigger hole.But she was a heavy beast, and age is creeping up, so I traded for a 2 Hp Jiffy 8-inch. A good bit lighter, and it'll encourage me to drill more holes and hop around more, which is a good thing. If I think I'm on big fish water (I fish lakers a lot), I'll overlap a couple 8-inch holes so if the big one comes, it'll fit through. Since I'm usually over deep water, when overlapping the holes I'll fish the Marcum out of one of the holes with the ducer tight under the ice away from the other hole, and will jig in the other hole. Works pretty good.My hand auger is an 8-inch Mora, so I've done a lot of fishing though the smaller holes, too. Overall, I find a 10-inch hole better for convenience's sake, but don't have any probs fishing out of the smaller hole, and lugging that big auger around was getting very INconvenient. Never had an issue with dropping things down holes, so that doesn't play into my hole size decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSB Ice Man Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 On the fly I use the 8" for the portables. I use the 10" with the wheel house because the holes creep shut after a day or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBass Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I have a 10" because the 9" was sold out. 10" is big and I have seen my buddy step in one and he whole leg was soaked. Also saw a lil girl step in one and get wet. I felt horribleHere's a Q - when you drill a hole do you kick in the ice shavings after your done or keep the heaping pile showing. I heard the snowmobilers hate that when we leave a pile then it freezes solid. But people walking around would see and avoid it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bavincent Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Will a 3lb crappie fit through a six inch hole? I really need to know. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecil Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 It depends if I am plannig on hole hopping with or without my house. If am hopping with my house I will move ice out of way. If I am not using the house, I will leave snow to mark holes and to keep from freezing as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiggawhat Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I have also gone all the way to the knee down a 10" hole out on mille lacs and it was a cold half mile walk back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Almquist Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 My old Jiffy was a 9" and I thought that was just about the perfect size but now I have a Nils and they only go up to a 8" so what I am going to try this year when out laker fishing is to try and make a 45 degree angle at the bottom of the hole with my ice chisel just to make it easier to get the fish started up the hole. If that fails I will just drill 2 holes next to each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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