Thanks guys! Sorry, mine is a 6" auger. not 8". When the fish are 6" tall + the fins. it has to go perfect. Mabie its a good problem to have. I use the old fashion ice rods with plastic reels so with one hand on the rod another on the line pulling it gets hectic if the fish are truly big. I saw both crappies I lost and it put the hurt on me. My lines are 4 lb test (winter and summer) so that factors in also. The golf club cleans the hole and measures the depth of the ice. Last sunday it was 8" thick with 2" cloudy ice. All fish were released. Most were caught 1 hour before dark. Can't wait till spring, I may take my buddie the goats out if he wants to see big crappie as he has read this. CKH