What is your choice for hand auger and what size?
Printable View
What is your choice for hand auger and what size?
For crappie, panfish and walleyes a 6" is plenty. If you are in an area where pike roam, or maybe even catfish, do an 8".
StrkeMaster makes a nice conventional auger in those sizes and they also make a Laser model that really cuts ice. The Lasers are spendy. There is a Nils Master auger but I don't care for them at all and if you ding a blade you are sunk.
6" Lazer will work just fine.
before i got a gas one i used a 4in. never had a problem,pulled 14in. crappie through the hole. It was plenty easy to drill. They are hard to find though.
6" Lazer agreed. As far as the Nils augers go you get one of two responses, either totally positive or totally negative. I have never used one, not needing anything more than the Lazer, and the Lazer is very easy to change out blades on, blades that are commonly available, too.
You can step up from that for very little extra weight to mounting an 18v drill on it, and even use that through ice over two feet thick providing you carry an extra battery or two and do not need too many holes. Lithium batteries are both lighter and pack an extra punch, but cost huge. You don't need to carry around or mix gas though.
ive been using a 8" lazer , been looking for a 6" though
WoWWWW new laser blades !!! I was looking at the Laser blades at Bass Pro a few weeks ago. Almost 40.00. They have almost doubled in the last 3 or 4 years. I have been using the 6" laser for many years. It covers all the fish I go after.Panfish,perch & walleyes. I also use a 18 volt Bosch drill adapter that is really sweet for cutting ice. This will be my 3rd. season ( if we get ice ) with the drill adapter . This is just another tool for us old guys.
I use a Ryobi to push my 6" lazer. It sure does make it easier on us old goats. Last winter I bit up and switched to Lithium batteries and that is both lighter and packs a better punch so long as it is not extremely cold. My third season with a drill adapter, too. I got the Kluge adapter from Vexilar. It costs a bit more, but I am completely satisfied with it after three seasons. The 6" size hole has also been more than enough for my needs.
6'' lazer till ice gets too thick then I gotta bust out the jiffy.
6" eskamo doesn't get alot of use here in kansas still praying for hard water
how many holes can u punch per battery?Quote:
Originally Posted by no1son
I have a Strike Master that I have had for years, it's an 8"
Per foot of ice, best guess at this point is something like between 6 and 10 holes per battery. The high side would be lithium batteries, warmest temps, sharpest blades. Dull blades will cut the number of holes by as much as 2/3 and more. NiCad batteries yield something like 2/3 the guts of the Lithium, but cost a whole lot less. Two of us got enough holes to fish in comfortably through between 2 and 2 and a half feet of ice last winter on two Lithium batteries, fully charged to start and kept warm (inside coat) between cutting holes. We do a little hole hopping, but no real run and gun stuff, and we are walk-on bucket fishermen rather than portashack types; so we avoid the worst cold.Quote:
Originally Posted by skillett007
Better get a 5 inch lazer and a Milwaukee 18v lithium ion drill. My nephew fishes the NAIFC and can get at least 35- 50 holes per battery. Plus hot water bottles to keep batteries nice and warm Myself i use and old Mora 6 inch for ice less than 10 inches anything more and the 8 1/4 inch power auger is put to use.
thanks for the info, might have to go that way for night time stalking, when ice gets over 8", i have a older jiffy 3hp auger and u talkin bout loud:eek:
i have a 8 in. mora gave to me froma fella that went gas and i got some new blades in the deal man oh man what a cutter i have no problem but you have to pace yourself kinda like drill a hole set you tip up drill another or maybe drill two than set your stuff so on and so on . before then i used my buddies gas auger when i went with him or i didn't go lol
and i'd say there are 150 -200 holes on my blades for to start off this year if the ice ever gets here lol.
hope they make it this season as i tried to sharpen the old ones and they will shave hair like no ones bussiness but just shave the ice like a blender chunks and all not wrth a hoot but them new ones whow can you say slushy anyone .
Scott
6" Lazer up to 8 inches or so then gotta get the electric 8" Lazer out.
I have an old hadmedown mora 7 inch.. Tried to sharpin blades with no success. New blades and she cuts like a champ. I've since bought a used gas auger but still use the ol' hand one. Perfect for early ice.
I have a 8" Mora, 6" Mora, 6" Lazer, 5" Lazer, 3hp 10" Jiffy and this year I bought a 6" Nils. The Lazers perform better than the Jiffy's in my opinion and if we ever get ice I'll report on the Nils.
I just got a new 5 in. lazer yesterday from ebay..I think I got lucky because its says made in sweden on the box and the blades both....gander mt.and farm fleet both say made in china on theirs.. going to retire the 6 in. lazer..I also use a ryobi 18 volt for the last few years,till the ice gets around 7 or 8 ins., then the out comes the gas auger..the drill makes it a lot easier on this 72 year old body..
You may find that you can continue to use the Ryobi through deeper ice with the smaller auger, and if you can and are not doing so already switch to Lithium batteries. You will get more cutting from them for less weight, but it also pays to keep them warm, and of course charged up. The Lithium batteries don't bog down like Nicads do, but when they are done they just simply stop.
The best thing you can do for easier drill cutting is to keep your blades sharp. If what you got off Ebay is an older unit, you may still have to replace or sharpen the blades. Even new Chinese blades are better than dull Swedish ones. With sharp blades I have continued to use my drill all through the last couple of winters here in Minneapolis, and the last two winters had ice to cut through over two feet thick, more like 30 inches at times.
Yeah because my 5" Lazer I bought in Feb. 2010 was made in China and the blades weren't worth a crap. I contacted Strikemaster and they exchanged them for the Swedish blades at no charge.Quote:
Originally Posted by jepik
the auger is brand new in the box..I keep the batteries in soft cooler with hand warmer..I try to go as light as possible on first ice..when the ice gets to 7 or 8 ins. out comes the gas auger and my old quad..
Gotta agree about the weight thing. Mostly I fish carry-on around the smaller lakes in the deep Metro where it has to be carry on by Park rules. No vehicles of any kind allowed and no permanent fish houses either on most of those I fish. No real big deal since some of my favorites are surrounded by parkways with street parking real close to most of the shorelines.
I carry my batteries in an inside pocket to keep them warm; a fanny pack under the parka or inside the bibbs also works pretty well.
I have a 6 inchMora, 8 inch Lazer, and two 6 inch Nils. All I can say is the Mora and theLazer have a lot of dust on them. The Nils cuts faster with the least amount ofeffort. I was fishing with a buddy whohas the 6 inch Lazer and I was half way on my second hole when he broke throughhis first. The blade is expensive and I have not needed to sharpen one due towearing down from cutting ice. I did slip and drop it on the road and had tohave it sent out to be sharpened. I now have a spare just in case. This is justmy opinion and what works for me. Sure beats the old days using a hatchet orspoon drill.
Mike
Well I did get the new auger and added a auger rack to the back of the sled.Now if we just get any ice!!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...43/Jigs100.jpg
Looks like you went with the Lazer. Good choice. I got one last year and have not been disappointed. Blew through 6" today in about 10sec.
Finally had a chance to use my new Nils. It definitely cuts better than my Mora's and Lazer's. One thing I also noticed was that the Nils doesn't hang up on the last turn or two when finishing the hole.